The United States imposed new sanctions Friday on networks linked to Iran, stepping up pressure over Tehran's nuclear program, support of terrorism and evasion of U.S. and international sanctions.

President Barack Obama's administration emphasized that it was still pursuing a negotiated solution with the Iranian government to resolve the international community's concerns about its nuclear program.

Acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Rakhshan Banietemad on Thursday urged the West to lift sanctions on her country as she presented her latest film at the Venice Film Festival, laying bare their devastating effects on the population.

"The economic situation in Iran is critical due to the sanctions, which penalize the people. They must be lifted, and the people compensated," said the award-winning director, known for her socially-driven documentaries and films.

Iran said Wednesday it has started to modify its Arak heavy water reactor and limit plutonium output, a cause of Western concerns over the country's nuclear program.

Iran said Wednesday that Palestinian militants had emerged the victors and brought their Israeli foe "to its knees" during the bloody 50-day Gaza conflict.  

"The heroic Palestinian people have forged a new era with the victory of the resistance which has brought the Zionist regime to its knees," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal discussed Tuesday regional developments and the fight against Islamic State jihadists with a senior Iranian official visiting his country's longtime regional rival, an Iranian diplomat said.

The visit by Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian to the city of Jeddah was the first by a high-level official from Shiite Iran to Sunni Saudi Arabia since Hassan Rouhani became the Islamic republic's president in August last year.

Iran was the first country to provide Iraq's embattled autonomous Kurdish region with weapons to fight off jihadist-led militants, president Massud Barzani said on Tuesday.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran was the first state to help us... and it provided us with weapons and equipment," Barzani said at a joint news conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Tehran will "accelerate" arming Palestinians in retaliation for Israel deploying a spy drone over Iran, which was shot down, a military commander said on Monday.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will meet EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on September 1 in Brussels to agree a framework for renewed nuclear talks, Iran said on Sunday.

Iran has opened a uranium dioxide factory that will produce fuel for civilian nuclear plants, the head of its atomic energy agency announced Saturday.

Ali Akbar Salehi said the factory in Esfahan, central Iran, which produce uranium dioxide enriched to a level of less than 5 percent was opened in keeping with an agreement between Tehran and world powers.

Iran will not give U.N. nuclear inspectors access to a military base outside Tehran that they have been seeking to visit since 2005, Defense Minister Hossein Dehgan said on Saturday.

Dehgan's comments come just two days before a deadline for Iran to give its response to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) over historic allegations of a military dimension to its nuclear research.