NOURNEWS- The following headlines appeared in English-language newspapers in the Iranian capital on Wednesday, September 20, 2023.
IRAN DAILY:
-- Iran advocates peace:
The Iranian president, who is on a three-day visit to the United States to participate in the 78th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), has taken the opportunity at the UN to hold meetings with the heads of states and media outlets.
During his meeting with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Raeisi said people expect the UN to avert excessive demands and warmongering by world powers and the domination system, warning that such dangerous procedures disrupt global peace and stability.
Raeisi said that cooperation with the UN is the Islamic Republic’s principle, stressing that the country stands ready to contribute to the expansion of peace and security across the world and the prevention of oppression against nations.
He said the world body is tasked to pay attention to calls by nations for the exercise of justice, as well as the establishment of sustainable security, and the elimination of discrimination and poverty.
The Iranian chief executive further highlighted concerns about the political and social future of Afghanistan, Yemen, and Syria, as well as separatism in Africa, saying the UN has an important mission to prevent oppression against the people of these countries.
Guterres, for his part, voiced his keenness to develop cooperation between the United Nations and Iran.
He further welcomed positive steps in relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, saying the two countries can influence regional stability.
Praising Iran’s constructive role regarding developments in Yemen, Guterres also emphasized the UN support for Tehran’s initiatives to end the crisis gripping the impoverished state.
Meanwhile, the Iranian president asked the UN chief to follow the news on Iran directly, and through the correct channels, as the Western media do not present a true image of the country.
The Iranian president also held a meeting with senior American media managers and answered their questions.
He told media outlets that a recent Qatar-mediated prisoner swap that took place between Iran and the US was carried out purely on humanitarian grounds.
“Definitely, any step that is taken [by the United States] to fulfill their commitments would be confidence-building for us,” Raeisi said.
Raeisi told NBC that the released funds, which, he said, had been cruelly blocked and are now in possession of Iran, belong to the Iranian people and would be used to meet their needs.
After two years of high-stakes negotiations, Iran and the US agreed to free prisoners as part of a deal that also included the release of about $6 billion of Iranian assets illegally frozen in South Korea.
On Monday, Iran and the US freed 10 prisoners – five in Iran for five in the US – after the US government unblocked the nearly $6 billion in frozen Iranian oil funds held in South Korea.
Foreign intervention in region
Elsewhere in his remarks, Raeisi described the promotion of relations with Iran’s neighbors as one of his administration’s pivotal policies, stressing that “the main reason behind some problems in the regional countries’ relations has been foreign intervention, especially by the United States.”
The Iranian president also pointed to the failure of the so-called US maximum pressure policy and sanctions against Tehran, suggesting that American media managers urge their officials to reconsider the policy of imposing sanctions against the Iranian nation, because “Iranians are determined to overcome problems and will never yield to sanctions.”
He noted that the US and the West raise issues such as the hijab, human rights and Iran’s nuclear activities only as an excuse to harm the Islamic Republic as an independent country.
He slammed US media silence on the killing of more than 1,000 American people by the country’s police in 2022 and a recent fatal shooting of a pregnant Black woman by US police in the state of Ohio earlier this month.
US bullying tactics
Raeisi also said the US policy of implementing bullying tactics against Iran in the form of imposing sanctions on the country will fail to produce any results.
“Using the bullying language in the form of sanctions and threats against the Iranian nation is not a useful instrument, one should speak rationally,” Raeisi said on Tuesday during a meeting in New York with representatives of US think tanks.
Elaborating on his remarks, Raeisi said an example of Washington’s insistence on using bullying tactics against Iran was its decision to freeze billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian funds in South Korea for several years.
Raeisi said Iran will continue to judge the US based on its practical steps, not its rhetoric.
“Up to now, US behavior has failed to win the Islamic Republic’s trust,” he said, adding that what can make Iran trust the US is a change in the US’s bullying behavior and its respect for commitments made under international deals.
President Raeisi also held talks with heads of state of Algeria, Kyrgyzstan, Croatia and Kazakhstan.
Iran’s achievements
During a meeting with his Croatian counterpart Zoran Milanovic, Raeisi said the era of the West’s dominance over independent nations is “over,” stressing that Tehran has managed to thwart sanctions imposed by Western countries.
“Despite efforts made by some Western countries to impose their interests and values on other countries in the world, the Islamic Republic of Iran has managed to turn sanctions and pressures into opportunities and has made significant progress in different fields, particularly the field of technology,” he said.
Elsewhere in his remarks, he said that Iran has made significant achievements in the fields of agriculture, industry, and medicine thanks to its peaceful nuclear program, noting that “we managed to treat one million patients with radiopharmaceuticals last year.”
“Why do the US and European countries that own nuclear arsenals prevent other countries from benefiting from nuclear energy,” he added.
