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DUBAI Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan agreed on Wednesday to improve ties, including in the fight against terrorism, Iran's state news agency IRNA said, following some angry exchanges between the regional rivals.

Tehran and Ankara support opposite sides in the conflict in Syria. Largely Shiite Muslim Iran backs the government of President Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey, which is majority Sunni, has backed elements of the Syrian opposition.

Last month Erdogan and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu both accused Iran of trying to destabilize Syria and Iraq and of sectarianism, prompting Tehran to summon Ankara's ambassador.

In an apparent response to Ankara's accusations, Rouhani was quoted by IRNA as saying on Wednesday: "Iran supports the territorial integrity of regional countries ... especially Iraq and Syria."

"Resolving political differences (between Iran and Turkey) can lead to regional stability," Rouhani was quoted as saying at his meeting with Erdogan, on the sidelines of an economic cooperation summit in the Pakistani capital Islamabad.

Regional rivalry between Iran and Turkey is nothing new, but political analysts have linked Ankara's tougher rhetoric to U.S. President Donald Trump's approach to the Middle East.

Trump has been sharply critical of Iran, including a nuclear deal it clinched in 2015 with major powers, while Turkey, a NATO ally, is hoping for improved ties with Washington after a chill caused partly by U.S. criticism of Ankara's human rights record.

In another conciliatory move by Turkey on Wednesday, Cavusoglu told IRNA in an interview that Ankara had appreciated Tehran's expressions of support for his government during a failed military coup against Erdogan on July 15, 2016.

"Iran was with us to support our government in every minute at that night while some other countries only called us days or even weeks after the attempted coup," IRNA quoted him as saying.

Last week Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had called Turkey an ungrateful neighbor.

"They (Turkey) accuse us of sectarianism but don't remember we didn't sleep on the night of the coup," he said.

Despite their differences, Turkey and Iran, along with Assad ally Russia, have been sponsoring Syrian peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana in an attempt to end the Syrian civil war, which began in 2011.

(Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Gareth Jones)

KUALA LUMPUR Malaysia on Wednesday charged two women, an Indonesian and a Vietnamese, with murdering the estranged half brother of North Korea's leader in a bizarre airport assassination using a super-toxic nerve agent that killed in minutes.

MOSUL, Iraq U.S.-backed Iraqi army units on Wednesday took control of the last major road out of western Mosul that had been in Islamic State's hands, trapping the militants in a shrinking area within the city, a general and residents said.

GENEVASyrian government aircraft deliberately bombed and strafed a humanitarian convoy, killing 14 aid workers and halting relief operations, U.N. investigators said on Wednesday in a report identifying war crimes committed by both sides in Syria's war.

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Iran, Turkey presidents meet to defuse tensions - Reuters

EU Mulls Options to Appease Trump Over Iran Nuclear Deal Wall Street Journal (subscription) BRUSSELSEuropean officials are compiling options for tightening implementation of the 2015 Iranian nuclear agreement, hoping to bolster their case that U.S. President Donald Trump should stick to the accord he has repeatedly criticized. Officials ...

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EU Mulls Options to Appease Trump Over Iran Nuclear Deal - Wall Street Journal (subscription)

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Dr. Michael Knights, a Boston-based fellow atThe Washington Institute for Near East Policythat champions conservative perspectives, and Hardin Lang, a fellow at the liberal Center for American Progress (CAP), testified before theSenate Foreign Relations Committee.

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They suggested that the United States should leave behind a military force of between 3,000 to 5,000 troops to continue working with their Iraqi counterparts for at least three years.

Dr. Knights specifically warned against withdrawing American troops from the country prematurely, adding, Just two and a half years after the U.S. military left the country, ISIL took over Mosul and a third of Iraq. ISILs success and the complete and hasty withdrawal of U.S. military support to Iraq was no coincidence.

Meanwhile, Lang reminded lawmakers that Shiite, or Shia, militiamen backed by Iran killed about 500 American troops in Iraq between 2003 and 2011.

We need to make smart choices now while we are still keenly focused on the threats to U.S. interests that are present in Iraq, testified Dr. Knights, according to his prepared remarks. These threats include not only ISIL but also Shia militias groups that parasitically exploit ISILs presence and which make up part of the Iranian threat network discussed in this committee earlier this month.

The regime in the Tehran, the worlds largest state sponsor of terrorism, has an ambitious agenda inside Iraq, he added. Tehran seeks to exploit the justifiable fear of ISIL that is felt by Iraqi Shia majority in Iraq.

