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Nadezhda Savchenko was sentenced to 22 years in prison in Russia last month for her alleged role in the deaths of two Russian joualists in rebel-held easte Ukraine.

Kiev has insisted that Savchenko is a prisoner of war and should be immediately released, AP reported.

Poroshenko said Tuesday that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in a telephone call Monday on a formula that will allow Savchenko to be retued. Poroshenko wouldn't elaborate what that is.

"Yesterday's phone conversation was my idea, and judging by the preparation work I think we have agreed on a certain algorithm that would allow Nadezhda's release," Poroshenko said during a news conference in Kiev with the Danish prime minister.

Poroshenko also said he has given orders to the foreign ministry and the justice ministry to "prepare the mechanisms to retu Nadezhda Savchenko home as soon as possible."

He would not say, however, when he expected Savchenko to be retued but added that he told Putin that he was ready to send a presidential jet to Russia to take her home.

The Ukrainian president mentioned Monday's conviction of two Russian officers in Kiev, saying that the verdict allows for the swap to go forward.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters earlier that the two presidents talked about Savchenko as well as two Russian officers convicted Monday of waging a war of aggression in Ukraine.

Peskov would not respond to Poroshenko's statement when contacted by the Interfax news agency, but only said that her future was discussed during Monday's call.

China appointed Xie Xiaoyan, a former ambassador to Iran, as its special envoy for Syria last month, and he is in Geneva participating in peace talks, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing on Tuesday, the official website of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.

After the peace talks are over in Geneva, she said, he will head to Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Russia for bilateral talks with the countries’ senior officials.

The Chinese spokeswoman provided no further details about the timing of the envoy’s trip.

Xie is going to "have a deep exchange of views with relevant parties on pushing for a political solution to the Syria crisis", Hua added.

Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with Takfiri terrorists, including Daesh, currently controlling parts of it, mostly in the east.

The Syrian conflict has killed at least 260,000 people, according to the UN, and more than half of Syria’s pre-war population of 22.4 million has been inteally displaced or fled abroad.

Moniz said on Monday that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Tehran and six world powers is “the strongest nonproliferation agreement, I think, that has ever been negotiated”.

“After 15 years, Iran will have all its prerogatives to develop a peaceful (nuclear) program, but again, we have a strong verification provision that will continue beyond that,” he said as quoted by The Brown Daily Herald.

Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) reached the nuclear deal on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16.

The comprehensive nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), terminated all nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran.

“Given the long list of conces I have expressed ... it’s difficult to imagine a scenario in which the president would sign the bill as it's currently drafted,” White House press secretary Josh Eaest told reporters on Monday.

Eaest argued the legislation could jeopardize US citizens overseas if other countries were to pass reciprocal laws that remove foreign immunity in their courts.

“It could put the United States and our taxpayers and our service members and our diplomats at significant risk if other countries were to adopt a similar law,” he said, the Hill reported.

“The whole notion of sovereign immunity is at stake.”

The legislation drew widespread attention after Saudi officials reportedly informed the Obama administration that they would sell off $750 billion in US assets if the bill became law, a threat that carries widespread economic consequences if the Saudis follow through.

Eaest appeared to strongly caution the Saudi govement against taking such a step.

“A country with a mode and large economy like Saudi Arabia would not benefit from a destabilized global financial market, and neither would the United States,” he said.

The fierce debate over the legislation has bubbled up at a precarious time for Obama, who is set to land in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to meet with King Salman.

Eaest said he is not sure if Obama will raise the issue during a meeting in which the leaders are expected to discuss the Iran nuclear agreement and the fight against Daesh (ISIL) in Iraq and Syria.

"If this issue were to come up ... the potential consequences of rolling back this core principle of inteational law is how the president would explain our position to his counterparts," he said.

Saudi officials have for years denied their govement had any role in the plotting of the attacks. The 9/11 Commission report said the Saudi govement “as an institution” or its senior officials individually did not fund the attackers.

