Foreign relations of Iran

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.

Iran's parliament on Dec. 1 approved a bill that would suspend U.N. inspections of its nuclear facilities and require the government to boost its uranium enrichment if European signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal do not provide relief from oil and banking sanctions.

In a speech at Fakhrizadeh's funeral in Tehran, security chief Ali Shamkhani said the attackers "used electronic equipment" and were not present at the scene. He gave no further details.

The Iranian defence ministry initially reported that Fakhrizadeh was shot when several gunmen targeted his car.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Nov. 28 accused arch-foe Israel of acting as a "mercenary" for the U.S., blaming the Jewish state for assassinating one of Tehran's most prominent nuclear scientists.