Iran is two months away from breakout capability to produce enough nuclear material for a bomb should they resume their mothballed enrichment process, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned Tuesday.

Tehran is in the thick of international negotiations over its nuclear program, with a fresh round of talks beginning on Tuesday in Vienna aimed at starting a draft of an historic final deal.

Iran on Tuesday defended its appointment of Hamid Aboutalebi as its U.N. ambassador, brushing aside U.S. concerns over his alleged links to the 1979 U.S. hostage crisis.

"Iran has selected a veteran diplomat with a clear and successful (diplomatic) record as its ambassador to the United Nations," foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham told AFP.

Iran has criticized a European Parliament human rights resolution, saying the body lacks the "legitimacy" to advise countries on such matters, media reported on Monday.

The resolution passed on Thursday condemned Iran over "continued, systematic violation of fundamental rights," and said its 2013 presidential election was not "held in accordance with the democratic standards".

Four Iranian soldiers abducted by Sunni extremists have returned home after being held for two months in neighboring Pakistan, state media on Sunday cited the intelligence ministry as saying.

The ministry did not address the fate of Jamshid Danayifar, a fifth soldier abducted alongside his fellow border guards on February 6.

Nuclear talks between technical experts from Iran and world powers preparing for a third round of talks next week on a lasting deal were "useful", Iran's lead negotiator said Saturday.

"The technical positions help us to understand better our respective positions," Hamid Baeedinejad told the IRNA news agency after three days of discussions in Vienna.

Iranian soldiers captured by Jaish-ul Adl rebels near the Pakistani border in February have been freed, the Sunni extremist group and an Iranian official announced Friday.

However, there was no indication of how many of the five border guards had been released after Jaish-ul Adl, which operates in southeastern Iran, claimed last month to have executed one of them.

The so-called Free Sunnis of Baalbek Brigade slammed on Friday the security plan implemented by “the non-Lebanese army” in the northern city of Tripoli, considering that the military raids are violating the sanctity of Muslim homes.

“The army's mice are not being considerate of the sanctity of the Muslim homes and the presence of women in them,” the brigade said via Twitter.

Yemen's president in an interview published Monday defended the U.S. use of drones against al-Qaida in his country, despite criticism from rights groups and a parliamentary vote to ban them.

President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi also again accused Iran of supporting southern secessionists and northern rebels as Yemen undergoes a difficult political transition.

Thousands of travelers, many of them visiting family during the Iranian new year holidays, have been rescued after being trapped by unexpected snowstorms in north Iran, a report said Monday.

"Since yesterday (Sunday), teams have rescued around 14,000 travelers caught in the heavy snow," Red Crescent spokesman Hossein Derakhshan told the official IRNA news agency.

Iran and its "destabilizing actions" in the Middle East remain a source of concern for Washington despite progress in negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program, a top U.S. official said Friday.

Deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes made the comments to reporters accompanying Barack Obama on his visit to Saudi Arabia, during which the U.S. president will be seeking to assure Saudi officials that Washington has not changed its policy on Iran.