But there has long been speculation that lower-level officials may have been involved. And victims' families and lawmakers in both parties have pressed for the release of 28 pages of a 2002 report on the attacks that reportedly detail Saudi officials’ role in the plot.

The legislation, the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, would allow victims of terror attacks on US soil to sue the govements of nations that support terrorism.

It has bipartisan support; Sens. John Coyn (R-Texas) and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) both authored the bill. They argue it would allow American citizens to recoup damages from countries that have provided financial support to groups like al Qaeda.

Eaest said Obama has "devoted significant time in office to fighting for the 9/11 families and those who have risked their lives to rebuild after 9/11."

"Remember the debate over how much money Iran was going to get? Sometimes you hear some of the presidential candidates putting out a mistaken figure of $155 billion. I never thought it would be that," Kerry said to delegates at a dinner hosted by the progressive pro-Israel group J Street, AFP reported on Monday.

He added that others think that the windfall would be about $100 billion because there was supposedly about $100 billion that was frozen and so forth.

"We calculated it to be about $55 billion, when you really take a hard look at the economy and what is happening," he said, giving the usual State Department estimate.

"Guess what folks. You know how much they have received to date? As I stand here tonight, about $3 billion."

Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) reached the nuclear deal on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16.

The comprehensive nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), terminated all nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran.

Some key themes of the sanctions included draconian bans against investing in Iran’s oil and gas projects, selling planes to the country and also developing the Iranian auto industry among many other issues.  Also, a central part of the sanctions conceed blocking Iran’s assets in overseas banks and putting restrictions on Iran’s banking transactions with the inteational financial institutions.

At least 21 people were hurt Monday when an explosive device went off inside a city bus in Jerusalem (al-Quds), Israeli police and officials said, causing a large fire that spread to an adjacent bus and damaged at least one car.

Police said they were looking at all possibilities, including that it was a criminal act.

All of those hurt were on the bus that contained the explosive device, which was on the back of the bus, Jerusalem District Police Commander Yoram HaLevi told CNN affiliate Ch.2 Israel.

At least two of the victims were seriously wounded.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The explosion happened in south Jerusalem just before 6 pm, during evening rush hour. It filled the bus with orange flames and spewed thick black smoke into the air.

It took several hours for firefighters to put out the flames. Israeli police forensics teams were later seen working on board the charred frame of the bus.

US Secretary of State John Kerry condemned the attack and called for an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying Monday that it "underscores the importance of ending this conflict, so that Israelis and Palestinians can once and for all live side by side in peace and security."

Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari told Tasnim on Tuesday moing that the drill will be held in cooperation with a Pakistani flotilla of warships that has been staying in Iran’s southe port city of Bandar Abbas for the past four days.

The Pakistani forces will leave Iran later today after the drill.

The commander noted that such joint exercises will strengthen military relations between the two countries and let them know about each other’s naval capabilities.

He said Iran usually holds joint naval drills with every foreign fleet that visits the country.

The 2 warships of the Pakistani Navy docked at Iran’s Bandar Abbas on Saturday.

Pakistan’s embassy in Tehran had already described the visit as a sign of close and brotherly ties between the two Muslim nations with the message of regional peace and solidarity.

AFC Champions League Group C leader Tractor Sazi has been scheduled to meet Al Hilal football team on Tuesday in Doha’s Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium.

“We want to continue our good run in the competition and remain on top of the group,” said the former Team Melli coach.

“We are playing against a strong team and the match will not be easy for us but I’m confident that our players will get a positive result."

“I hope that we could secure our place in the Round of 16 in this match day although the game will not be easy. There are no big difference between our team and Al Hilal as we are only one point ahead of them in the group which means that the match will be hard for both sides,” Ghalenoei added.

At least five fatalities appeared to be weather related, authorities said late on Monday.

Sylvester Tuer, mayor of the nation’s fourth-largest city, told residents to stay home to fend off a weather system he called “stubbo.” More rain was projected over the next two to three days, although heavy downpours had subsided and only another half-inch was expected through Monday night, he said.

