Middle East & North Africa

Tehran, Feb 11, IRNA – President Hassan Rouhani said on Thursday that Iran has observed no sign of goodwill from the new US Administration yet.

The president said that if the new US administration is honest in its pledges, it has to start a new way and make good on the problems the previous administration caused for Iran.  

Referring to problems on the way of providing COVID-19 vaccines, President Rouhani said: “a criminal, in power at the White House, prevented Iran’s banking transactions  so that it took several weeks to take money from one bank to another.”

11 Feb 2021; AA: Turkey on Thursday rebuffed a US call to release a jailed businessman accused of involvement in a defeated coup attempt, saying the judicial process is still ongoing and everyone must respect this.

The Wednesday call by the US State Department is inconsistent with the rule of law, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy in a written statement.

10 Feb 2021; MEMO: Qatar's authorities Wednesday said the country will resume commercial traffic with Saudi Arabia on Feb. 14, adhering to the coronavirus protective measures, Anadolu reports.

11 Feb 2021; MEMO: UAE has turned the page on border dispute with Iran by reaching an agreement in 2019

President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has congratulated his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani on the occasion of his country's national day and the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.

11 Feb 2021; MEMO: Palestinian movement Islamic Jihad announced yesterday that it will not take part in the presidential and legislative elections due to be held later this year, a statement released by the group said.

In the statement, the movement said: "We will not take part in the elections under the Oslo agreement which undermined the rights and principles of the Palestinian people."

11 Feb 2021; MEMO: Five current and former European members of the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday said they held the Syrian regime responsible for the Syrian Constitutional Committee's failure to achieve a substantive progress in the negotiations that have been taking place for over a year.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar is working to de-escalate tension in the region by advocating for a return to the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, state media quoted its foreign minister as saying.

“The State of Qatar is working on de-escalation through a political and diplomatic process to return to the nuclear agreement,” Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said on Wednesday, according to state news agency QNA.

11 Feb 2021; MEMO: Sudan has started preparing for worst-case scenarios regarding the Renaissance Dam file, especially after Ethiopian officials revealed their country's intention to complete the second filling of the dam.

11 Feb 2021; MEMO: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday that the only way to solve the dispute over Cyprus is to establish two states, Anadolu reported.

Speaking during a meeting of his ruling Justice and Development party's parliamentary bloc, Erdogan said: "I say to Greece and Cyprus, there is no longer any solution but a two-state solution. Only under these conditions can we sit at the table over Cyprus. Otherwise everyone should go their own way."

TEHRAN, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday said that Iran will re-embrace its nuclear commitments in case the other parties do so.

"The day when we witness the implementation of the (nuclear deal) obligations by the P5+1, we are ready to implement our obligations in the nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)," Rouhani said on the occasion of the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution which was broadcast live on state TV.