Nuclear engineers in Japan are readying to move uranium and plutonium fuel rods at Fukushima in their most difficult and dangerous task since the plant's runaway reactors were brought under control two years ago.
Israel urged world powers on Wednesday to reject what it said was an Iranian offer to partly cut back its nuclear programme in return for an easing of Western sanctions.
Jordan's plan to build its first nuclear plant with Russian help has stirred fresh fears and suspicions as experts called for the "dangerous" and "illogical" project to be abandoned.
Japan's foreign minister will go to Iran next month, he said Tuesday, in the latest sign of Tehran's rapidly thawing relationship with the Western world.
World powers will meet for fresh talks with Iran on its controversial nuclear programme on Tuesday, as hopes rise for a more conciliatory approach from the new Tehran government.
North Korea on Saturday issued a fresh warning of an "all-out war", urging the United States to stop military drills and what it described as "nuclear blackmail".
US Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday a deal with Iran could be brokered within months if Tehran proves that its nuclear program was not being used to build atomic weapons.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle welcomed a "new tone" from Tehran during a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif on Tuesday in New York.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu early Wednesday blasted Iranian President Hassan Rowhani for making what he described as a "cynical speech that was full of hypocrisy" at the UN General Assembly.
In a diplomatic breakthrough, the foreign ministers of arch rivals, the US and Iran, will hold their first talks on Tehran's contested nuclear drive at a landmark meeting.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the White House on September 30 to consult President Barack Obama on Iran's nuclear challenge, Syria and Palestinian peace talks.
Iran is expected to enjoy a rare let-up in pressure at a UN atomic agency meeting starting Monday, as Tehran's new government and world powers prepare a fresh diplomatic push.