Economic ties with Kazakhstan
Also on Monday, Raeisi met Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during which they called for accelerating the full implementation of bilateral agreements, including economic and trade deals.
Raeisi said the fact that the two countries are Caspian neighbors and members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) paves the way for expanding bilateral ties.
He noted that enhanced trade ties between the two countries by sea or rail “serve the interests of the two nations as well as the regional countries,” adding that “effective steps must be taken” to accelerate the attainment of the goal.
For his part, Tokayev, who visited Tehran in June at the invitation of President Raeisi, stressed that Iran is a strategic partner and close friend of Kazakhstan.
The two sides oversaw the signing of several cooperation documents on transport, energy, tourism, and other fields.
Palestinian issue
President Raeisi also met with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, expressing appreciation for the African country’s support for the oppressed people of Palestine and its firm position on denying an observer status to Israel in the African Union. Raeisi said Iran has no problem in expanding relations with neighboring countries, stating that the interference of Western countries, especially the US, is the cause of disruption in relations between regional countries.
Tebboune touched on the history of good relations between the two countries and emphasized the need for serious efforts to revive and improve relations between Iran and Algeria.
He said he is familiar with the political, economic, scientific and research capabilities of the Islamic Republic. “We know that sanctions have made Iran a powerful country and we are ready to expand our relations with Iran,” he said.
The Algerian president emphasized his country’s support for the rights of the Palestinian people to create an independent state, saying that the reinforcement of relations between Islamic countries in the region has increased their strength to deal with threats.
Raeisi also hailed Milanovic’s announcement that his country is adopting an independent policy and expressed Iran’s interest in expanding political, economic, and trade ties with Croatia.
Milanovic, for his part, said Croatia has always tried to adopt independent policies, despite being a member of the US-led NATO military alliance and the European Union.
-- Petchem nameplate capacity tops 92m tons: NPC:
Iran’s petrochemical production capacity, which was at a pretty low level at the beginning of the Islamic Revolution, has now soared to over 92 million tons per year thanks to great efforts of domestic experts, said National Petrochemical Company (NPC) managing director on Tuesday.
Morteza Shahmirzaei, who made the remarks at a press conference at the 17th IranPlast International Exhibition, added the petrochemical industry is the most developing industry in the world and ranks first, Shana reported.
The completion of petrochemical industry’s value chain is not just a motto, but a task, plan, and duty as an inviolable strategy, noted the official.
The country’s petrochemical industry was 100 percent dependent in the pre-revolution era, while Iran is now self-sufficient in most sectors, including catalysts, products, equipment, commissioning, and producing, said Shahmirzaei.
He added that Iran’s incumbent administration has signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) on investment in the oil industry worth tens of billions of dollars, of which some were put into action and some are pending.
Development plans for completing petrochemical industry’s value chain and setting up new plants with the aim of diversifying products have been outlined, said the deputy oil minister.
A handful of petrochemicals were produced in Iran at the beginning of the Islamic Revolution, but now 550 grades of petrochemicals are produced and supplied to domestic and foreign clients, he concluded.
-- Official calls for launching PTA between Iran and Iraq:
The secretary general of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce stressed the need to launch a preferential trade agreement (PTA) between the two countries, in line with boosting trade and economic activities.
Speaking at a conference on strategies for the development of sustainable trade between Iran and Iraq in the 2025 Vision on Tuesday, Jahanbakhsh Sanjabi Shirazi put the current balance of Iran’s trade with neighboring Iraq at $10 billion, 95 percent of which is in the interest of the Islamic Republic, according to Tasnim news agency.
Iran enjoys the potential and capabilities to have a stronger presence in the lucrative Iraqi market, he said.
Sanjabi Shirazi further noted that a PTA should be launched between Iran and Iraq to spur trade and economic activities.
Earlier, Chairman of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce Yahya Al-e Es’haq said that Iran and Iraq have targeted $20 billion in bilateral trade.
The two countries enjoy high potentials in all fields, especially in the fields of trade and the economy to boost their trade value to $20 billion in the coming year, he emphasized.
Iraq will become the main country in the region in the field of investment within the next 10 years, Al-e Es’haq said, calling on Iranian investors to make huge investments in the lucrative and profitable Iraqi market.
-- Iran eyes collecting interest from S Korea over released funds
Teheran is reviewing collecting interest from South Korean lenders over their past withholding of around US$6 billion in Iranian funds under United States sanctions, according to sources, after Seoul released the funds in a prisoner swap deal between Washington and Teheran.
According to Iranian diplomatic sources, Teheran authorities have begun a legal review of seeking interest for the funds that were previously frozen by the Bank of Korea, the Industrial Bank of Korea and Woori Bank over the past four years or so, Yonhap reported on Tuesday.