When alluding to the Shiite fighters, Lang singled out the Iraqi government-sanctioned Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an Iran-affiliated umbrella network of mainly Shiite fighters currently fighting ISIS in Iraq.

Th PMF represents the largest alliance of all Shiite militias in Iraq and is also known as the Popular Mobilization Units (PMF) and al-Hashd al-Shabi.

Lang estimates the size of the Shiite militia force in Iraq to be between 100,000 and 120,000.

In his written testimony, the CAP expert acknowledged that one of the biggest threats to reconciliation [primarily between Sunnis and Shias] remains sectarian Shia militias, adding:

There is a very real risk that the PMF could take root as a Hezbollah-style Iranian [terrorist] proxy. Such a development would threaten Iraqi sovereignty and undercut attempts at national reconciliation. There are no easy solutions to managing the threat posed by Iranian- backed PMF units, but the U.S. could play a constructive role in facilitating the demobilization or integration of the remaining PMF units into the ISF [Iraqi Security Forces].

While participating in the ongoing Mosul offensive in Iraq, the U.S. military is providing assistance to the PMF.

The Pentagon says it is only providing support to Shiite militiamen vetted for links to Iran and terrorist groups, as mandated by law.

A large proportion [of the PMF] receives direct Iranian backing, testified Lang. The CAP expert acknowledged that U.S. policy towards the PMF changed under former President Barack Obama.

In 2014, U.S. refused to provide them military support, but since mid-2015, American policy has evolved to include air and other support for those PMF units not beholden to Iran, he explained, noting that the Iraqi parliament legalized the PMF in November 2016.

Some news reports have accused the U.S. military of providing support to all Shiite militiamen, including those linked to Iran who may have American blood on their hands. The Pentagon has denied the allegations.

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Experts Warn: Iran-Allied Shiite Militias in Iraq to Threaten US After Mosul Falls - Breitbart News

VIENNA The chief of the U.N. atomic watchdog will hold talks on Iran's nuclear deal on Thursday for the first time with senior officials from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has branded it "the worst deal ever negotiated".

The 2015 deal between Tehran and major powers places restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

The accord will be the main topic of Yukiya Amano's talks in Washington, officials involved in the dealings of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Wednesday.

Trump's Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who has called for a "full review" of the accord, is among the senior U.S. officials Amano will meet, they said.

Amano, whose agency is in charge of policing those nuclear restrictions under the deal, has publicly argued in favor of the agreement, describing it as a "net gain".

But Trump, who took office on Jan. 20, has said he wants to "police that contract so tough they (the Iranians) don't have a chance".

"IAEA Director General Amano will meet with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and other senior U.S. officials in Washington on Thursday, March 2," an IAEA spokesman said on Wednesday, declining to elaborate.

Amano has previously said he hopes to hold an initial discussion with Trump administration officials "as soon as possible".

The IAEA produced a quarterly report on Iran last week that said Iran's stock of enriched uranium had roughly halved after coming close to the limit of what it is allowed under the deal with major powers.

The IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors is expected to discuss Amano's bid for re-election as director general at its quarterly meeting next week.

Amano, who is Japanese, is the only candidate and diplomats say he is all but certain of winning, though the United States is one of few countries that have yet to back him.

(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Gareth Jones)

KUALA LUMPUR Malaysia on Wednesday charged two women, an Indonesian and a Vietnamese, with murdering the estranged half brother of North Korea's leader in a bizarre airport assassination using a super-toxic nerve agent that killed in minutes.

MOSUL, Iraq U.S.-backed Iraqi army units on Wednesday took control of the last major road out of western Mosul that had been in Islamic State's hands, trapping the militants in a shrinking area within the city, a general and residents said.

GENEVASyrian government aircraft deliberately bombed and strafed a humanitarian convoy, killing 14 aid workers and halting relief operations, U.N. investigators said on Wednesday in a report identifying war crimes committed by both sides in Syria's war.

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UN nuclear watchdog chief to discuss Iran deal with Trump officials - Reuters

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Key Problems Trump Needs To Address On The Iran Nuclear Deal Forbes Iran's recent ballistic missile test was the latest manifestation of its enmity toward the international community and its disrespect for its commitments under UN resolutions and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the nuclear deal ... Iran's recovery faces US and nuclear deal risks, IMF warnsFinancial Times Don't get fooled again on IranThe Hill (blog) Iran's Trump CardsForeign Affairs Fox News -Bloomberg -Salt Lake Tribune all 34 news articles »

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Key Problems Trump Needs To Address On The Iran Nuclear Deal - Forbes