THE EU’s top diplomat said he would hand Iran a generous offer today aimed at resolving a deepening dispute over its nuclear ambitions that has helped push up oil prices to record highs.

AN Iranian cleric said yesterday that the religious edict calling for the killing of Salman Rushdie cannot be revoked, and he warned Britain was defying the Islamic world by granting the author knighthood.

A high-level Iranian hard-line cleric today said the religious edict calling for the killing of Salman Rushdie remained in place and can not be revoked.