In the meeting held on Thursday, the president said investment security is subject to the security of both “investor” and the “capital invested.”
“We have guaranteed [the security of] both in the 13th administration, and the stage is set for Iranians inside the country in different ways, including by facilitating and expediting the issuance of licenses,” he said.
He said Iranians, wherever in the world they are, are Iran’s ambassadors and symbolize the country’s grandeur.
“Although the enemy has tried to put the brakes on the Iranian nation’s progress, the Iranian nation has shown that it will remove all obstacles to its development and progress with firm resolve,” the president added.
“Dear Iranians overseas have always tried to benefit their homeland on economic, scientific, technical and engineering fronts with their capabilities,” he added.
President Raisi said efforts should be made to tap into Iranian expatriates’ potential and use it to boost Iran’s progress and expand its relations.
Raisi is in the Tajik capital Dushanbe to attend a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.
Iran President Meets Iranian Expats in Tajikistan
Iran, China Discuss Closer Bilateral Cooperation
In the meeting held on Thursday, the top Iranian diplomat emphasized that the foreign policy of the 13th Iranian administration is oriented toward Asia.
He said Iran is determined to further expand its relations with China based on a 25-year cooperation agreement which serves as a road map for both sides.
Amir Abdollahian touched upon the areas of Sino-Iranian cooperation, and expressed his gratitude to Beijing for backing Tehran’s stances.
He further blamed the United States as the main culprit undermining the 2015 Iran nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and Tehran’s nuclear cooperation.
The Iranian foreign minister referred to Washington’s unconstructive position on Tehran’s nuclear issue, saying the White House should learn not to use a threatening tone when talking to the Iranian nation.
He said the United States’ ignominious pullout from Afghanistan following its years-long occupation of the country was yet another example of Washington’s unconstructive unilateralism whose adverse consequences are bearing down on Afghanistan’s neighbours.
The head of Iran’s diplomacy apparatus said the only acceptable political future for Afghanistan would be to form a broad-based government that brings together all groups.
He then highlighted invaluable cooperation between Iran and China in fighting COVID-19, and appreciated the Chinese government’s broad cooperation with Tehran in sending coronavirus vaccine consignments following talks between the presidents of both countries.
The Chinese foreign minister, in turn, underscored the need to forge closer cooperation between the two countries on international issues and reiterated Beijing’s support for Iran’s permanent membership in the SCO.
He also called for closer consultations between Iran and China on the political future of Afghanistan.
Lebanese minister: Iran fuel broke US
Michel Najjar said Lebanon has now passed through the US siege, adding that mazut import from Iran is a sovereign decision and builds on the rule of supporting citizens and protecting Lebanon.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Iraq’s al-Nujaba resistance group has hailed Iran’s move to send fuel to Lebanon, saying the Islamic Republic once again proved to be a sincere and powerful ally.
Iran’s first fuel shipment arrived in Lebanon through Syria on Thursday. The vessel carrying the fuel earlier docked at the Syrian port of Banyas and then a convoy of trucks took it into Lebanon from Syria.
The value of the Lebanese pound against the US dollar has plummeted by more than 90% since 2019. This has shot up the price of imports, including fuel. Many in Lebanon blame their country’s economic hardships on the US sanctions that are meant to weaken Hezbollah but are in fact Lebanon in its entirety.
Iraqi PM briefs cabinet on Iran visit
According to Fars news agency, Kazimi described his negotiations in Iran as “fruitful” at the Iraqi cabinet session.
He said the two aides agreed to expand trade relations during his visit to Tehran.
Kazimi also described the relationship between Iran and Iraq historical and strong.
The Iraqi prime minister arrived in Iran on Sunday heading a high-ranking delegation. He held talks with Iranian officials including President Ebrahim Raisi.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters on Monday that Karimi’s visit to Tehran was in line with close relationship between Tehran and Baghdad.
According to Khatibzadeh, the talks held between the two sides focused mainly on projects that are underway including the Shalamcheh-Basra railway and also cooperation in energy fields like gas and oil.
Raisi: US presence in Afghanistan led to deaths, destruction and displacement
Ebrahim Raisi made the comment in a Thursday meeting with Imran Khan, Pakistan’s Prime Minister, in Tajikistan where they are both going to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Raisi said Iran is determined to promote regional relations and cooperation, especially with neighboring countries, and Pakistan has a special place in this regard.
He described relations between the two countries as being beyond the neighborhood given their historical and cultural commonalities. Raisi added, “We should not allow the sedition and mischief of foreigners to affect these good relations”.
