Tehran

The foreign ministers of China and Russia displayed unity at their meeting Tuesday amid criticism and Western sanctions against them over human rights.

Wang Yi and Sergei Lavrov rejected outside sniping at their authoritarian political systems and said they were working to further global progress on issues from climate change to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Biden administration said on Feb. 28 it remains open to talks with Iran over the 2015 nuclear deal despite Tehran's rejection of an EU invitation to join a meeting with the U.S. and the other original participants in the agreement.

Iran will provide "detailed responses" to accusations by a UN expert over Tehran's accidental downing last year of a Ukrainian passenger jet, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.

On January 8, 2020, Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 crashed shortly after take off from Iran's capital Tehran killing all 176 people aboard, including 55 Canadians.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog chief announced on Feb. 21 a "temporary solution" to allow Iranian facility inspections to continue after days of talks with officials, giving some much needed breathing space for diplomatic negotiations.

A U.S. judge on Feb. 16 agreed to dismiss a case against Turkish state-lender Halkbank filed by victims of attacks by groups linked to Iran, on the condition that the sides reach an agreement to carry on with the case in Turkey.

An Iranian consulate employee in Istanbul was remanded in custody on Feb. 12 in connection with a probe into the assassination of an Iranian dissident in Turkey in 2019.

The employee, identified by Turkey's Anadolu state news agency by his initials M.R.N., is suspected of providing forged travel documents for the assassination's alleged mastermind, allowing him to return to Iran.

A much-anticipated inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic wrapped up its mission in China on Feb. 9 with no breakthrough discovery, as investigators ruled out a theory that COVID-19 came from a lab while failing to identify which animal may have passed it to humans.

U.S. President Joe Biden has made clear he will not unilaterally lift sanctions against Iran, saying it must first adhere to its nuclear deal commitments despite demands on Feb. 7 from the Islamic Republic's supreme leader.

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.

An Iranian movie production firm has chosen Turkey's Mediterranean tourism hub Antalya for three of its projects, citing the city's historical and cultural wealth.

The resort city also attracts filmmakers with its natural beauty, as well as, precautions that Turkey has taken against the novel coronavirus outbreak.