Zarif Tries to Defuse Tensions with Ankara

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks during a press conference in Tehran, June 10, 2019. AP
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks during a press conference in Tehran, June 10, 2019. AP
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Zarif Tries to Defuse Tensions with Ankara

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks during a press conference in Tehran, June 10, 2019. AP
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks during a press conference in Tehran, June 10, 2019. AP

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met Turkish officials in Istanbul on Friday as the two regional powers tried to move past tensions sparked by the deaths of Turkish captives in Iraq.

Zarif and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu discussed Syria and the ongoing Afghan peace talks as well as trade and the fight against terror, the two counties' foreign ministries said in separate statements.

Turkey's spy chief Hakan Fidan also attended the meeting.

Turkey and Iran, at odds over regional issues including Syria, became entangled in a diplomatic spat in February over Ankara's military operations against Kurdish militants in Iraq.

Turkey accused Kurdish militants of killing 12 Turks and an Iraqi they were holding hostage in northern Iraq.

The Kurdish militants said the 13 were killed by Turkish bombs during a failed rescue operation launched by Ankara.

The incident prompted Iran's envoy to Baghdad, Iraj Masjedi, to warn that Turkish forces should not "pose a threat or violate Iraqi soil," where Iran's influence is strong.

The incident prompted Turkey and Iran to each summon the other's ambassador.

Both Ankara and Tehran have carried out operations against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, and are vying for influence in the war-torn country.

Militants from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), who have fought an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, are blacklisted as a terrorist organization by Ankara and its Western allies.

Zarif last visited Istanbul on January 29, when Turkey urged the United States to return to the 2015 nuclear agreement that saw Washington lift some sanctions on Tehran in exchange for Iran limiting its ambitions to develop a bomb.



Iran Says Israel Attacked Tehran's Evin Prison

Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
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Iran Says Israel Attacked Tehran's Evin Prison

Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)

Iran's judiciary said Israeli strikes on Monday hit Tehran's Evin prison, leaving sections of the facility damaged.

"In the latest attack by the Zionist regime on Tehran, projectiles unfortunately struck Evin prison, causing damage to parts of the facility," said the judiciary's Mizan Online website.

It added that all resources had been deployed to manage the complex and the situation remained "under control".

Israel's defense minister said the army was targeting Tehran's notorious Evin prison Monday as it carried out fresh strikes on the Iranian capital, AFP reported.

The military "is carrying out strikes of unprecedented force against regime targets and agencies of government repression in the heart of Tehran. Among the targets... (is) Evin Prison (which holds political prisoners and dissidents)... and additional regime-related targets," Israel Katz said in a post on X.