Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Mar. 17 – The secretary general of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, said on Friday that Tehran would not lose its resolve over its nuclear ambitions because of increased Western threats.

Iran Focus: London, Mar. 17 – It’s been feted by some in the West as a major turnaround in Iran’s policy, but sources close to the Iranian government say Tehran’s unexpected announcement on Thursday that it intended to hold direct talks with the United States on the subject of Iraq is primarily aimed at giving a push to the country’s nuclear diplomacy.

Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Mar. 17 – Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki demanded on Friday that a timeline be announced for the withdrawal of United States-led troops from Iraq as he confirmed that the Islamic Republic would be willing to directly meet and hold talks with U.S. officials over the issue of Iraq.

Iran Focus: London, Mar. 17 – Not since the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics has the United States national security strategy focused on a country more than it is now doing on Iran. The proof comes in a 49-page report just released by the White House.

Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Mar. 17 – Twenty-two Iranian government and provincial officials were killed in an ambush in the south-eastern province of Sistan-va-Baluchistan in the early hours of Friday morning, the government-owned news agency Fars reported.