An Iranian government official, who declined to be identified, said South Korean financial institutions unfairly earned interest income due to illegal sanctions by the US.
The official said it was only natural for the lenders to return the interest to the rightful owner.
A Seoul Foreign Ministry official, meanwhile, said Iran’s move was “not in line with the spirit of the agreement between the relevant countries.”
“All the details related to the transfer of the frozen funds have been carried out based on agreements with the relevant countries, including Iran,” the Seoul official said.
Relations between South Korea and Iran had remained tense as the Islamic Republic had demanded the transfer of its frozen funds. The demand had posed a diplomatic challenge to Seoul, which sought to strengthen its treaty alliance with Washington and its economic partnership with Tehran.
-- Iran, Brazil sign MoU on cooperatives sector:
The Iran Chamber of Cooperatives and the State Organization of Brazilian Cooperatives (OCB) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Tehran to bolster bilateral cooperation between the two countries for the development of cooperatives.
The MoU was inked on the sidelines of a meeting of members of the Board of Directors of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) held in Tehran, IRNA reported.
It was signed between Chairman of Iran Chamber of Cooperatives Bahman Abdollahi and President of State Organization of Brazilian Cooperatives Rémy Gorka aimed at strengthening mutual cooperation at multilateral assemblies, dispatching, admitting trade-economic delegations and developing the exchange of technical know-how and experiences of successful models.
Cooperating in the agreed bilateral activities in the fields of trade, industry, finance and investment, developing and promoting trade cooperation and bilateral investment, focusing on social and economic growth and development, and encouraging members to participate in the international trade fairs and trade seminars were among major topics discussed at this expert-level meeting.
-- Armed groups begin withdrawing from Iraq-Iran border:
Armed Kurdish groups in northern Iraq started pulling out from areas near the border with Iran on Tuesday as Baghdad faced the deadline to disarm the groups.
It was part of a security agreement signed between the two countries to disarm the groups and remove their military camps, a report by Al Jazeera said from Suran, near the Iraq-Iran border.
In March, Iran set a deadline of September 19 for the security agreement concluded with Iraq, under which the Iraqi government has promised to disarm terrorist and separatist groups based in the Kurdistan Region, vacate their military barracks, and transfer them to the camps established by the Baghdad government.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has shared positive news received from his Iraqi counterpart, Fuad Hussein, regarding the joint deal, as reported by AP.
He made the remarks during a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart after their meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly summit in New York on Tuesday.
The Iraqi official also characterized the security pact as the best option to foster good neighborly relations.
Groups to be relocated to five camps
Also on Monday, he announced that Kurdish armed groups along the border with Iran have handed over their heavy weaponry as the deadline for their disarmament and relocation approached. Hussein said the armed groups and their families will be relocated to five camps, which have been set up in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region.
The top Iraqi diplomat reiterated his country’s commitment to the security agreement with Iran, saying the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has taken the necessary measures in accordance with Baghdad’s agreement with Tehran, Press TV reported.
Stressing that Iraq pursues peaceful approaches based on dialogue and respect for its neighbors, Hussein said Baghdad opposes any act of violence against its national sovereignty.
Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani said on Sunday that Tehran will not extend the ultimatum given to Iraq to disarm Kurdish separatist groups along the border with Iran, warning Baghdad of an “eleventh-hour decision” on the matter.
Reports say Iraq’s national security adviser, KRG minister of interior, and special representative of the United Nations’ secretary general for Iraq have met in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, and discussed the implementation of the security pact. Meanwhile, Iraqi media reported on Saturday the country’s border guards have managed to gain full control over an area on the Kurdistan Region’s border with Iran and drive out terrorist groups following fierce clashes.
Iraq’s Shafaq news agency cited the country’s border guard forces as saying in a statement late on Friday that they had seized border points in Erbil Province and raised Iraq’s national flag in the area after clashes with “outlaws.”
The security agreement between the two countries came after anti-Iranian terrorist groups residing in Iraqi Kurdistan Region increased their malign activities, especially in border areas.
-- Russian defense minister in Tehran:
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, at the head of a high-ranking military delegation, arrived in Tehran on Tuesday to hold talks with senior Iranian officials aimed at further bolstering bilateral relations and counter-terrorism cooperation.
Shoigu’s visit to Tehran on Tuesday afternoon came after an official invitation by Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri in June.
The Russian defense minister was scheduled to meet with Baqeri, with media reports saying discussions would revolve around advancing defense diplomacy, expanding bilateral cooperation, and addressing shared threats, particularly international terrorism.
-- Azerbaijan launches military action in Karabakh as tensions escalate:
Azerbaijan launched military action in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, a step that could presage a new war in the volatile area but which Baku said was necessary to restore constitutional order and drive out Armenian military formations.
