AP: Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency is reporting Iran plans to send more humanitarian aid to North Korea. The two nations are allies. Both are under fire for their nuclear programs.

AP: Iran’s president hardly seemed like a fading political force at a security summit in Beijing last week. Leaders from China and Russia carved out time to hold private talks with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and gave him center stage to unleash his pet theories about the unraveling of Western power.

Bloomberg: Japan’s Cabinet approved a bill to provide sovereign insurance to tanker operators that import Iranian oil before the full implementation of European Union sanctions against the Persian Gulf nation.

Reuters: Iran’s state finances have come under unprecedented pressure and the resilience of ordinary people is being tested by soaring inflation as oil income plummets due to tightening Western sanctions and sharply falling oil prices.

Washington Pos: From one point of view the connection between our troubles with Syria and Iran is pretty straightforward. The Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad is Iran’s closest ally, and its link to the Arab Middle East.

Bloomberg: Iranians must reduce electricity consumption by some five percent to prevent blackouts in summer months, Tehran Times reported, citing the Iranian deputy energy minister Mohammad Behzad.

AP: An Iranian negotiator warned Sunday that this month’s talks in Moscow over Iran’s nuclear program could stall because of faulty preparation.

AFP: Iran on Sunday hit out at a perceived lack of willingness by world powers to engage it ahead of crucial nuclear talks to take place in Moscow on June 18 and 19, according to reports.