Tehran, September 9: Archeologists have discovered a burial ground and a unique burial ritual dating back to Sassanid and post-Islamic eras in northern Iran, around 1,500 years ago.

According to a report in Press TV, recent excavations in the northern province of Mazandaran uncovered a burial ground, and brought to light a unique burial ritual.

Nails were discovered around the ancient bodies, but archeologists say that these did not come from any coffin.

The nails were found in a deliberate pattern.

Tehran  - The next presidential elections will be held on June 12, 2009, the Iranian interior ministry announced Sunday.

Beijing - Chinese President Hu Jintao and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad held talks on Saturday, amid ongoing differences between Iran and Western nations over its nuclear programme.

China's official Xinhua news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying Iran and China had "developed a sound cooperative relationship through exchanges and communication in multiple areas."

Hu thanked the Iranian leader for his country's help after the devastating Sichuan earthquake in May and for its support for the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics, the agency said.

Tehran  - Tehran on Friday rejected remarks by President Nicolas Sarkozy on Iran's nuclear weapons being a threat to the region and the whole world.

"Nuclear weapons have no place in Iran's defence doctrine," foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi was quoted by Fars news agency as saying.

Sarkozy on Thursday asked his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad for support in opposing Iran's controversial nuclear programme.

Tehran/Berlin  - The Iranian Foreign Ministry called in the French charge d'affaires in Tehran Wednesday to demand that the European Union (EU) prevent the holding of an "anti-Islam congress" planned for the German city of Cologne later this month.

The Foreign Ministry voiced concern about what it called the "growing anti-Islam trend" in Europe, appealing to the current French presidency of the EU to act, the official news agency IRNA reported.

Tehran - Bolivian President