Middle East & North Africa

VIENNA, February 26. /TASS/. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed that Tehran is in compliance with the nuclear deal in its latest report on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Russian Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov told TASS on Tuesday.

"This is already the 14th report. The IAEA once again confirmed that Iran fully observes the letter and the spirit of the JCPOA and cooperates with the secretariat. There are no complaints whatsoever," Ulyanov said when asked to comment on the IAEA report.

MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has not approved the resignation of the country’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi stated on Tuesday.

"The resignation [of the foreign minister] was not approved [by the Iranian president]," Qasemi stated on his Telegram channel.

Earlier, Zarif announced his resignation on Twitter, which gave rise to an active discussion. Qasemi denied the media reports on various reasons for Zarif’s decision.

MOSCOW, February 27. /TASS/. In an interview with the Turkey’s NTV channel, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed hope that Washington would eventually change its mind on Turkey’s plans to buy S-400 missile defense systems from Russia.

"At present, relevant agencies conduct all the necessary talks, and will continue to do so, including a speech before the Congress. I hope that this wrongful approach by the United States would change," he said, commenting on the possibility of US sanctions over the deal.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Representatives of the UN food agency briefly visited the Red Sea mills of Yemen on Tuesday but were unable to determine if the wheat in storage was all fit for feeding starving Yemenis, a UN spokesman said.

"A team from the World Food Program (WFP) visited the Red Sea mills," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general. "This visit was the first by WFP to these vital wheat stores since September of 2018."

ANKARA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Turkey and the European Union are again clashing over Ankara's enduring accession bid amid a call by European lawmakers to suspend the already stalled negotiations, but experts believe that mutual interest will prevail in the end.

Last week, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament called on the European Commission and member states to formally halt the talks, citing Turkey's disregard for human rights and civil liberties, influence on the judiciary, and disputes over territory with neighboring Cyprus.

MOSCOW, February 25. /TASS/. /TASS/. Syrian President Bashar Assad has paid a working visit to Tehran and met with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, SANA news agency reported on Monday citing the president’s press service.

The Syrian leader congratulated Khamenei on the 40th anniversary of the Iranian Islamic Revolution, which resulted in building "a powerful state that is capable of realizing the interests of its people and standing against foreign interventions."

TEHRAN, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif seemed to have announced his resignation unexpectedly on Monday through social media.

"Thanks for the great and brave Iranians and my colleagues, but I apologize for my failure to serve you and some flaws in my work," Zarif said on his Instagram account.

He also posted a photograph with captions.

Media reports said a foreign ministry spokesman, Abbas Mousavi, confirmed minutes later that Zarif had resigned but gave no reason for his departure.

TRIPOLI, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Foreign Affairs Committee of Libya's eastern-based House of Representative (parliament) on Monday warned against the interference in Libya's internal affairs by ambassadors of some countries and international organizations.

In a statement, the committee called on them to abide by diplomatic norms and charters that govern their work.

In addition, the committee stressed that the eastern-based army's anti-terrorism operation in southern Libya is a "sacred national duty to restore stability and security."

ISTANBUL; 25 Feb 2019; AA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he will never meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi unless the latter releases prisoners.

“I will never meet with such a person. First of all, he [al-Sisi] needs to release all prisoners with a general amnesty. As long as he does not release those people, we cannot meet with al-Sisi,” Erdogan said in a televised interview on late Saturday.

Trabzon; 25 Feb 2019; AA: Turkey will reveal links between the U.S. and PKK/PYD terrorist group in the coming days, the country’s interior minister said on Sunday.

Suleyman Soylu said that he will announce to the public about what kind of relations the U.S. generals and the PKK/PYD had.

Soylu added that recently captured PKK members shared information about their links to the U.S. as well as some European countries.