A nuclear-armed Iran would not pose a fundamental threat to the United States and its regional allies like Israel and the Gulf Arab monarchies, according to a new report released on Friday by the Rand Corporation.

• May 18, 2013

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Iran must take part in a proposed international conference to end Syria's civil war, but that Western states wanted to limit the participants and possibly predetermine the outcome of the talks.

• May 17, 2013

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the southern Russian city of Sochi for talks centered on the crisis in Syria.

• May 17, 2013

The first contingent of Kurdish rebels leaving Turkey as part of a peace deal with Ankara has arrived in the Harur area of Iraqi Kurdistan.

• May 15, 2013

If Iran's supreme leader were to write a job description for the country's next president, loyalty and obedience to the Islamic establishment would be high on the list of requirements.

• May 14, 2013

A special investigative group has been established to look into the circumstances surrounding the brief war between Georgia and Russia in August 2008.

• May 14, 2013

Austria will resist British-led efforts to lift or dilute a European Union arms embargo on Syrian rebels, Chancellor Werner Faymann said on Tuesday, arguing that more weapons would only fan the fighting and may snuff out chances for peace talks.

• May 14, 2013

Iran's foreign minister has condemned the use of chemical weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction.

• May 13, 2013