Turkey, Iran Agree to Develop ‘Cooperation Roadmap’

Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi received Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (EPA)
Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi received Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (EPA)
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Turkey, Iran Agree to Develop ‘Cooperation Roadmap’

Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi received Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (EPA)
Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi received Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (EPA)

Iran and Turkey agreed to draw a road map for comprehensive long-term cooperation to bolster their bilateral relations.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu discussed regional and international developments with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian during his visit to Tehran.

Cavusoglu also met Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi and announced that both countries would determine a roadmap for long-term comprehensive cooperation.

The two parties addressed regional issues, including Afghanistan and Syria, and discussed preparations for the seventh meeting of the Iran-Turkey high-level cooperation council.

Cavusoglu said: "We hope to hold it within this year."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Tehran before the end of this year, announced the minister.

Cavusoglu later tweeted that he discussed "bilateral relations, including trade, investments and the fight against terrorism and the latest developments in our region with President Raisi of Iran. We reaffirmed our mutual will to further develop our relations."

Raisi said the close relations between Iran and Turkey are in the interest of peace and stability in the region, adding that the “regional cooperation between the two countries should be turned into international cooperation."

In a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart following their talks, Cavusoglu said that "unilateral sanctions against Iran are wrong."

"I think we can make a significant contribution to the stability of Iraq as two countries. We will continue our cooperation in the Astana format in Syria. We would like to hold meetings both at the level of state leaders and at the level of foreign ministries in the coming period," he added.

For his part, Amir-Abdollahian said the two sides agreed on a roadmap for long-term cooperation, adding that there was a "lot of consensus" between them on regional issues.

He indicated that the discussions also dealt with bilateral trade, private sector investments, and the practical lifting of trade barriers.

He hoped that a document on long-term cooperation between the two sides would be signed during a visit by the Turkish President to Tehran without specifying the date.

Commenting on the Yemeni crisis, he said both Iran and Turkey hoped the civil war in Yemen would end as soon as possible, adding that Lebanon's situation is worrisome.

He further said that both officials condemned the recent terrorist drone attack against Iraqi premier Mustafa al-Kadhimi, expressing hope that the country's new government would be formed as soon as possible.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said that the Turkish minister's visit addressed bilateral, regional, and international issues.

He indicated that it comes within consolidating relations between the two countries, noting that the officials also discussed border issues and management of shared water resources.

Referring to Turkey's Ilisu dam on the Tigris river, Khatibzadeh noted that all downstream countries are affected by every decision at the regional and local level, stressing that everyone must think globally and decide jointly to tackle environmental and human issues.



Russia Pledges ‘Full Support’ for Venezuela Against US ‘Hostilities’

The US Navy replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha (T-AO-196) arrives at port in Ponce, Puerto Rico, amid ongoing military movements, December 21, 2025. (Reuters)
The US Navy replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha (T-AO-196) arrives at port in Ponce, Puerto Rico, amid ongoing military movements, December 21, 2025. (Reuters)
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Russia Pledges ‘Full Support’ for Venezuela Against US ‘Hostilities’

The US Navy replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha (T-AO-196) arrives at port in Ponce, Puerto Rico, amid ongoing military movements, December 21, 2025. (Reuters)
The US Navy replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha (T-AO-196) arrives at port in Ponce, Puerto Rico, amid ongoing military movements, December 21, 2025. (Reuters)

Russia on Monday expressed "full support" for Venezuela as the South American country confronts a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers by US forces deployed in the Caribbean, the two governments said.

In a phone call, the foreign ministers of the two allied countries blasted the US actions, which have included bombing alleged drug-trafficking boats and more recently the seizure of two tankers.

A third ship was being pursued, a US official told AFP Sunday.

"The ministers expressed their deep concern over the escalation of Washington's actions in the Caribbean Sea, which could have serious consequences for the region and threaten international shipping," the Russian foreign ministry said of the call between ministers Sergei Lavrov and Yvan Gil.

"The Russian side reaffirmed its full support for and solidarity with the Venezuelan leadership and people in the current context," it added.

"The ministers agreed to continue their close bilateral cooperation and to coordinate their actions on the international stage, particularly at the UN, in order to ensure respect for state sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs."

The UN Security Council is to meet Tuesday to discuss the mounting crisis between Venezuela and the United States after a request from Caracas, backed by China and Russia.

On Telegram, Venezuela's Gil said he and Lavrov had discussed "the aggressions and flagrant violations of international law being perpetrated in the Caribbean: attacks on vessels, extrajudicial executions, and illicit acts of piracy carried out by the United States government."

US forces have since September launched strikes on boats Washington said, without providing evidence, were trafficking drugs in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.

More than 100 people have been killed, some of them fishermen, according to their families and governments.

US President Donald Trump on December 16 announced a blockade of "sanctioned oil vessels" sailing to and from Venezuela.

Trump has claimed Caracas under Maduro is using oil money to finance "drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder and kidnapping.

Gil said Lavrov had affirmed Moscow's "full support in the face of hostilities against our country."


Turkish Agents Capture an ISIS Member on the Afghan-Pakistan Border

A Turkish soldier stands guard outside the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex near Istanbul, Turkey. (File/Reuters)
A Turkish soldier stands guard outside the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex near Istanbul, Turkey. (File/Reuters)
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Turkish Agents Capture an ISIS Member on the Afghan-Pakistan Border

A Turkish soldier stands guard outside the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex near Istanbul, Turkey. (File/Reuters)
A Turkish soldier stands guard outside the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex near Istanbul, Turkey. (File/Reuters)

Turkish intelligence agents have captured a senior member of the ISIS terror group in an area along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, allegedly thwarting planned suicide attacks in Türkiye and elsewhere, Türkiye's state-run news agency reported Monday.

Anadolu Agency said the suspect was identified as Mehmet Goren and a member of the group's Afghanistan-based ISIS-Khorasan branch. He was caught in a covert operation and transferred to Türkiye.

It was not clear when the operation took place or whether Afghan and Pakistani authorities were involved.

The report said the Turkish citizen allegedly rose within the organization’s ranks and was given the task of carrying out suicide bombings in Türkiye, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Europe.

ISIS has carried out deadly attacks in Türkiye, including a shooting at an Istanbul night club on Jan. 1, 2017, which killed 39 people.

Monday's report said Goren’s capture allegedly also exposed the group's recruitment methods and provided intelligence on its planned activities.


Iran Arrests Norwegian-Iranian Dual Citizen

Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
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Iran Arrests Norwegian-Iranian Dual Citizen

Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)

A Norwegian-Iranian dual citizen has been arrested in Iran, Norway's foreign ministry told AFP on Monday.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is aware that a Norwegian citizen has been arrested in Iran, but due to our obligation to respect confidentiality we cannot provide further details," ministry spokesman Mathias Rongved said in an email.

He confirmed the individual was a dual Norwegian-Iranian national and noted the government advises against travel to Iran.

On its website, the Norwegian government states that Iran does not recognise dual citizenship, and it is "therefore very difficult -- virtually impossible -- for the embassy to assist Norwegian-Iranian citizens if they are imprisoned in Iran".

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) identified the dual national as Shahin Mahmoudi, born in 1979.

It said she was arrested on December 14 after being ordered to report to authorities in Saqqez, in Iran's western Kurdistan province.

She is being held at a detention center in Sanandaj, it added.

HRANA said her family had not been informed of the reason for her arrest nor had they received any news of her health and well-being.