Rain gauges in parts of Harris County, which includes most of Houston, showed water levels approaching 20 inches since late Sunday night, with slightly smaller amounts elsewhere in Southeast Texas as bayous and creeks overflowed their banks.

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, the county’s chief administrator, said two bodies were found in a vehicle shown on traffic cameras driving around barricades and unsuccessfully attempting to navigate a flooded underpass.

In addition, one person, believed to be a contractor with the city’s airport system, was found in a submerged vehicle not far from the airport. A second person, a truck driver, was found dead in the cab of his rig after encountering high water on a freeway service road, AP reported.

In nearby Waller County, a man was found in a submerged vehicle, which investigators believed was caught in rushing water.

Several shelters were established for people forced from their homes. At least 1,000 people taken from apartment complexes in the north part of the city and moved to a shopping mall were being ferried by city buses to a shelter, the mayor said.

Emmett said thousands of homes in the county outside Houston were flooded, many for the first time. At least 450 high-water rescues were conducted, he said.

One man on the city’s north side emerged from flood waters carrying an armadillo by its armored tail to safety.

About 1 million students got the day off, including the Houston Independent School District’s 215,000 students, Texas’ largest public school district. Most colleges and universities also closed because of the bad weather.

Dozens of Houston subdivisions flooded. At least two interstates — I-10, the main east-west freeway, and I-45, the major north-south freeway — were under water near downtown.

Other major freeways, plus some feeder roads leading to the highways, were blocked by high water.

“I was trying to get to work,” Marcel Gwinn said as he was stranded for more than 90 minutes on an overpass in west Houston. “It kills me because my boss just told me that work’s closed for the day.”

Immediately to the north of Houston in Montgomery County, more than 260 water rescued were carried out, county emergency management officials said.

“When you get off the freeways and off the main thoroughfares, you could be in water 10 to 15 feet deep,” Fire Department spokesman Jay Evans said. “You do not want to trap yourself in these vehicles.”

One TV reporter in Houston helped to rescue a man who drove his car into a flooded underpass.

The Anadolu Agency said police had arrest warrants for of 140 people, including businessmen and former employees of the Gulen-linked Bank Asya, which was seized by the govement last year, AP reported.

On Monday, 101 people were taken into custody in Istanbul and eight other cities.

The govement has declared Gulen's movement a "terrorist" organization and has clamped down his supporters, seizing newspapers, television stations and other businesses associated with the cleric.

Anadolu says those detained Monday are suspected of being members of a "terror group" and of providing funds and making propaganda for the Gulen movement.

In a message to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad released on Monday, Larijani congratulated Assad and the Arab country’s people and govement on the successful parliamentary votes held earlier on Wednesday.

“Despite massive political, psychological and security pressures and desperate attempts made by terrorist groups to prevent Syrian people from participating in the polls, the high tuout in the elections is a sign of the people’s strong support for Your Excellency as a symbol of resistance, perseverance and independence of their homeland against the all-out invasion of sinister elements of terrorism and their regional and inteational supporters,” Larijani said in the message.

In last week's polls, as many as 3,500 candidates, including women, competed for a place in the 250-seat parliament.

The previous parliamentary elections had been held in 2012, just months after the adoption of a new constitution in the country.

The voting was held amid an ongoing war against terrorism throughout the Arab country, which has been gripped by a catastrophic civil war since 2011.

According to a February report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict in Syria has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people.

Hezbollah will never back down even an iota from its stance, even if the weight of resolutions and statements issued in Aab and Islamic meetings against the resistance movement “reaches several tons”, Arabic-language Al-Manar news channel quoted Qaouk as saying in Lebanon.

“This is because they (the resolutions) are too weak to break the (anti-Israel) Resistance (movement’s) will,” the prominent cleric noted.

He further said the pressures on and allegations raised against Hezbollah by the Saudi regime will not only fail to weaken the group, but also will increase the number of its advocates and supporters.

