File photo: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavuşoğlu (L) shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif (R)
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday hailed his country’s relations with Turkey.
"Turkey is a leading country among those we have good relations with," he told Iran’s state television.
The top Iranian diplomat said Tehran would cooperate with Ankara to put off wildfire in the Iraqi part of Hour al-Azim wetland.
He said his country would hold talks with Turkey and Iraq in an effort to resolve environment and water-related troubles in the region.
Zarif said recent economic difficulties in Turkey were triggered by the psychological atmosphere created by the U.S.
Turkey-U.S. relations took a nosedive on Aug. 1, when the Trump administration announced sanctions on Turkey’s interior and justice ministers after Ankara refused to release an American pastor who faces terrorism-related charges in Turkey.
On Aug. 10, Trump upped the ante by doubling U.S. tariffs on Turkish aluminum and steel imports.
In response, Turkey raised tariffs on several U.S.-made goods, including alcohol and tobacco products as well as vehicles.
Political tensions between Ankara and Washington had sparked worries in markets, but the Turkish lira has staged a recovery last week, after positive messages from European capitals and Qatar’s decision to invest $15 billion in Turkey.
Iran's parliament sacked the minister of economic affairs and finance on Sunday, state media said, amid a sharp fall in the rial currency and a deterioration in the economic situation.The Iranian economy is dogged by high unemployment and the rial has lost half its value since April. The United States reimposed some sanctions in early August and a second set targeting Iran's oil industry is due to take effect in November.The head of the elite Revolutionary Guards said Iran faced "unique" challenges and the foreign minister accused the United States of waging "psychological war" on his country.The Iranian parliament backed the removal from office of Masoud Karbasian, minister of finance and economic affairs, by 137 votes to 121 against, state media said.The sacking was the latest in a continuing shakeup of top economic personnel. In early August Iranian lawmakers voted out the minister of labour and last month President Hassan Rouhani replaced the head of the central bank.The U.S. sanctions, reimposed after President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of a 2015 international deal aimed at curbing Tehran's nuclear programme, have exacerbated an already difficult economic situation in Iran."(America's) focus is on a psychological war against Iran and its business partners," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Sunday, according to the Tasnim news agency."From the time that Trump announced the withdrawal from the nuclear deal, America has not been able to reach its goals," Zarif added, according to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA).EU agrees 18 mln euro development aid for Iran"Complicated and sensitive" situationOther parties to the 2015 accord - China, Russia, Germany, Britain and France - are trying to salvage the deal, which lifted some economic sanctions against Iran in return for curbs on Tehran's nuclear programme. But their companies now face the risk of U.S. penalties if they do business with Iran.Washington also wants Tehran to end its support for militant groups in Syria and Iraq.Protests linked to the tough economic situation in Iran began last December, spreading to more than 80 cities and towns and resulting in 25 deaths.Sporadic protests, led by truck drivers, farmers and merchants in Tehran’s bazaar, have continued regularly since then and have occasionally resulted in violent confrontations with security forces.The head of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, Major General Ali Jafari said on Sunday Iran was facing a "unique, complicated and sensitive" situation, with both external and internal threats to its security, Tasnim reported.The U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal has undermined Rouhani, a relative pragmatist, and emboldened his hardline opponents who always opposed any compromises with Washington.Zarif appeared to offer guarded criticism of Rouhani's opponents."There are some in the country who, instead of laying the groundwork for using the opportunities presented by the nuclear deal, chose a political fight," Zarif said, according to ISNA. "And this political fight led to despair and disappointment." Iran defence minister Amir Hatami arrives in SyriaAmerica is waging 'psychological war' against Iran
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Iranian Defence Minister Amir Hatami arrived in Syria on Sunday for meetings with "senior defence and military officials" according to the Tasnim news agency.Iranian forces have backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the country's civil war."We hope to have a productive role in the reconstruction of Syria," Hatami said on arrival in Syria, according to Fars News.U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said last week that Iran should remove its forces from Syria.Senior Iranian officials have said their military presence in Syria is at the invitation of the Assad government and they have no immediate plans to withdraw.More than 1,000 Iranians, including senior members of the elite Revolutionary Guards, have been killed in Syria since 2012.Ten killed in boiler explosion in IranMashhad hosts conference on Iran/Iraq/Syria cooperationUN invites Iran, Russia, Turkey to talks on Syria next monthMillions in rural Iran lack social securityEU agrees 18 mln euro development aid for Iran
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America is waging a psychological war against Iran and its business partners, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Sunday, according to the Tasnim news agency."[America's] focus is on a psychological war against Iran and its business partners," Zarif said.President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in May and is reimposing sanctions on Tehran. Other parties to the accord are trying to find ways to save the agreement. UN invites Iran, Russia, Turkey to talks on Syria next monthEU agrees 18 mln euro development aid for IranUS disregard of legal process unacceptable: presidential aide
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Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Friday that new U.S. sanctions announced this month over a nerve agent attack in Britain would only create more tension in bilateral relations, the RIA news agency reported.The United States is expected on Monday to impose new sanctions that could terminate some arms sales and financing to Russia, as well as deny the country credit and prohibit the export of security-sensitive goods and technology. Putin: Turkey-Russia regional, economic cooperation on the riseBolton says US sanctions to stay until Russia changes behaviourTurkish top officials meet Russian defense ministerRussia says all options on table for response to US sanctions
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U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser John Bolton said on Friday that U.S. sanctions against Russia would remain in place until Moscow changes its behaviour.Speaking at a news conference in Kiev, Bolton added he had told Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko that Moscow should not meddle in Ukraine's presidential vote next year.Washington has imposed economic sanctions against Russia over its alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Moscow denies the allegations.John Bolton also said that Washington would not weigh in on an idea to swap territory between Serbia and Kosovo following Belgrade’s idea of settling a dispute that has hindered both Serbia's and Kosovo's ambitions to join the European Union by redrawing the border between the country along ethnic lines."Ukraine had made progress in its efforts to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), but that it still had more work to do", he added.Bolton said it was important to resolve the Ukraine crisis and that it would be dangerous to leave the situation as it is in Crimea and eastern Ukraine where Moscow has backed separatists in a conflict against Kiev.Russia says all options on table for response to US sanctions'Trump could seize Arab funds at any moment'Italian govt bond yields rise from early drop after reports of help from TrumpUS says El Salvador's decision to discontinue diplomatic ties with Taiwan 'a grave concern'
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Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that all options were on the table when it came to Moscow's possible response to a new round of U.S. sanctions, the Interfax news agency reported on Friday.Ryabkov was also cited as saying that Moscow had not yet noted any signs that the United States was ready to normalise relations.Moscow had also noted attempts by Washington to revise tentative agreements reached by President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump at last month's Helsinki summit, Interfax cited Ryabkov as saying. Russia says unidentified helicopters provide arms to Daesh, TalibanTurkish, Russian top diplomats to meet in MoscowRussia's Lavrov to meet Saudi counterpart on Aug 29EU unlikely to heed British call for more Russia sanctions'Russia will not stop rocket engine exports to US'
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