Karabakh is internationally recognised as Azerbaijani territory but part of it is run by breakaway ethnic Armenian authorities who say the area is their ancestral homeland.
In a statement announcing its operation, Azerbaijan’s defence ministry spoke of its intention to “disarm and secure the withdrawal of formations of Armenia’s armed forces from our territories, (and) neutralise their military infrastructure, Reuters reported”.
It said it was only targeting legitimate military targets using “high-precision weapons” and not civilians as part of what it called a drive to “restore the constitutional order of the Republic of Azerbaijan”.
Civilians were free to leave by humanitarian corridors, it added, including one to Armenia, whose prime minister, Pashinyan, said the offer looked like another attempt by Baku to get ethnic Armenians to leave Karabakh as part of a campaign of what he called “ethnic cleansing”, an accusation Baku denies.
The Karabakh separatist human rights ombudsman, Gegham Stepanyan, said that two civilians had been killed and 11 people injured as a result of strikes by Azerbaijan’s military. Reuters could not immediately verify his assertion.
KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL:
-- U.S. Imposes New Sanctions on Iran:
The U.S. government on Tuesday announced new sanctions related to Iran’s military aviation activity by blacklisting Iranian, Russian, Chinese and Turkish entities for their alleged support for Iran’s legitimate program to develop drones and military aircraft. Seven individuals and four entities in the four countries were targeted by the U.S. Department of Treasury in a series of sanctions announced on Tuesday for what it said was their alleged role to facilitate “shipments and financial transactions” to the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company (HESA).
-- UK Doctors Begin Two-Day Strike:
UK doctors on Tuesday staged a two-day strike over pay and work conditions as the British government considers minimum service level rules to stop the danger of “coordinated and calculated strike action.”
Senior doctors, known as consultants, will be joined by junior doctors on Wednesday. This is the first time both groups have held a strike on the same day. The doctors are due to hold three further days of joint strike action next month.
-- Russian Defense Minister in Tehran to Boost Ties:
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu arrived here Tuesday at the head of a high-ranking military delegation to hold talks with senior Iranian officials aimed at further bolstering bilateral relations and counter-terrorism cooperation.
Shoigu’s visit came after an official invitation by Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri in June.
The Russian defense minister planned to meet with Baqeri, with media reports saying discussions would revolve around advancing defense diplomacy, expanding bilateral cooperation, and addressing shared threats, particularly international terrorism.
Shoigu was also to meet with senior commanders of Iran’s armed forces during this visit to Tehran.
Iran and Russia, as two close and strategic allies, have over the past years deepened their relations in various fields, including military and defense, despite being under heavy Western sanctions.
Last month, Iran’s domestically-manufactured Ababil ballistic missile was for the first time put on display at a military exhibition in Russia, alongside a range of other cutting-edge Iranian military equipment, including drones and electronic warfare systems.
The Iranian defense ministry also for the first time showcased a replica of its Tactical Sayayd air defense system in the Russian exhibition.
Brigadier General Kioumars Heydari, the commander of the Iranian army’s ground force, announced after the military exhibit in Moscow that the country had reached new defense agreements with Russia on boosting defense ties, including in the fight against terrorism.
-- Azerbaijan Launches Military Operation in Karabakh:
Azerbaijan launched military action in the Karabakh region, a step that could presage a new war in the volatile area but which Baku said was necessary to restore constitutional order and drive out Armenian military formations.
Karabakh is internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory but part of it is run by breakaway ethnic Armenian authorities. It has been at the centre of two wars - the latest in 2020 - since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union.
It was not clear whether Baku’s actions would trigger a full-scale conflict dragging in neighboring Armenia or be a more limited military operation. But there were already signs of political fallout in Yerevan where Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan spoke of calls for a coup against him.
Loud and repeated shelling was audible from social media footage filmed in Stepanakert, the capital of Karabakh, called Khankandi by Azerbaijan, on Tuesday.
The Karabakh separatist human rights ombudsman, Gegham Stepanyan, said that two civilians had been killed and 11 people injured as a result of strikes by Azerbaijan’s military. Reuters could not immediately verify his assertion.
In a statement announcing its operation, Azerbaijan’s defense ministry spoke of its intention to “disarm and secure the withdrawal of formations of Armenia’s armed forces from our territories, (and) neutralize their military infrastructure”.
It said it was only targeting legitimate military targets using “high-precision weapons” and not civilians as part of what it called a drive to “restore the constitutional order of the Republic of Azerbaijan”.
Civilians were free to leave by humanitarian corridors, it added, including one to Armenia.
Ethnic Armenian forces in Karabakh said Azerbaijani forces were trying to break through their defenses after heavy shelling, but that they were holding the line for now.
Armenia, which had been holding peace talks with Azerbaijan, including on questions about Karabakh’s future, accused Azerbaijan of shelling towns and villages.
