A far more compelling contest between Ghana and Germany will shortly demand your attention.  But just for an instant, you were a witness to someone else’s history. You wanted them to do well. That’s the most potent form of diplomacy.

Jim Riddle was surprised when he got an email from Iran. The Minnesota farmer, and former chairman of the US National Organic Standards Board, says he was invited to speak at the Second International Organic Agriculture conference in Tehran. Since Riddle had never been to Iran before, he says he wasn't sure if his trip would conflict with US sanctions against Iran. So he checked with the USDA and State Department and he says they told him about some cultural, sports and academic exchanges that are going on. "[It's] kind of like soft diplomacy," he says.

In Iran, the cycle of presidential elections has coincided with the culmination of the nation’s World Cup qualifying campaigns; for a country whose relationship with the international community has been so complex and problematic, the presence of Team Melli (as they are known) at the tournament has taken on immense significance.

Iran sent 2,000 advance troops to Iraq to help fight an extreme jihadist insurgency effectively seizing control of major cities in the country, a senior Iraqi official told The Guardian on Saturday.

Argentina, the United States and Iran appear to be the most disliked World Cup teams. Brazilian fans enter the World Cup as the most confident, though Argentines and Spaniards aren’t far behind in their home-country optimism. And fans across many countries agree that the Brazilians play the most attractive form of soccer. These are among the results from a study of people in 19 countries conducted by YouGov, the online survey firm, in collaboration with The Upshot. 

Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, has said that, Turkey and Iran are two important countries in the Islamic world and determined to stand against violence and extremism in the Middle East.  In a joint press conference with Rouhani, Abdullah Gul, the Turkish president, said that they discussed political, economic and cultural relations.

The ambassadors of Sri Lanka and Mexico have met with Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati during separate meetings in Tehran to discuss the expansion of cultural cooperation, the Culture Ministry announced in a press release on Saturday.