Foreign relations of Iran

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Jan. 29 that he hopes the Biden administration would return to the nuclear deal and lift sanctions on Iran.

Speaking at a joint news conference with his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif in Istanbul, Çavuşoğlu said that Turkey has always supported the nuclear deal that was reached by the U.S., EU and Iran.

European powers on Jan. 16 voiced deep concern over Iran's plans to produce uranium metal, warning that Tehran has "no credible civilian use" for the element.

"The production of uranium metal has potentially grave military implications," said the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany in a joint statement.

Germany, France and Great Britain fought fiercely for the nuclear treaty with Iran, which was signed five years ago. Since the end of 2018, since Trump left the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), or the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty, its stability has been in question, reports Deutsche Welle.

Iran plans to enrich uranium up to 20% at its underground Fordo nuclear facility, international inspectors said on Jan. 2, pushing its program a technical step away from weapons-grade levels as it increases pressure on the West over its tattered atomic deal.

Turkish Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu held a phone call with his Iranian counterpart on late Dec. 12 over a recent dispute regarding the Turkish president's recitation of a poem on a visit to Azerbaijan, which Tehran deemed as support for the secession of Azerbaijani ethnic parts of Iran, and the Iranian side said the parties "resolved a misunderstanding."

Turkey on Dec. 11 summoned the Iranian ambassador over unfounded allegations made about the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, according to diplomatic sources.

The head of Greek diplomacy attended the EU Foreign Affairs Council to talk about possible sanctions against Turkey

Manfred Weber, leader of the European People's Party in the European Parliament, has called on EU leaders to put sanctions against Turkey on the table at the next summit.

Iran has moved to stop UN inspections of its nuclear sites and step up uranium enrichment under a new law approved by its parliament.

 The bill would require the government to resume enriching uranium to 20% - well above the 3.67% agreed under a 2015 nuclear deal - if crippling sanctions are not eased in two months.

President-elect Joe Biden has signaled he will return the United States to a nuclear accord with Iran before quickly launching talks on other concerns, reviving diplomacy to ease soaring tensions.