Armenia, which says its armed forces are not in Karabakh and that the situation on its own border with Azerbaijan is stable, called on members of the UN Security Council to help and for Russian peacekeepers on the ground to intervene.
Russia, which brokered a fragile ceasefire after the war in 2020 which saw Azerbaijan recapture swathes of land in and around Karabakh that it had lost in an earlier conflict in the 1990s, called for all sides to stop fighting.
Russia is in touch with both Azerbaijan and Armenia and has urged negotiations to resolve the Karabakh conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, adding that Moscow considered ensuring civilian safety the most important issue.
The Armenian government held a security council meeting to discuss the situation as people gathered in the government district in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, to demand the authorities take action.
Baku announced its operation after complaining that six of its citizens had been killed by land mines in two separate incidents, something it blamed on “illegal Armenian armed groups.”
The escalation occurred a day after badly needed food and medicine was delivered to Karabakh along two roads simultaneously, a step that looked like it could help defuse mounting tension between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Until the last few days, Baku had imposed sweeping restrictions on the Lachin corridor - the only road linking Armenia with Karabakh - and had blocked aid on the grounds that the route was purportedly being used for arms smuggling.
-- President: Iran’s Voice is Stronger Than Ever:
President Ebrahim Raisi said here Tuesday the United States’ policy of implementing bullying tactics against Iran in the form of imposing sanctions on the country will definitely fail to produce any results.
“Using the bullying language in the form of sanctions and threats against the Iranian nation is not a useful instrument, one should speak with logic,” Raisi said during a meeting with representatives of U.S. political think tanks.
Raisi said a manifestation of Washington’s insistence on using bullying tactics against Iran was its decision to freeze billions of dollars worth of Iranian funds in South Korea for several years.
The funds were released on Monday as part of a prisoner exchange deal between Iran and the U.S. that was mediated by Qatar.
Raisi said Iran will continue to judge the U.S. based on its practical steps and not its sheer rhetoric.
“Up to now, U.S. behavior has failed to win the trust of the Islamic Republic,” he said, adding that what can make Iran trust the U.S. is a change in Washington’s bullying behavior as well as its respect for commitments made under international deals.
Raisi is in New York to attend the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). He is planned to deliver a speech to the summit later on Tuesday.
Since arriving in the U.S. on Monday, the Iranian president has attended meetings with media people, religious figures and other groups as part of a campaign to elucidate the policies of the Iranian government.
He told reporters upon his arrival in New York that the United Nations must be “the voice of nations and not the voice of the arrogant powers.”
Raisi said the world’s nations expect the UN to be an organization for the nations because the nations’ voices will not be heard if it becomes an organization of states.
“The UN and the General Assembly are the chances to express the voice of the Iranian nation and explain the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Iranian nation’s voice is stronger than ever because last year they accomplished a great victory against the enemy’s cognitive and hybrid war,” he added.
In a meeting with UN chief Antonio Guterres, the president also exressed Iran’s readiness to cooperate with the United Nations in its efforts aimed at promoting global peace and preventing oppression against nations.
Raisi said that cooperation with the UN is the Islamic Republic’s principle, stressing that the country stands ready to contribute to the expansion of peace and security across the world and the prevention of oppression against nations.
People expect the UN to avert excessive demands and warmongering by the world powers and the domination system, he added, warning that such dangerous procedures disrupt global peace and stability.
Raisi asked the UN chief to follow the Iran news directly and through right channels as Western media do not present a true image of the country.
He also hailed the unique gender equality and attention to women rights in the Islamic Republic, citing the presence of Iranian women and girls in scientific, sports, social, and cultural fields as an example.
Guterres, for his part, voiced his keenness to develop cooperation between the United Nations and the Islamic Republic.
He further welcomed positive steps in relations between Iran and
Saudi Arabia, saying the two countries can influence regional stability.
Praising Iran’s constructive role regarding developments in Yemen, Guterres emphasized the UN support for Tehran’s initiatives to end the crisis gripping the impoverished state.
President Raisi separately said the era of the West’s dominance over independent nations is “over,” stressing that Tehran has managed to thwart sanctions imposed by Western countries.
He told his Croatian counterpart Zoran Milanovic that Iran has made great progress despite sanctions.
“Despite efforts made by some Western countries to impose their interests and values on other countries in the world, the Islamic Republic of Iran has managed to turn sanctions and pressures into opportunities and has made significant progress in different fields, particularly the field of technology,” he said.
Iran, he said, has made significant achievements in the fields of agriculture, industry, and medicine thanks to its peaceful nuclear program, noting that “we managed to treat one million patients with radiopharmaceuticals last year.”
“Why do the U.S. and European countries that own nuclear arsenals prevent other countries from benefiting from nuclear energy?” he asked.
