Baghdad - Iraq has told Iran that its security pact with the US would not threaten Iran's national sovereignty, Iraq's foreign minister said on Tuesday.

"The security agreement has no articles that threaten the security of neighbouring countries," Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said in a statement following his meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hassan Kazemi, according to a ministry statement.

"Iraq will not be used as a base for attacks on neighbouring countries," Zebari added.

Zebari and US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker signed the Status of Forces Agreement in Baghdad on Monday.

Tehran - US military forces should leave Iraq earlier than
scheduled in the new security pact between the two countries, Iran's
Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said Tuesday.

"According to the pact, the US forces would leave Iraq until 2011
but considering the capability of the Iraqi government (to run the
country by itself), the withdrawal of the US forces should be made
sooner," the speaker said.

"The proposal by the newly elected US president (Barack Obama) to
withdraw the forces within 16 months is more suitable," Larijani added.

Nicosia, Nov 18 - The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has formally approved the feasibility report submitted by ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) and its consortium partners on the discovery made in Iran''s Farsi offshore block, which covers an area of 3,5000 sq km.

The feasibility report was submitted by OVL and its partners - the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Oil India Ltd last December.

Following this development, the consortium of Indian companies led by OVL, can now work towards the development of the gas field. Iran follows a bidding mechanism for giving development rights.

Tehran - The Iranian parliament on Tuesday approved Sadeq Mahsouli, a former university lecturer, as interior minister, Tehran radio reported.

Mahsouli, 49, an ideological ally of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, received the support of 138 of the 273 deputies voting at the confirmation hearing, the report said.

Mahsouli is replacing Ali Kordan, who was dismissed by parliament last week for having presented the lawmakers a faked Oxford University honorary doctorate.

The interior minister is directly in charge of the presidential elections scheduled for June, in which Ahmadinejad is to seek a second term in office.

New York, Nov. 17 : Israel believes there is a chance for dialogue with Iran if Barack Obama succeeds in uniting the international community behind a common policy.

Israeli President Shimon Peres was quoted by The Times as saying ahead of visit to London, that his country’s most implacable foe could be brought to the negotiating table depending on a new political climate and economic factors, in particular a falling oil price.

Tehran - Iran is to hold a conference to review the victory of Barack Obama in the US presidential elections and its impact on Tehran-Washington relations, the website of news network Press TV reported Monday.

One of the featured speakers will be Iran's former ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammad-Javad Zarif, who is considered a US expert, the report said.

It said Obama's pledge to hold unconditional talks with Iran has brought hope of change in Iran-US ties after almost three decades of diplomatic estrangement.