Iran on Thursday will host a conference on Syria in a bid to take over the role of brokering peace in its beleaguered Arab ally, replacing Kofi Annan who last week resigned as the UN-Arab envoy in the crisis.

Iran faced the prospect of cutbacks in its oil sales to China and Japan as new measures to block Tehran's crude exports over its nuclear program appeared to be driving its economy to the wall.

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The top diplomats of Russia and Iran sought a breakthrough on Wednesday on a deal that could revive the stalled nuclear talks between the Islamic state and western powers suspicious of its weapons drive.

Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi will travel to Kuwait on Wednesday to discuss bilateral and regional issues, ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said.

Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi on Saturday called on Egypt to take a "courageous step" towards renewing diplomatic ties with Tehran, the official IRNA news agency reported.