Milanovic, for his part, said Croatia has always tried to adopt independent policies, despite being a member of the U.S.-led NATO military alliance and the European Union.
Also on Monday, Raisi met Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during which they called for accelerating the full implementation of bilateral agreements, including economic and trade deals.
Raisi said the fact that the two countries are Caspian neighbors and members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) paves the way for expanding bilateral ties.
He said enhanced trade ties between the two countries by sea or railway “serve the interests of the two nations as well as the regional countries,” adding that “effective steps must be taken” to accelerate the attainment of the goal.
For his part, Tokayev who visited Tehran in June at the invitation of Raisi stressed that Iran is a strategic partner and close friend of Kazakhstan.
President Raisi also met with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, appreciating the African country’s support for the oppressed people of Palestine and its firm position on denying an observer status and influence to Israel in the African Union.
Raisi said Iran has no problem in expanding relations with neighboring countries, stating that the interference of Western countries, especially the U.S., is the cause of disruption in the relations of the regional countries.
Tebboune touched on the history of good relations between the two countries and emphasized the need for serious efforts to revive and improve the relations between Iran and Algeria.
He said he is familiar with the political, economic, scientific and research capabilities of the Islamic Republic. “We know that sanctions have made Iran a powerful country and we are ready to expand our relations with Iran,” he said.
The Algerian president emphasized his country’s support for the rights of the Palestinian people to create an independent state, saying the reinforcement of relations between the Islamic countries in the region has increased their strength to deal with threats.
Tebboune said Western countries seek to abuse the countries of the region, adding one of the best ways to confront their influence and interference is to become strong.
-- Former Officials: Netanyahu ‘Dismantling’ Israel:
A group of former Israeli officials has warned that the policies of the incumbent far-right regime led by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu are “dismantling” the occupying regime’s military, economy and social fabric.
According to a damning letter, signed by 51 former officials from the Zionist military, Mossad spy agency, so-called internal security service Shin Bet, police, and the ministry of military affairs, Netanyahu is “leading acts aimed at harming the Israeli judicial system and the supreme court in a way that will nullify its independence, and subordinate it to Netanyahu and his fellow politicians.”
The Israeli officials said Netanyahu’s efforts were “transforming Israel into an autocracy that harms its strength through dismantling the army, its military establishment, economy, and risks the social fabric of the people”.
Among the dozens of signatories to the letter are former Israeli war minister and military chief of staff Moshe Ya’alon; former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo; and former prime minister, minister of military affairs, and Israeli army chief of staff, Ehud Barak.
Pardo, who was in charge of Mossad from 2011 to 2016, made headlines on September 6 when he said the occupying regime of Israel is enforcing an apartheid system against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, equating the treatment of Palestinians to the racial separation implemented in South Africa that ended in 1994.
The letter came as Netanyahu set off for a visit to the U.S. Netanyahu has yet to secure a visit to the White House, and two far-right members of his coalition, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Bezalel Smotrich, have so far been snubbed by the Biden administration.
Earlier this month, hundreds of high school students announced that they will refuse to serve in the military in protest against the policies of the incumbent far-right regime, including the controversial judicial overhaul.
Youth Against Dictatorship, in a statement released at the Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium high school in central Tel Aviv, also explicitly tied their cause to opposition to the oppression of Palestinians across the occupied West Bank.
Critics have accused Netanyahu of using the judicial overhaul plan to remain in power. They say he, who is on trial on several counts of corruption charges, is also attempting to use the scheme to quash possible judgments against him.
The protests have gained momentum since the end of July, when the Knesset passed the first bill of the overhaul plan, which restricted the supreme court’s ability to declare the cabinet’s decisions “unreasonable.”
More than 10,000 reservist soldiers, including members of the elite intelligence unit 8200 and air force pilots, have said they would no longer show up for duty on a voluntary basis in protest.
Former politicians and members of the security establishment have also declared support for the boycott.
Former Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin said at a demonstration in Tel Aviv in July that the time had come “to decide on the suspension of volunteering for the reserves until the legislation is completely stopped.”
-- Iran’s Deft Diplomacy Defeats US Devilry:
The release of five Iranian hostages by the US in exchange for the Islamic Republic’s freeing of five American convicts of Iranian origin, accompanied by South Korea’s unfreezing of some six billion dollars of Iranian money which Seoul on Washington’s orders had refused to pay Tehran for several years despite its buying of Iranian oil, is definitely another resounding defeat of Uncle Sam’s plots.
Although the Joe Biden regime is trying to depict this as a success of the US policy of blackmail by claiming it has paid nothing from its own accounts and gotten the US convicts back by freeing some of the kidnapped Iranian nationals, political analysts point out that in contrast to the controversial JCPOA imposed on Iran in 2015 in Geneva by the Barak Obama regime, this time the victor is without the least doubt the Islamic Republic and its team of deft diplomatic negotiators.
