Reuters: Metals swap deals with Iran by Switzerland-based commodities giants Glencore Xstrata and Trafigura could have been a way of skirting international sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program, according to a confidential U.N. Panel of Experts report seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

Washington Post: Iran has begun paving over a former military site where its scientists are suspected to have conducted nuclear-weapons-related experiments, according to a new U.N. report, a move that could doom efforts to reconstruct a critical part of Iran’s nuclear history.

AFP: Iran could face tightened sanctions within months after a US congressional panel Wednesday adopted a measure targeting the nation's auto and mining industries as well as its foreign currency reserves.

Iran Focus: The security forces have reportedly detained a number of former Preisdent, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s campaign staff in the aftermath of his disqualification by the watchdog Guardian Council.

AFP: The UN nuclear watchdog's latest report on Iran's nuclear program marks the "unfortunate milestone" of a decade of Iranian defiance of the body, the US State Department said Wednesday.

Reuters: A U.S. House of Representatives committee approved legislation on Wednesday seeking to impose tighter sanctions on Iran, the latest congressional effort to slow development of the Islamic Republic's disputed nuclear program.

AFP: Bahrain on Wednesday said it has found an Iranian drone in the kingdom's north near Saudi Arabia and called for increased cooperation between regional security services to face "threats" from Tehran.

AFP: Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hit out Wednesday at a decision to disqualify a close ally from a vote to elect his successor, while former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani had no objections to his own omission.

ABC News: The United States has new evidence that Iran and Hezbollah have direct involvement with the Syrian regime, a senior State Department official told reporters traveling with Secretary of State John Kerry in Oman.

AFP: Iran's moderate ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has been barred from standing in next month's presidential election, along with a controversial aide of incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the interior ministry said on Tuesday.

AFP: Saudi authorities have arrested 10 more suspects in an alleged Iranian spy ring unveiled two months ago, an interior ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.

Reuters: A U.N. nuclear agency report due this week is expected to show Iran further increasing its capacity to produce material that its adversaries fear could eventually be put to developing atomic bombs, Western diplomats said on Tuesday.

AFP: Iran's June 14 presidential election steps up a gear on Tuesday when the Guardians Council releases the approved list of candidates who have passed muster under the vetting process.

AP: Iran's election overseers said Monday they will bar candidates who are physically weak from running in next month's presidential election, a reference to a former leader seen as a threat to hard-liners.

AP: Iran says it has started mass producing a new sophisticated air defense missile system capable of engaging low-altitude aircraft.

Gulf News: Bahrain has condemned a statement by an Iranian minister as flagrant interference in its internal affairs and unprecedented behaviour in relations between sovereign countries.

AP: Several Iranian newspapers are citing a senior Revolutionary Guard commander as warning his forces will be on watch for possible unrest after the June 14 presidential election.

AP: Iran's state radio says authorities have executed two men convicted of spying for Israel's Mossad and the American CIA spy agency.