Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi said the unfinished Arak reactor could be modified to produce less plutonium in a bid to reassure the West, local media reported Thursday.

The Arak site is of concern to Western nations because Tehran could theoretically extract weapons-grade plutonium from its spent fuel if it also builds a reprocessing facility, potentially giving it a second route to an atomic bomb.

A scheduled television address by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was aired nearly an hour late on Wednesday after what the official IRNA news agency said was a block by the state broadcasting chief.

The news agency gave no explanation for the unexpected disruption by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) chief Ezatollah Zarghami, even after "all elements of this live address had been fixed."

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Wednesday rejected as "worthless" a U.S. claim that Tehran has no need for some of its nuclear facilities, media reported.

"Iran's nuclear technology is non-negotiable and comments about Iran's nuclear facilities are worthless and there is no need to negotiate or hold talks about them," said Zarif, reacting to the remarks of the U.S. top diplomat in the nuclear talks, ISNA news agency reported.

U.S. officials declared Tuesday that Iran is "not open for business" and vowed to scrutinize companies heading to the Islamic republic since it entered a temporary nuclear agreement.

Testifying before skeptical lawmakers, President Barack Obama's administration detailed initial sanctions relief to Iran, including the transfer of $550 million in frozen oil revenues as part of a six-month nuclear agreement.

Sweden's foreign minister, the latest high-level Western diplomat to visit Tehran, said Tuesday that a comprehensive international nuclear agreement with Iran is possible within six months, media reported.

"If there is a good will on both sides a deal is possible within a very ambitious time scale of six months," Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said during a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.

An Egyptian court will begin hearing testimonies in the murder trial of deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi from Wednesday, when a former top military officer will give evidence.

In the brief session on Tuesday, the court decided to convene again on Wednesday to hear testimony from the former head of the military's Republican Guard, the unit tasked with providing security for Egypt's presidents.

The heaviest snowstorm in five decades has blanketed provinces in northern Iran, cutting power supplies and trapping villagers, Iranian media reported Monday.

The storm is "unprecedented for the past 50 years, with two meters (almost seven feet) of snow falling since Friday," a Mazandaran provincial official said, quoted by the media.

Iran has arrested several anti-corruption officials on fraud charges, the justice minister announced on Sunday.

"In the Government Discretionary Punishments Organization (GDPO), some of our colleagues have been corrupted," Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi said, quoted by Fars news agency.

A delegation of former world leaders from The Elders group called Thursday for Iran to be included in resolving the Syria conflict, following a three-day trip to Tehran.

Led by former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan, the four-strong group also called for a final push on reaching an agreement on Iran's nuclear program, for the sake of regional stability.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani accepted Thursday the resignation of the vice president for cultural heritage, Mohammad Ali Najafi, who suffers heart problems, media reported.

Najafi, who headed the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization, had repeatedly sought to resign since his appointment in August.