In private, the Democrats in power in the White House are cursing Donald Trump and his Republicans for breaching in 2018 the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action which had duped the previous Iranian administration to reduce uranium enrichment from 20 percent purity to a mere 3.5 percent purity and disconnect several centrifuges in exchange for release of Iran’s own frozen money, while giving no concessions in return except false promises of lifting of sanctions.
Today, to the horror of the US and its sheer impotency, Iran, freed from many of the unjust clauses of the JCPOA, is enriching uranium to 60 percent purity and producing a wide variety of civilian nuclear byproducts used in medicine, industry, agriculture, and aerospace – thanks to the new generation of superfast centrifuges.
Biden, along with the ‘Big 3’ of the European Union with their own record of failure to honour commitments to the JCPOA as well as inherent hostility towards the Islamic Republic, has utterly failed in re-imposing the 2015 Geneva Accord on Iran, despite last year’s incitement of thugs, traitors, terrorists, blasphemers, and characterless women to indulge in isolated incidents of riots in some parts of Tehran and a few other cities.
Iran is far stronger than at any other time in modern history, and thanks to the blessings-in-disguise of the sanctions of the Western regimes since 1979, it has achieved self-sufficiency in almost all spheres of science and technology, with practically no need of any goodwill from the US or from France, Britain, and Germany.
It is unconcerned of the illegal sanctions that have been growing against it since the victory of the Islamic Revolution, and without the least doubt is the paramount power in West Asia with profound influence on the people and nations of the region and beyond with its principled policy of peace towards all but firm determination to help root out terrorism, occupation and outside interference.
Thus, the US which “cannot do a damn thing” (to quote the prophetic words of the Father of the Islamic Revolution), has no other choice but to gradually yield to commonsense which requires exit of all CENTCOM terrorists from the region, release of the ten other Iranian nationals still being held hostage, unfreezing of the scores of billions of dollars of Iranian government assets, and last but not the least distancing itself from the illegal Zionist entity which is definitely hurtling towards its doom.
-- Envoy: Iran, Iraq to Send Joint Team to Kurdistan Region:
Iran’s Ambassador to Iraq Muhammad Kazem Al-e Sadeq said that Iran and Iraq will dispatch a joint team to the Iraqi Kurdistan Region to examine whether a security agreement between Tehran and Baghdad, which entails the expulsion of KRG-based terrorist group from the border areas, is being carried out.
In an interview with Al-Alam TV, Al-e Sadeq said the joint team of Iranian and Iraqi representatives will be visiting the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to evaluate the process of implementation of the security agreement between Tehran and Baghdad.
The central government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government are seriously resolved to expel the terrorist groups from near the border with Iran and relocate them to refugee camps, he added.
The envoy underlined that Iran will pursue plans for the disarmament of the KRG-based terrorist groups in accordance with the security agreement with Iraq.
Iran has set a deadline of September 19 for the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government to take action against anti-Iran terrorists stationed along the common border.
Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Muhammad Reza Ashtiani said on Monday that the deadline won’t be extended.
Iran to Face No Threats Via Iraqi Kurdistan Region
Iraq’s Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein in a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Hussein Amir-Abdollahian in New York, has said that Iran will face no threats through the Iraqi Kurdistan region based on the security agreement between the two countries.
In the meeting, the two sides discussed issues of mutual interest as well as issues related to the Kurdistan region.
The top Iraqi diplomat said that no threats will be posed via Iraq’s soil and Kurdistan region against Iran following the security agreement between the two sides.
Pointing to the prisoner swap agreement between Iran and the U.S. as well as releasing Iran’s frozen funds in South Korea, he described such activities as a positive step and significant in the diplomacy of lifting sanctions.
Back in March, Iran and Iraq concluded a security agreement under which the Iraqi government promised to disarm terrorist and separatist groups based in the Kurdistan region by September 19, vacate their military barracks, and transfer them to the camps established by the Baghdad government.
TEHRAN TIMES:
-- Iran reviewing results of deadline for disarmament of separatists:
With the deadline Iran set for disarming Iranian Kurdish separatist groups coming to an end, Iranian officials started to take stock of the results of the ultimatum. On Tuesday, the 19 September deadline came to an end amid uncertainties about the full disarmament of the separatist groups. In the lead-up to the deadline, several Iranian officials announced that the deadline wouldn’t be extended, signaling that military action would follow if Iran’s demands were not met. Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiyani, the Iranian minister of defense, has echoed this warning. The Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) was given a deadline of September 19 to take action against separatist Iranian militants and this deadline would not be extended, he warned. In an interview with the Iran newspaper, Ashtiyani pointed out that the Islamic Republic will take the required steps in accordance with a deal reached with the Iraqi government about disarming and deporting terrorists from the Kurdistan region. Of note, Iran and Iraq inked the security agreement in March in a bid to secure the joint border and remove the separatist groups from the Iran border with Iraqi Kurdistan. Under this deal, Iran demanded the expulsion and disarmament of the separatist groups, which the Iraqi federal and regional authorities appear to have done partially. Earlier, Tasnim reported that the separatist groups have agreed with a proposal from the KRG to put aside their arms and stay away from Iran’s border. Citing a political source in Iraqi Kurdistan, Tasnim said the KRG and the separatist groups have reached an agreement regarding Iran based on which the groups will lay down their arms and move away from the border with Iran.