The remarks came after the Arab Parliament on Sunday designated Hezbollah a terrorist organization, weeks after two other Arab bodies adopted resolutions declaring the same stance.

Back in early March, the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council also declared Hezbollah movement, which has been fighting terrorist groups in Syria and the Israeli occupation, a “terrorist group.”

The six-nation council officially added Hezbollah and all groups affiliated to its so-called list of terrorist organizations.

In a message to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad released on Monday, Larijani congratulated Assad and the Arab country’s people and govement on the successful parliamentary votes held earlier on Wednesday.

“Despite massive political, psychological and security pressures and desperate attempts made by terrorist groups to prevent Syrian people from participating in the polls, the high tuout in the elections is a sign of the people’s strong support for Your Excellency as a symbol of resistance, perseverance and independence of their homeland against the all-out invasion of sinister elements of terrorism and their regional and inteational supporters,” Larijani said in the message.

In last week's polls, as many as 3,500 candidates, including women, competed for a place in the 250-seat parliament.

The previous parliamentary elections had been held in 2012, just months after the adoption of a new constitution in the country.

The voting was held amid an ongoing war against terrorism throughout the Arab country, which has been gripped by a catastrophic civil war since 2011.

According to a February report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict in Syria has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people.

Hezbollah will never back down even an iota from its stance, even if the weight of resolutions and statements issued in Aab and Islamic meetings against the resistance movement “reaches several tons”, Arabic-language Al-Manar news channel quoted Qaouk as saying in Lebanon.

“This is because they (the resolutions) are too weak to break the (anti-Israel) Resistance (movement’s) will,” the prominent cleric noted.

He further said the pressures on and allegations raised against Hezbollah by the Saudi regime will not only fail to weaken the group, but also will increase the number of its advocates and supporters.

The remarks came after the Arab Parliament on Sunday designated Hezbollah a terrorist organization, weeks after two other Arab bodies adopted resolutions declaring the same stance.

Back in early March, the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council also declared Hezbollah movement, which has been fighting terrorist groups in Syria and the Israeli occupation, a “terrorist group.”

The six-nation council officially added Hezbollah and all groups affiliated to its so-called list of terrorist organizations.

“We're not talking about rapprochement. We will have differences with the United States no matter what. The United States and Iran have different world views. We will not abandon ours. It's a part of our identity, but that identity does not require conflict. We have a single issue that we are addressing with the United States, and that is the nuclear issue. If we can successfully address this, then that will provide a basis to consider whether we can deal with other issues,” the Iranian foreign minister recently told German news magazine Der Spiegl in his office in Tehran.

Following is the full text of the interview:

SPIEGEL: Mr. Minister, you literally had people dancing in the streets when you announced on April 2, 2015, that a solution to the nuclear conflict was in sight. At the same time, neither side was able to agree on a joint fact sheet. Did people party prematurely?

Zarif: It is the right of the people to be happy and it is the responsibility of the govement to make people happy. What happened in Lausanne was an important milestone, but it wasn't a deal. I believe that a deal is not only possible, but probable. We reached a conceptual understanding on a number of parameters for the resolution. We need to put that in writing in terms of an agreement, and that's exactly what my colleagues are doing now in Vienna.

SPIEGEL: The United States released its fact sheet of the key points of the negotiations in order to show that it didn't make major concessions. We assume you weren't thrilled about this, right?

Zarif: I do not believe that the practice of producing fact sheets is a very useful one. The world has gone through a significant change. You cannot pick and choose your audience anymore. In the past, you could present your version of reality, your narrative to your audience, and the other side could have presented their narrative to their audience. But today in the age of the Inteet and social media, narratives become global -- and that's where the problem comes. So you need to be able to present the final, complete package.

SPIEGEL: What are the most difficult points at the moment?