Referring to the long border between Iran and Pakistan, and the capacity to expand economic cooperation in border areas, Raisi said: “Establishing security in the border areas can realize the significant capacities of those areas for economic and trade cooperation and help these areas thrive”.
Raisi said, “We should try to help form a government in Afghanistan that includes all ethnic groups and arises from the will of the Afghan people.”
He added that the key to solving Afghanistan’s problems is to form an inclusive government and prevent foreign interference in its affairs.
He noted that the 20-year presence of US and Western forces in Afghanistan had no result other than destruction, displacement and the deaths of more than 35,000 Afghan children and thousands of Afghan men and women.
Imran Khan, in turn, thanked Iran for its constructive position and brotherly attitude toward Pakistan, saying, “We seek to expand our relations with Iran, especially in the field of transportation, and we believe that improving the level of cooperation will have positive regional and global effects”.
Imran Khan added that if an inclusive government is not formed in Afghanistan, problems in the country will worsen and Pakistan and Iran will suffer more than any other country.
US says regularly briefs Israel over nuclear talks
He added that the US and Israel “see eye to eye” with regard to Iran’s nuclear program.
“We have had extensive and deep consultations with our Israeli partners. This has happened at every single level just about – the president with the prime minister, with the past – with the previous prime minister as well; Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken with his counterparts, now plural; and [Special Representative for Iran] Rob Malley and his team have engaged their Israeli counterparts as well,” Price stated at a press briefing on Wednesday.
“As talks were ongoing in Vienna, we briefed the Israelis before, after, and in some cases during each round to ensure we were conducting this diplomacy with transparency,” he continued.
According to Price, there is no doubt that the US sees eye to eye with Israel at a strategic level, claiming that both sides want to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, which Tehran has repeatedly denied throughout the years, and at the same time, has pushed for an end to the development and testing of nuclear weapons.
He made the remarks when asked to comment on a recent apparent shift in Israel’s stance on the multilateral attempts to restore the nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
In an interview with Foreign Policy published on Tuesday, Israeli minister for military affairs Benny Gantz hailed “the current US approach of putting the Iran nuclear program back in a box. I’d accept that”.
Voicing skepticism about the prospects of the Vienna talks, he said Israel would want to see a “viable US-led plan B” that includes broad economic pressure on Iran in case the talks fail.
“We have to connect China in this too, Asia has to play a role,” Gantz continued, adding, “Israel has no ability to lead a real plan B, we can’t put together an international economic sanctions regime. This has to be led by the US.”
He also touched on the Israeli regime’s “plan C” that would include military action against Iran, threatening, “If push comes to shove, we’ll get there … We’re not America, but we have our capabilities.”
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet also criticized his predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu, over his policy against Iran, saying on Tuesday that Israel “inherited a situation in which Iran is at the most advanced point ever in its race to the bomb. … The gap between [Netanyahu’s] rhetoric and speeches and actions is very big”.
Netanyahu cheered former US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018 and his so-called maximum pressure campaign against Iran, while publicly clashing with both Barack Obama and Joe Biden over their Iran policies.
Bennett, however, pledged to Biden last month that he will not openly lobby against a US return to the JCPOA.
The Vienna talks began three months after Biden assumed office. Biden had on numerous occasions slammed Trump’s withdrawal from the JCPOA and vowed to rejoin the landmark nuclear deal.
The talks hit a pause in late June after the election of Ebrahim Raeisi as Iran’s president. The Raeisi administration has voiced willingness to resume the talks, but stresses it rejects talks for the sake of talks and under pressure.
Source: Press TV
President Raisi calls for expansion of ties with Uzbekistan
Raisi was speaking during a meeting with Uzbekistan’s President Shaukat Mirzayev in Tajikistan where he’s going to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s summit on Friday.
He said the current level of economic relations between Tehran and Tashkent is not the same as their political ties, and the Islamic Republic is interested in further expanding economic relations with Uzbekistan in line with its policy to deepen relations with the regional countries.
He congratulated his Uzbek counterpart on Uzbekistan’s forthcoming takeover of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s presidency.
Raisi said, “I believe that your positive and constructive outlook can bring many blessings to the region and the member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization”.
He also spoke of the anti-Iran sanctions, saying “oppressive sanctions” did not hinder Iran’s progress, but Tehran is trying to remove them.
Raisi also added that Iran supports the formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan with the participation of all ethnic and political groups.
