Wall Street Journal: China signed billions of dollars in deals with key U.S. allies during its premier’s visit to the Persian Gulf, forging ahead with long-term efforts to rely less on its traditional oil suppliers, including Iran—even as it publicly brushes aside U.S. and European pressure to cut its Iranian imports.

New York Times: For the third time in less than a month, an American naval vessel came to the aid of Iranian mariners near the Persian Gulf, providing food and water to the crew of a sinking fishing dhow in the central Arabian Sea, the Navy said Thursday.

AFP: A 5.5-magnitude earthquake struck the area of the city of Neyshabour in northeast Iran on Thursday, injuring at least 100 people and damaging several houses, state media reported.

Reuters: Iranian news channel Press TV disappeared from British television screens on Friday after Britain’s independent media regulator revoked its license in a move likely to fan diplomatic tensions with the Islamic Republic.

AFP: The European Union is readying its toughest action to date against Iran, moving to dry up funding of its contested nuclear drive by targeting both its oil and financial sector, diplomats said Friday.

Reuters: Senators on Thursday warned Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner not to weaken a new law aimed at thwarting Iran’s nuclear ambitions by allowing countries to use different criteria to escape financial sanctions.

Reuters: Turkish refiner Tupras plans to cut its dependence on imports of Iranian oil and will meet Saudi Arabian authorities this month, industry sources familiar with the company’s strategy said on Thursday, as Western powers crack down on Iran’s oil sales.

AFP: EU nations Thursday agreed to sanction Iran’s central bank, freezing assets used to finance its nuclear drive, but have yet to clinch an oil embargo deal that could penalise debt-hit Greece.

Reuters: Japan’s oil industry is likely to cut its purchases of Iranian crude oil in about three months as Tokyo grapples with a new U.S. sanctions law, Akihiko Tembo, president of the Petroleum Association of Japan (PAJ), said on Thursday.

Reuters: Iran said it was in touch with world powers to reopen talks soon on its nuclear program, but Washington and the European Union denied this and said they were still waiting for Tehran to show it was ready for serious negotiations.