Tehran - The United States has not yet issued a visa for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to attend the United Nations General Assembly later this month in New York, Fars news agency reported Saturday.

Despite a timely application for the visas, no visas have yet been issued for the president and any of the Iranian delegation members, Fars said.

Tehran  - The next presidential elections will be held on June 12, 2009, the Iranian interior ministry announced Sunday.

Beijing - Chinese President Hu Jintao and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad held talks on Saturday, amid ongoing differences between Iran and Western nations over its nuclear programme.

China's official Xinhua news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying Iran and China had "developed a sound cooperative relationship through exchanges and communication in multiple areas."

Hu thanked the Iranian leader for his country's help after the devastating Sichuan earthquake in May and for its support for the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics, the agency said.

Tehran  - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has ordered that certification be proved of an honorary doctorate from Oxford University which his interior minister claims to have, Iran's official IRNA news agency said Wednesday.

Newly-appointed Interior Minister Ali Kordan had earlier this week claimed to have an honorary doctorate in law from the university, which the British institution categorically denied.

Tehran  - Any new sanctions would make Iran stronger and more decisive in achieving its technological goals, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday in a speech in Arak, central Iran.

"You have witnessed that despite sanctions we not only moved forward in the nuclear issue but even launched a satellite-carrier," Ahmadinejad said in the speech carried live by the news network Khabar.