-- American taxpayers funding Ukraine war:
As the United States makes announcements on a regular basis for new military aid packages for the war in Ukraine, it is the American households who are funding the war through tax money. Many critics say the U.S. has waged a proxy war against Russia but Ukrainian civilians and soldiers are sacrificing their lives to realize the American goals. It has been widely estimated that the amount of money Washington has spent on the war has left a hole of around $900 in the pockets of each American household. Some estimates indicate that this figure is approximately $1000 so far for every American family. With President Joe Biden repeatedly stating that the United States will support Ukraine “as long as it takes”, the Americans are wise enough to know what this actually means for them. Americans growing increasingly frustrated at the expenses when a long list of urgent domestic problems, including health care, fragile and aging infrastructure, gun violence, racism, rising inflation, expenses, and other issues are being neglected.
-- Foreign Ministry issues statement regarding release of assets, prisoners:
Following the release of Iran’s funds that had been held in South Korea due to U.S. illegal sanctions, the Iranian Foreign Ministry released a statement on Monday about the money and the prisoner swap with the United States. “In order to achieve the rights of Iranian nationals all over the world as well as Iranians residing in the U.S. and within the framework of an independent process, five Iranian citizens who were illegally prosecuted by the U.S. judicial system due to their normal business activities were released and returned to their families,” the ministry said in the statement. “Prior to that, the Iranian assets in South Korea - which had been frozen due to the illegal pressures of the United States, making it impossible to use them for years - were unlocked thanks to diligent pursuit of the issue by the Foreign Ministry and Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Through a financial and banking process that lasted several weeks, the assets were transferred to the accounts of Iranian banks in Qatar,” the statement added. It further continued, “These assets are under the control of the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran and will be used at the discretion of relevant Iranian authorities and based on the country’s needs and priorities.”
-- Value chain completion, atop agenda of NPC:
The managing director of Iran’s National Petrochemical Company (NPC) said that completing the value chain is not a motto, while it is atop agenda of the NPC’s activities, it is a program and a duty. Referring to the rapid development of the petrochemical industry from basic products to the end of the value chain in the 13th government, Morteza Shah-Mirzaei reiterated: “Completing the value chain of the petrochemical industry is not a slogan; As an inviolable strategy, it is a task, plan and duty that my colleagues are following up with all their efforts.” He made the remarks in a press conference on the sidelines of the 17th International Exhibition of Plastic, Rubber, Machinery, and Equipment (Iran Plast 2023), which kicked off at the Tehran Permanent International Fairground on Sunday.
-- Al Nassr victorious over 10-man Persepolis:
Al Nassr marked Cristiano Ronaldo’s debut in the AFC Champions League with a 2-0 away victory against Persepolis here at the Azadi Stadium in Group E of the 2023/24 edition on Tuesday. The hosts suffered an early blow as experienced forward Mehdi Torabi had to be stretched off inside the opening 10 minutes following an injury, being replaced by Shahab Zahedi. The turning point in the match arrived six minutes into the second half when Persepolis midfielder Milad Sarlak received his second booking of the night following a late challenge on Ronaldo, to leave his side with 10 men for the remainder of the game. Abdulrahman Ghareeb slotted home the opener for the visitors in the 62nd minute and Mohammed Qassem made it 2-0 10 minutes later.
-- Iran, Turkey to boost technological co-op:
The Turkish ambassador to Iran, Hicabi Kirlangic, and the Iranian deputy science minister, Vahid Haddadi-Asl, have stressed boosting technological cooperation, particularly joint scientific collaboration. “Iran’s scientific and technological relations have not developed in parallel with its political and economic ones. We are ready to expand our relations with Turkey in study opportunities, student exchange, scholarships, technology, and knowledge-based companies,” IRIB quoted Haddadi-Asl as saying. During a meeting that was held in Tehran on September 12, Haddadi-Asl highlighted the importance of scientific relations between Iran and Turkey as two neighboring Muslim countries. “Before the coronavirus outbreak, we had Persian language and literature chairs in Turkey. There are still several [academic] chairs in this country,” he added.
NOURNEWS