Mohammad Javad Zarif

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.

Ankara, Moscow and Tehran agreed to hold a videoconference and then a face-to-face meeting on the Syrian settlement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced on June 16. 

Turkey, Iran, and Russia aim to hold an Astana summit via videoconference as soon as possible in order to take the necessary steps for lasting peace in Syria, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on June 15.

Turkey will host Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on June 14-15 ahead of a planned Astana summit to be held via videoconference. Zarif will be in Istanbul on June 14-15, Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"During the visit, all aspects of our bilateral relations will be discussed and views on regional and international issues will be exchanged," the ministry added.

Iran's foreign minister said on June 2 that a plane had taken off from arch-foe the United States carrying scientist Sirous Asgari after his apparent release from a U.S. prison.

"Good news, a plane carrying Dr. Sirous Asgari has taken off from America. Congratulations to his wife and family," Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote in a post on his Instagram account.

Turkish diplomatic sources on May 11 refuted a claim by Iran's foreign minister that his country had sent 40,000 domestically produced coronavirus test kits to Turkey.

The United States will not lift sanctions on Iran in order to negotiate, U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted late on Jan. 25, seemingly in response to a Der Spiegel interview with Iran's foreign minister.

"Iranian Foreign Minister says Iran wants to negotiate with The United States, but wants sanctions removed. No Thanks!" Trump tweeted in English on Jan. 25 and later in Farsi. 

Iran said on Jan. 11 it had mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian plane killing all 176 aboard and voiced deep regret, after initially denying it brought down the aircraft in the tense aftermath of Iranian missile strikes on U.S. targets in Iraq.

Turkey's foreign minister will visit Iraq on Thursday to try to ease tensions after Iran launched missiles at US-led forces in response to the killing of a top Iranian commander, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

The United States has declined to issue a visa to the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who was scheduled to attend a UN Security Council meeting in New York on Thursday. This was reported by Reuters, citing a US official who requested anonymity.