Nicosia - Cypriot authorities began on Saturday an investigation into an Iranian vessel suspected of carrying illicit weapons supplies, Cypriot media have reported.

The vessel was escorted into Limassol harbour by an American warship at the beginning of the week, after being intercepted in the eastern Mediterranean.

Authorities suspect that the vessel was carrying munitions destined for Syria, under a Cypriot flag, from where they were to be delivered to militant organizations in Lebanon or the Palestinian territories.

Beirut  - An Iranian aid ship carrying medical supplies for Gaza has arrived in Beirut after its organizers said Friday it was denied entry by Egypt.

Ghazanfar Rokn-Abadi, spokesman for the Gaza Reconstruction Committee of Iran, said: "The ship was forced to change course after Egypt denied it entry."

"We waited 24 hours and then decided to head for Lebanon," the spokesman was quoted by Lebanese radios as saying. The Iran Shahed arrived in Beirut, late Thursday.

Tehran - Iran on Friday hailed Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his row with Israeli President Shimon Peres over the Gaza Strip at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

"We thank Mr Erdogan and hail what he did in Davos," said former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani at a Friday prayer ceremony in Tehran. "This attitude exploded in the world like a bomb."

Tehran - Iran expects US President Barack Obama to adopt a fair and rational approach toward the Islamic state, former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani said at a Friday prayer ceremony in Tehran.

"Repeating the policies by [former US president George W] Bush would not solve anything, but the new administration should adopt a fair and rational approach toward Iran," said Rafsanjani, who still plays an influential role in Iran's political scene as head of the Experts Assembly, the country's highest clerical body.

Tehran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday said that if the changes proclaimed by his US counterpart were serious, Tehran would welcome them.

"If the changes mentioned (by Obama) were truly serious and basic, then we would welcome them, but if there was only a change of rhetoric or tactics, then nothing would change," Ahmadinejad said in a speech in the city Kermanshah in western Iran.

US President Obama on Monday said "if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us."

Washington - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates accused Iran on Tuesday of "meddling" in Latin America and said it was a greater concern than Russia's naval visit to Venezuela last year.

"I'm concerned about the level of frankly subversive activity that the Iranians are carrying on in a number of places in Latin America, particularly South America and Central America," Gates told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The Iranians have opened "a lot of" offices that serve as fronts to "interfere in what is going on in some of these countries," Gates said.