Ebrahim Raisi

Major natural gas exporting nations have begun meetings in Doha to discuss how to meet skyrocketing world demand as tensions surrounding Ukraine stoke fears in Europe about gas supplies from Russia.

Iran has failed to meet some technical conditions regarding the setup in the natural gas contract with Turkey, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez has said.

Last week, Turkey's Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (Botaş) lowered the natural gas flow to large industrial sites and power stations by 40 percent because of a disruption in pipeline gas imports from Iran.

The Turkish and Iranian presidents, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Ebrahim Raisi respectively, have discussed ways to improve bilateral relations ahead of an upcoming high-level cooperation council meeting in Tehran as well as regional developments in the Caucasus.

Five months after they were suspended, international talks on Iran's nuclear programme will restart on Monday in Vienna with analysts foreseeing major obstacles to any speedy resumption of the 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran agreed on Nov. 3 to resume talks on November 29 with world powers on reviving a nuclear deal after a five-month gap, with the United States urging a quick resolution.

The indirect negotiations in Vienna come amid mounting pressure on Iran, with Western nations warning that the clerical state's nuclear work is advancing to dangerous levels and Israel threatening to attack.

Iran's new ultraconservative President Ebrahim Raisi said Tehran backs any diplomatic moves to lift U.S. sanctions but will not bow to pressure, as he took the oath of office on Aug. 5.

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American authorities seized a range of Iran's state-linked news website domains they accused of spreading disinformation, the U.S. Justice Department said on June 22, a move that appeared to be a far-reaching crackdown on Iranian media amid heightened tensions between the two countries.

Iran's President-elect Ebrahim Raisi said on June 21 he will not allow nuclear negotiations for the sake of negotiations, in his first news conference since winning election last week.

Congratulations poured in for ultraconservative Ebrahim Raisi on June 19 on winning Iran's presidential election as his rivals conceded even before official results were announced.

Raisi won 62 percent of the  votes counted so far, officials said.

Iran's supreme leader opened a presidential election on June 17 in which ultraconservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi is seen as all but certain to coast to victory over his vetted rivals.

After a lacklustre campaign, turnout is expected to plummet to a new low in a country exhausted by a punishing regime of US economic sanctions that dashed hopes for a brighter future.