Zarif: Basically everything, because you need to write down all the agreements in terms that are acceptable to at least eight parties sitting at the negotiating table: Iran, the P5 plus 1 -- the United States, China, Russia, France, Great Britain, Germany -- plus the European Union. So we have seven on one side and Iran on the other. But even the seven do not necessarily agree on everything. Most of our time is taken up by negotiations among the P5 plus 1, because they have to come up with a single position. On some issues they still do not have a common position.

SPIEGEL: There's very little in the US fact sheet about the process of lifting the sanctions. And you have left ambiguous how you will cut your nuclear program.

Zarif: No, actually we were very open about the number of centrifuges that we will have in Natanz and Fordo as well as what will happen to the heavy water reactor in Arak. It is very clear that all economic and financial sanctions that are imposed by the EU and by the United States will be gone.

SPIEGEL: One of the contested issues is the timeline …

Zarif: The procedure for lifting them will vary from one place to another. The EU has its own legal procedure as does the United States. As a foreign entity, when we deal with another foreign entity, we don't have to get involved or get bogged down in the domestic complications that each country has. You need to deal with the actual outcome, and that's rather clear.

SPIEGEL: A further stumbling block is that you are insisting that military sites cannot be inspected by the Inteational Atomic Energy Agency.

Zarif: We have said that if we do reach an agreement, Iran will be prepared within its own domestic legal system to implement an additional protocol to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Obviously, no country provides open access to its secret facilities. And all inteational treaties take care of how you deal with your state secrets. I do not believe Iran has any difficulty with accepting inteational transparency standards. Again, I believe there is an insistence on a certain narrative that some people want to put forward -- that gives rise to a reaction from our officials here in Tehran.

SPIEGEL: That includes the statements made by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei. He says he is conceed about the result in Lausanne and was that "the other side could stab us in the back." Have you not been able to dispel his conces?

Zarif: We are all conceed about the sincerity and seriousness of our Weste negotiating partners, particularly the United States. The level of distrust is huge, and it's mutual.

SPIEGEL: Do you worry that conservatives in Iran might hinder an agreement? Or are they perhaps useful to you, because you can always say something can't be done because the hardliners won't go along with it?

Zarif: I wish that it was something that was totally arranged, so I wouldn't have to go through the suffering, pain and agony of trying to convince our hardliners.

SPIEGEL: Anti-American sentiment is one of the pillars of the revolution. "Death to the USA" was the hardliners' most important slogan for 35 years. Would a nuclear deal also mean that Iran would have to reconsider its position toward the "Great Satan"?

Zarif: This deal is a litmus test of the degree to which the United States is willing to abandon the illusion of regime change in Iran, the illusion of animosity and antagonism towards the Iranian people and Iran's revolution.

SPIEGEL: Is Ayatollah Khamenei ready for a rapprochement?

Zarif: We're not talking about rapprochement. We will have differences with the United States no matter what. The United States and Iran have different world views. We will not abandon ours. It's a part of our identity, but that identity does not require conflict. We have a single issue that we are addressing with the United States, and that is the nuclear issue. If we can successfully address this, then that will provide a basis to consider whether we can deal with other issues.

SPIEGEL: The nuclear program is not the only issue dividing Iran and the US. Iran's role in the region is also creating conflicts. For example, you support the Shiite Houthis in Yemen whereas the US is on the side of the coalition led by Saudi Arabia.

Zarif: I don't know whether the United States wants to be backing the daily bombardment of innocent civilians in Yemen. We're not backing anyone particularly.

SPIEGEL: There is evidence that you are. Documents from Yemen show that the Revolutionary Guard is in the country.

Zarif: There have been a lot of lies. What we've said is that problems in this region will not be resolved by the use of force. We said from the very beginning that people tried to create a power vacuum in Yemen in order to provide for the use of force. That was wrong from the beginning and in the interest of nobody other than al-Qaeda.

SPIEGEL: US Secretary of State John Kerry recently said: "There are obviously supplies that have been coming from Iran. There are a number of flights every single week that have been flying in." How do you respond to that statement?

Zarif: We're not bombarding anyone in Yemen. Our planes are not flying in Yemen. Our planes that had tried to deliver humanitarian assistance to Yemen have been intercepted and prevented from landing.

