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Slovak Paragliders Accused of Spying in Iran Return Home

Two Slovak paragliders arrested in Iran for allegedly spying returned home early Friday after 205 days in prison, officials said.

"We learned our lesson and we'll try to prepare better for our journeys and think twice when picking our destinations," one of the paragliders Pavol Seliga told journalists upon arriving in Bratislava overnight.

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European Parliament Delegation Arrives in Tehran

A delegation from the European Parliament arrived in Iran on Friday for talks with senior Iranian officials, state news agency IRNA reported, and met with a prominent human rights lawyer.

The team of eight European lawmakers will meet parliament speaker Ali Larijani and the head of the national security and foreign policy committee Alaeddin Boroujerdi during their six-day visit, IRNA said.

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EU Says Iran Nuclear Talks Expected to 'Continue Soon'

Talks on implementing last month's Iran nuclear deal have been interrupted for further consultations in the expectation they will resume "soon", a spokesman for the EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said Friday.

"After four days of lengthy and detailed talks, reflecting the complexity of the technical issues discussed, it became clear that further work is needed," spokesman Michael Mann said.

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Expert-Level Iran Nuclear Talks Prove Heavy Going

Talks on implementing last month's nuclear deal with Iran are proving to be a hard slog, diplomats said Thursday on a fourth day of discussions with no end in sight.

Participants in Vienna said there were differences of opinion about sequencing Iran's promised nuclear freeze and the easing of sanctions agreed in last month's landmark deal in Geneva.

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Iran, Saudi Arabia among 30 Countries Invited to Syria Talks

Iran and Saudi Arabia, which back opposite sides in Syria's war, are among more than 30 countries slated to attend a peace conference next month, diplomats said.

The so-called Geneva 2 conference, a follow-up to a 2012 meeting, is aimed at mapping out a political transition to end nearly three years of fighting that has killed more than 120,000 people and displaced millions.

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IRNA: Iran Frees Two Slovak Paragliders Held for Spying

Iran released the last two of eight Slovak paragliders who were arrested in May for allegedly spying, the official news agency IRNA reported on Thursday.

"Two citizens who were arrested for violating the laws of the Islamic republic of Iran were released and handed over to their embassy" on Wednesday, said IRNA.

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No Start Date for Iran Nuclear Freeze Expected from Vienna Talks

Experts from Iran, world powers and the U.N. atomic watchdog discussing how to implement November's nuclear deal are set to fall short of agreeing a start date for Tehran's six-month nuclear freeze, diplomats said.

The meeting between Iran and the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France, Germany – the so-called P5+1 -- was making progress however, they said.

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Israel Says Iran Embassies Used as 'Terror Bases'

Israel's defense minister on Monday accused Iran of using its embassies as terrorist bases and transferring guns and bombs through diplomatic pouches, without providing evidence for the claims.

The two regional foes are widely believed to be locked in a covert war over Iran's nuclear program, with Tehran blaming Israel for the killing of its nuclear scientists and Israel accusing Iran and its Lebanese ally Hizbullah of attacks in third countries.

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Azerbaijan Jails 10 over Eurovision Plot

A court in Azerbaijan on Monday jailed another 10 people on charges of plotting attacks during the Eurovision Song Contest hosted last year by the ex-Soviet state.

A source at the court for serious crimes in the capital Baku told Agence France Presse they were sentenced to jail terms of three to 10 years.

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U.N. Says Iraq Must Reveal Fate of Missing Iran Exiles

U.N. rights experts demanded Monday that Baghdad get to the bottom of what happened to seven Iranian opposition members missing since a September attack on a refugee camp in Iraq.

"We call upon the government of Iraq to speed up the investigations in order to disclose the fate and whereabouts of the individuals," the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances said in a statement.

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