Iran's main cultural centre in the Sudanese capital was closed on Sunday, an AFP correspondent reported, amid reports of Khartoum playing a balancing act between maintaining ties with Riyadh and Tehran.  The Iranian flag still flew above the building on one of Khartoum's main roads across from the airport but an AFP reporter found the gate padlocked and no sign of anybody inside.

A Sudanese official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Thursday that the centers would close their doors by Sunday. Sudan’s foreign ministry told the centers to stop work and ordered their Iranian staff to leave the country. "The decision to close the Iranian cultural centre is final and there will be no retreat from that," foreign ministry spokesman Yousif al-Kourdafani said, quoted Sunday by the official SUNA news agency. Sudan said it acted in response to the centres’ spre

For the first time, seasoned entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley and Iran will convene to explore and elucidate the opportunities and challenges of high tech entrepreneurship in Iran and its impact on the country’s ongoing economic development. The conference is predicated on the notion that the promotion of entrepreneurship and innovation is the indispensable key to sustainable growth.

His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah underscored the importance of public diplomacy in strengthening ties between friendly nations. His Highness the Prime Minister's remark was made Sunday during his reception at Seif Palace of a Kuwait media delegation which has recently paid a visit to Iran. His Highness Sheikh Jaber lauded Kuwaiti media delegation's initiative to visit Iran, adding that such popular visits are in essential to build and boost people-to-people relations between countries.

Since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the Iranian and American people have been isolated from one another due to long-standing disputes between their governments. Routine interactions, like sporting events between national clubs, and other cultural exchanges have been few and far between. However, recently thousands of fans across Southern California were able to witness a rarity: the U.S. and Iranian national volleyball teams squaring off in friendly exhibition matches as part of a goodwill exchange between the two estranged nations.

The statement came from the head of the cultural center of the Iranian embassy in Azerbaijan Ibrahim Ibrahimi speaking at the press conference in Baku. According to Ibrahimi, they put forward a proposal for joint action of national orchestras of Iran and Azerbaijan in both countries as well as in other countries. "I hope that in this connection the contract will be signed by the end of the year", he said.