(AP) – The international community must rule out military intervention as a solution to the Syrian crisis, the leader of a global Islamic group said Wednesday.

Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary general of the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation, said he remained involved in “quiet diplomacy activities” with Syrian President Bashar Assad over the power struggle that has cost more than 5,000 lives over the last 11 months.

(Reuters) – Young Iranians abandoned thoughts of sanctions, nuclear power and economic hardship on Tuesday in favour of shopping for gifts and making dinner plans to celebrate love on Valentine’s Day.
Despite rising tensions with the West over its nuclear ambitions, many Tehran restaurants were fully booked and young Iranians could be seen out browsing gift shops in the capital to buy presents for loved ones in defiance of a ban on Valentine’s Day items aimed at preventing the spread of “Western culture”.

Iranian authorities banned the sale of Valentine cards and other heart-shaped products last year and police have warned that action will be taken against those who violate the ban.

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil El-Arabi called for a joint monitoring force with the United Nations for Syria to replace his group’s mission, which was suspended as violence persisted.

The United States and Europe are considering unprecedented punishment against Iran that could immediately cripple the country’s financial lifeline. But it’s an extreme option in the banking world that would come with its own costs.

The Obama administration wants Iran evicted from SWIFT, an independent financial clearinghouse that is crucial to the country’s overseas oil sales

Foreign Secretary William Hague has condemned Iran’s attempts to suppress freedom of expression, a year after opposition leaders were put under house arrest.

Tunisia’s state news agency says an appeals court has dismissed a criminal lawsuit filed by authorities against the former Libyan prime minister for allegedly crossing into the country illegally

(Reuters) – Iran will load domestically made nuclear fuel rods into its Tehran Research Reactor on Wednesday for the first time to keep it running, a senior official told a national news agency.

(AP) – Syrian President Bashar Assad has ordered a referendum on Feb. 26 on a new constitution that would open the way to political parties other than the ruling Baath Party, the state news agency said Wednesday

The US and its allies are closely monitoring Syria’s stockpiles of chemical arms and portable anti-aircraft missiles, a State Department official says, amid concerns that the country’s unconventional weapons could fall into the hands of terrorist or militant groups while the 11-month-old uprising continues.

An oil pipeline in the central Syrian city of Homs was attacked Wednesday, setting off a huge blaze, while regime troops stormed several residential neighborhoods in the nearby city of Hama, activists said.

Iranian engineers have succeeded in neutralizing and purging the computer virus known as Stuxnet from their country’s nuclear machinery, European and U.S. officials and private experts have told Reuters.

A high official for leading Islamist movement the Muslim Brotherhood has threatened to change the terms of Egypts 1979 peace treaty with Israel if the US withdraws aid to the country

Bahrain’s foreign minister says US not backing war on Iran.

Tensions over Iran rose several notches on Wednesday following a series of suspected bomb plots against Israeli diplomats in different countries, and ahead of an expected announcement on Teheran’s nuclear progress. Iranian officials have denied any involvement in the alleged plots in Thailand, India.

Ahmad Al Saadoon, a veteran politician and three-time speaker of Kuwait Parliament, has been elected the new speaker. The Kuwaiti emir on Wednesday inaugurated the new opposition-dominated parliament by calling on MPs and the government to cooperate

Tehran summoned the ambassadors of six European Union states Wednesday, to protest EU sanctions against the Islamic state, Khabar news network reported. The foreign ministry in Tehran reportedly summoned the ambassadors of France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands and Spain.

A Syrian dissident military officer, Capt. Abdul Salam Ahmed Abdul Razek, said the Syrian regime is using internationally prohibited poisonous gas against protestors under the supervision of both Iran and Russia.

Tamir Pardo, the head of Mossad, made a secret trip to Washington earlier this month to gauge the likely American reaction to an independent Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Al Arabiya is exposed to deliberate jamming on the Arabsat by the Syrian regime. Accordingly, Al Arabiya transmission on that satellite will stop staring Thursday at 2100 GMT (00:00 KSA) and other permanent and alternative frequencies would be provided.

The United Nations General Assembly will vote Thursday on a new resolution calling on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to put a stop to deadly attacks on civilians, diplomats said, as China warned that missteps by the U.N. Security Council could cause worse bloodshed in Syria.