Nuclear energy in Iran

Albania said Wednesday that it has expelled two Iranian diplomats for allegedly engaging in illegal activities that threaten the country's security.

A spokesman from the Foreign Ministry told The Associated Press that the two diplomats were expelled for "violating their diplomatic status."

The spokesman said the move followed talks with other countries, including Israel.

The United States snapped sanctions back in place on Monday to choke off Iran's oil and shipping industry, while temporarily allowing top customers such as China and India to keep buying crude from the Islamic Republic.

Iran's top leader said on Saturday U.S. President Donald Trump's policies face opposition across the world as Washington prepared to reimpose sanctions on Iran's vital oil-exporting and financial sectors, state television reported.

Iran's parliament on Oct. 7 approved a bill to counter terrorist financing that was strongly opposed by conservatives but seen as vital to salvaging the nuclear deal with European and Asian partners.

AFP - US President Donald Trump takes his campaign to isolate Iran to the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, chairing for the first time a meeting that will lay bare divisions between Washington and key allies.

Five world powers and Iran agreed late on Sept. 24 to establish a financial facility in the European Union to facilitate payments for Iranian imports and exports including oil, a key move sought by Tehran following the U.S. pullout from the 2015 nuclear deal and its re-imposition of sanctions.

The United States' sanctions on Iran, Russia and Turkey make a strong point for the three countries to expand political and economic cooperation, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei said Sept. 8.

Tehran. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Monday that there would be neither war nor negotiations with the United States, AFP reported.
"Recently, U.S. officials have been talking blatantly about us. Beside sanctions, they are talking about war and negotiations," he said via his official Twitter account in English.

The United States has to learn that it can't achieve results with sanctions, threats and pressure on Turkey, the Turkish foreign minister has said, reiterating that Ankara is ready to find a solution to the ongoing row through dialogue and diplomacy.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif waded into the mounting row between Turkey and the United States on Aug 11, accusing Washington of an "addiction to sanctions and bullying."