The US has warned Iran it will not tolerate any disruption of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran threatened to choke off the vital Persian Gulf oil transport route if Washington imposes sanctions targeting its crude exports.

A pair of gunmen firing from motorcycles killed an Iranian physicist involved in the country's disputed nuclear programme today in an attack similar to other recent assassinations of scientists which Tehran has blamed on the US and Israel.

At least six leading opposition activists have been detained in the continuing crackdown on protesters in the Gulf kingdom of Bahrain, reports say.

An Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery confesses to helping a man kill her husband in a re-enactment on state television – the latest state-orchestrated broadcast in a case that has raised an international outcry.

AN Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery confesses to helping a man kill her husband in a re-enactment on state television — the latest state-orchestrated broadcast in a case that has raised an international outcry.

Indian forces killed 13 protesters and wounded scores of others in confrontations across Kashmir fuelled in part by a report that a Koran was desecrated in the United States, police said.

Iran will not send a woman who had faced death by stoning on an adultery conviction to Brazil, which has offered her asylum, the president said.

A handmade grenade exploded near President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s convoy in western Iran today, but the leader was not harmed, according to reports.

Iranian security forces stormed a series of opposition offices today, rounding up at least seven prominent anti-government activists in a new crackdown against the country’s reformist movement, opposition websites and activists reported.

A blast targeted a busload of Iranian pilgrims in a suburb of Damascus today and casualties are reported, Arab satellite television stations said.

IRANIAN security forces beat anti-government protesters with batons yesterday on the sidelines of state-sanctioned rallies to mark the 30th anniversary of the US Embassy takeover.

Iran will agree to the “general framework” of a UN-drafted plan to ship enriched uranium out of the country for processing, but will seek “important changes” in the deal, state television said today.

The disappearance of an Iranian nuclear scientist on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia in June is raising questions about whether he defected and gave the West information on Iran’s nuclear programme.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD was sworn in for a second term as Iran’s president yesterday while security forces battled hundreds of protesters chanting “Death to the Dictator” in the streets around parliament where the ceremony was held.

Thousands of protesters streamed down streets in Tehran, chanting “death to the dictator” and defying security forces who fired tear gas and charged with batons, witnesses said.

HUNDREDS of young men and women chanted “Death to the dictator”, confronting police wielding batons and firing tear gas in the capital yesterday as opposition activists sought to revive street protests despite authorities’ vows to “smash” any new marches.

IRAN’S election oversight body last night declared the hotly-disputed presidential vote valid after a partial recount, rejecting opposition allegations of fraud and further silencing calls for a new vote.

PROTESTERS clashed with riot police again yesterday around Iran’s parliament, as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the country won’t annul the results of last week’s disputed presidential election.

Iran’s top electoral body today rejected calls to scrap the country’s disputed election, ending hopes of a rerun demanded by angry opposition supporters.

AN EERIE calm settled over the streets of Tehran yesterday as state media reported at least 10 more deaths in post-election unrest and said authorities arrested the daughter and four other relatives of ex-President Hashemi Rafsanjani, one of Iran’s most powerful men.

Iran directly accused the United States of meddling in the deepening crisis over a disputed presidential election and broadened its media clampdown to include blogs and news websites.

SUPPORTERS of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and defeated challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi staged rival rallies yesterday, while the clerical regime said it would recount some disputed ballots from the presidential election.

Iranian state TV aired video today purporting to show a weekend stand-off between small Iranian boats and US naval ships in the Persian Gulf.