SPIEGEL: Kerry also waed that the Americans would not sit back and allow the region to be destabilized without taking action. He's referring to Iran when he speaks of such destabilization.

Zarif: The source of instability in this region is a short-sighted attempt to arm and finance extremist groups like Daesh, the al-Nusra Front and al-Qaeda. Everybody who has used extremists in our region has fallen victim to them. The West is a part of this problem, because something is happening in Weste societies where you get a Weste-bo, Weste-educated person beheading innocent human beings in Iraq or Syria or setting them on fire and buing them alive. Why is this happening in this region? Why are these people being recruited?

SPIEGEL: Iran and the United States could work together officially in terms of fighting the Daesh.

Zarif: We have not seen a serious readiness on the part of the United States yet to deal with Daesh seriously. But this is a regional problem and a global problem and we are prepared to work with all countries in the region in order to fight this menace. We believe any serious global attempt to deal with this will have Iran as a significant partner.

SPIEGEL: Is that kind of cooperation already happening in Iraq with the United States?

Zarif: No, we cooperate with the Iraqi govement against Daesh.

SPIEGEL: At the same time, you are supporting the regime of Bashar Assad with fighters, money and weapons. By doing so, you are prolonging the Syrian tragedy.

Zarif: We are supporting the legitimate govement of Syria. If we had not provided that support, you would have had Daesh sitting in Damascus now. We've been saying that we need to find a political solution in Syria. But people insisted on preconditions …

SPIEGEL: Are you referring to Assad?

Zarif: … that a specific person was not a part of that election. Those who have actually put preconditions for an end to bloodshed have to respond to why they have prolonged this conflict.

SPIEGEL: In 2013, President Hassan Rouhani designated improving relations with Saudi Arabia as a priority. Since then, though, they have worsened. Rouhani has described the new Saudi leadership as being "inexperienced." Comments like that don't foster harmony.

Zarif: Unfortunately, there has been a barrage of insulting Idea coming from Saudi Arabia to which I have refrained from reacting. And many in the Iranian govement have exercised a huge deal of self-restraint in not reacting to those Idea and actions -- both public as well as private Idea that have come from our neighbors in Saudi Arabia. People have to stop panicking.

SPIEGEL: There are good reasons for this. Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Afghanistan are all failed states, in which Iran's influence has greatly increased. What are you doing to assuage your neighbors' fears that your country is seeking dominance in the Middle East?

Zarif: Iran is a powerful country. Iran is a big country with a large population, natural resources, human resources. But we are a country that is content with its size, content with its geography. We have not engaged in any military adventures in the past 250 years. We don't see any of this as Iran trying to dominate this region. We see some people panicking in our region and we believe there is no need to panic. We are prepared to work with all our neighbors to ensure the security and prosperity of our region.

SPIEGEL: There's a further conflict between your country and the West: human rights in Iran. In an interview two weeks ago, you said: "We don't put people in jail for their opinions." But arrests were made at the same time. This cynicism sparked protests in social media, including some criticism from your own supporters. Can you understand this disappointment?

Zarif: Well, I can't because that sentence was quoted out of context. I am sorry that people misunderstood what I said. I regret it. But I think some people tried to in fact attribute something to me that was taken out of the context in which I made it.

SPIEGEL: The UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran said in March that human rights have worsened considerably under President Rouhani.

Zarif: I think the UN special rapporteur has been less than credible in dealing with Iran. You are dealing with a country that has been able to go through elections and a transition of power from one administration to another through elections with the participation of 73 percent of voters. If you make accusations that the situation has worsened under President Rouhani, it is as if you are trying to engage in political propaganda against this govement rather than seriously trying to look into realities. Having said that, I think one of the priorities for this govement is to improve the human rights situation. I cannot claim that Iran has a perfect human rights record.

Steve Linders, a spokesperson for the St. Paul Police Department, said the shooting happened near Mounds Park and as many as 300 people were reportedly in the area at the time bullets were flying. He described the scene as “chaotic.”

