Tehran seeks full implementation of JCPOA: Zarif

Here is a round-up of global news developments:

• Iran’s foreign minister says Tehran is seeking a full implementation of the country’s nuclear deal with the P-five-plus-one group, not access to the U-S financial system. Mohammad Javad Zarif told The New York Times that Washington must inform other countries that they can do business in Iran without risking US penalties.
• Iran condemns as theft a US Supreme Court ruling over granting frozen Iranian assets to the families of victims of a 19-83 bombing in Beirut. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Jaberi-Ansari said the ruling has mocked the law and amounts to misappropriation of Iran’s property.
• Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi says Damascus is planning to hold a referendum on the country’s Constitution after the formation of Syria’s new government. Halqi also accused Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Britain, and France of supporting terrorists and fueling the war in Syria to destroy the U-N-brokered truce.
• Israeli authorities are reportedly forcing desperate Palestinian patients to spy on fellow Gazans to get out of the territory for treatment. Patients are also arrested and interrogated at Israeli checkpoints before being granted exit permits. Hundreds have died over past years due to lack of medical treatment in Gaza.
• Peace talks between Yemen's warring sides have kicked off in Kuwait in a bid to end the fighting in the country. United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed opened the talks. He called for a compromise between the two sides citing the high death toll from the conflict.
• Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has called for debt relief rather than more austerity to help the country's economy recover. This came after the European Commission said Greece has attained a surplus last year, which is better than expected. Athens hopes this can help unlock badly-needed bailout loans.
• The EU says it has failed to gather Macedonia’s parties for political crisis talks. The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia declined to attend the talks, saying its preconditions were not met. The party wants amnesty for jailed politicians and the postponement of the June elections.
• Spain is bracing for new general elections as political parties dismiss the possibility of last-minute talks to secure a parliamentary majority. Acting-Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy says he will inform King Felipe that he does not have enough support to form a government. Spain has been without a government since December’s inconclusive elections.

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