Iran said Friday that next week's presidential election in Syria, branded a farce by Western governments, will boost the legitimacy of its ally Bashar Assad.

"God willing, the elections in Syria will be carried out without a hitch," said Ali Akbar Velayati, the senior foreign policy adviser to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran must prove through actions that it is willing to make key policy changes to mend fences with Gulf Arabs, analysts said ahead of a landmark visit by Kuwait's emir.

The weekend visit of Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, whose country currently heads the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Arab summit, is an opportunity for Tehran to turn over a new leaf in Gulf ties, they said.

Iranian police have arrested a woman journalist who covered parliament for pro-reform media on orders from the conservative-controlled judiciary, the pro-reform Sharq newspaper reported Thursday.

"Saba Azarpeyk was arrested yesterday (Wednesday) morning at her home," the daily said, adding that the grounds for her arrest were not immediately clear.

Saudi Arabia has invited Iran to attend a meeting of Islamic bloc foreign ministers in Jeddah next month, an Iranian official said in comments published Thursday.

Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian welcomed the "friendly" gesture by Iran's regional rival, with which relations have been strained by the Syrian conflict and the fallout from unrest in Bahrain.

An Iranian judge has summoned Facebook co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg to answer allegations that his company's apps have breached people's privacy, it was reported Tuesday.

A series of rows over Internet access have in recent months underscored the gulf between Iranian moderates, who seek fewer online restrictions, and conservatives who want more.

Pharrell Williams says everyone should be able to celebrate their joy — including Iranian youths who were arrested for posting an Internet video of them dancing to his song "Happy."

Some in Iran see the video as promoting the spread of Western culture. Iranian laws ban women from dancing in public or appearing outside with heads uncovered.

A 5.1 magnitude earthquake shook a southern Iranian city on Tuesday, U.S. seismologists said, with the tremor felt as far away as Dubai but no immediate reports of casualties.

The quake struck at around 10 am (0430 GMT) and was centered 66 kilometers (41 miles) south of Qeshm by the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Kuwait expressed its hopes on Monday that a landmark visit by Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to visit Iran next week will strengthen security, stability and peace in the Gulf.

The visit comes amid a recent thaw in relations between Shiite Iran and the Sunni-ruled Gulf states despite high sectarian tensions over the conflicts in Syria and Iraq.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met behind closed doors Monday in Istanbul to discuss the path toward a final nuclear deal, an Iranian source said.

The previously announced two-day meeting comes after fruitless talks between Iran and world powers in Vienna earlier this month when no "tangible progress" was made ahead of a July 20 deadline for a comprehensive agreement.

Iranian actress Leila Hatami Friday apologized for kissing the Cannes film festival's president on the cheek, an act which angered authorities in the Islamic republic, state news agency IRNA reported.

"I am so sorry for hurting the feelings of some people," she wrote in a letter to Iran's cinema organisation, cited by IRNA.