“We don’t know for sure how many shots were fired, who shot whom, or how many victims there are,” Linders said. “We are working diligently to figure out why this senseless act of violence happened.”

He said officers found the one male victim after responding to a call of shots fired around 7:30 pm Paramedics pronounced the man dead at the scene. He was not identified.

So far, no arrests have been made, CBS News reported.

Linders said investigators are talking with witnesses, some of which reported that a family gathering was taking place before the shooting occurred.

“Contradictions in the intergovemental loan have been removed,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Storchak said as quoted by Sputnik on Monday.

“We’ll sign them (the documents) as soon as the decision is made by the authorities,” he added.

Preliminary agreements on granting Iran the $5-billion loan were signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Tehran at the end of November 2015.

Officials in Moscow had earlier said that the loan will be used for infrastructure projects, most likely electrical power generation and the development of railways.

The measure is expected to boost trade between the two countries. The target is $10 billion, from the current $1.6 billion.

Heading a delegation of Korean ministers, senior economic officials and business people, Ms. Park will travel to Iran for a three-day visit, Parviz Esmaili, deputy for communications and information at Iran’s presidential office said on Monday.

The Iranian and South Korean presidents are going to weigh plans on the expansion of Tehran-Seoul relations and discuss the latest regional and inteational developments, he added.

According to Esmaili, the two countries will also sign several agreements in different fields such as energy, banking and insurance, health sector, science and technology, during the official visit.

Park is also scheduled to attend a conference on the enhancement of economic relations between Tehran and Seoul in the post-sanctions era and the investment opportunities available in Iran’s market for the Korean companies.

The visit follows a new wave of interest in ties with Iran after Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on July 14, 2015 reached a conclusion over the text of a comprehensive 159-page deal on Tehran’s nuclear program and started implementing it on January 16.

The comprehensive nuclear deal, known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), took effect in January, terminating the nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran.

Carter's visit comes after a week of political turmoil that has been a setback for Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, and the US defense chief has said it is important to support the embattled premier.

Carter will meet officials including Abadi and Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi to discuss increasing American military assistance to Iraq ahead of the key battle for second city Mosul.

"The fight for Mosul is critical... and it's a very large urban scenario," a senior defense official said, Reuters reported.

"We are going to need to be more aggressive," the official said.

Carter arrived in Baghdad from the United Arab Emirates, the first stop on a Perisan Gulf tour during which he will seek to shore up support for Iraq.

He has said that "the success of the campaign against (Daesh) in Iraq does depend upon political and economic progress as well," and that "it's important that we continue to support" Abadi.

The premier has sought to replace the current cabinet of party-affiliated ministers with a govement of technocrats, but has faced major opposition from powerful parties that rely on control of ministries for patronage and funds.

Abadi's cabinet efforts were overshadowed by multiple days of chaos at parliament, where lawmakers held a sit-in, brawled in the parliament hall and sought to sack the speaker.

Daesh overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces have since regained significant ground from the extremists.

Iraqi forces have begun preparatory operations in Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital, but the actual assault to take the city is not expected to take place for months, and possibly not until next year.

The United States has deployed some 3,900 troops to Iraq, most of them in advisory and support roles.

Carter's trip to Iraq is the latest in a series of visits by senior Weste officials in recent days.

US Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to Iraq two weeks ago to show support for the crisis-hit govement, vowing to tu up the heat on Daesh.

And French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian came to Iraq last week, saying that Mosul and Raqa, Daesh' main stronghold in Syria, "must fall" this year.

Under guidance of Veisi, Esteghlal Khuzestan is a favorite to win the Iran Professional League for the first time in history.

The Ahvaz-based football team sits second in IPL table one point behind leader Persepolis.

Sepahan seems reluctant to continue with Croat coach Igor Stimac since the title holder is 11th in the table.

Veisi, who also coached Saba and Paykan, has played for Sepahan for seven years.