Uzbek President Shaukat Mirzayev also expressed pleasure at meeting the Iranian president and referred to the experience of Raisi during his tenure as Iran’s judiciary chief and his good record in fighting corruption.
He said, “We will be very happy to use your experience in this field”.
He added that Uzbekistan is looking for an operational roadmap to expand economic relations with Iran, especially in the field of transportation, and to make the north-south communication corridor more active with a focus on the port of Chabahar.
Russia demands answers from US over ‘election interference’
Lavrov added the facts to substantiate the claims, which were recently communicated to the US ambassador John Sullivan, were quite serious.
“The data was given to him, this is serious enough. That’s all. We are waiting for an answer from our American colleagues as to why this is happening … I will not go into detail about these facts. The facts concerned the refusal of a number of western internet platforms to remove banned content … Specific facts were given to the US ambassador. He accepted this document as information that he promised to verify. But he said that they had no evidence that anyone was violating Russian law,” Lavrov told reporters.
Russia is ready to maintain a dialogue with NATO, one that should be professional, not hysterical, but the alliance continues to reject military negotiations outright, Lavrov added.
“In general, they totally refuse to conduct a military dialogue, which was suspended as a so-called punishment after the events in Ukraine and Crimea. We are ready to negotiate, but only professionally, without this emotional and half-hysterical tone,” Lavrov stated.
Lavrov also expressed confidence that opponents of the now-completed Nord Stream 2 will not stop their attacks.
“I have no doubt that attempts to attack this pipeline will continue. And although it is most zealously opposed by the minority, but this minority is aggressive – it is primarily the Baltics, Poland for obvious reasons, and a few more EU countries, that are simply guided by their anti-Russian motives,” Lavrov noted.
On 10 September, Russian gas giant Gazprom announced that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which is also opposed by the United States and Ukraine, had been completed.
Source: RIA Novosti
China: US should not get away with killing Afghans
On August 29, two days after an explosion at the Kabul airport took the lives of dozens of American soldiers and Afghan citizens, the US carried out an airstrike targeting terrorists in a car, which was reportedly carrying explosives and posed an immediate threat to the airport. Although the US military originally reported no casualties apart from two terrorists in the car, the US media reported the air raid actually killed around ten innocent Kabul residents.
“In the face of the widespread skepticism and condemnation from the international community, the US should not seek to gloss over its mistake and (try to) get away with it. Instead, it should investigate and ascertain the truth and give a responsible explanation to the Afghan people and the international community,” the Chinese spokesperson stated, commenting on reports of the incident.
In September, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby reported that the US military had no doubts about the correctness of the airstrike in Kabul. At the same time, the military refrained from commenting on reports regarding civilian casualties, adding they needed to complete internal departmental checks first.
Source: Sputnik
US Capitol police seek Pentagon support ahead of pro-rioters rally
US police have asked the Pentagon to provide National Guard troops as supporters of former President Donald Trump return to Washington for a rally.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby confirmed the request on Wednesday, acknowledging that it was made in connection with a protest scheduled for Saturday over the alleged mistreatment of suspects in January’s Capitol riot. He added the Capitol Police Department (CPD) is seeking “manpower support” for the rally, and the request is being processed.
The CPD later issued a statement confirming that it had asked the Department of Defense to provide National Guard troops to be deployed should the need arise on Saturday.
About 26,000 National Guard troops were brought to Washington following the riot, and many were kept around the Capitol for months to ensure tight security during and after President Joe Biden’s inauguration. The fence ringing the Capitol was finally taken down in July, six months after the riot, but Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger told reporters on Monday that it will be going back up for Saturday’s “Justice for J6” demonstration.
An overwhelming security presence may help support the narrative that Trump has incited violent and racist insurrectionists, who are a paramount threat to American democracy. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi noted on Wednesday that police had made “unprecedented preparations to address another attempt to defile our national purpose”.
It’s not clear how the protesters might threaten the “national purpose”. Only about 700 people are expected to attend Saturday’s event, according to a Department of Homeland Security estimate, and organizers have asked demonstrators not to wear clothing or carry signs supporting either Trump or Biden. The rally will protest over the treatment of more than 600 people arrested in connection with the Capitol riot.
At least six Republican members of Congress held a press conference in late July to decry the fact that hundreds of defendants have remained jailed for months while awaiting trial.
“These are political prisoners who are now being persecuted and bearing the pain of unjust suffering,” Representative Paul Gosar (R-Arizona) said.
Some of the detainees have reportedly suffered abuse at the hands of guards or other inmates. Gosar added some suspects have been held in solitary confinement for up to 23 hours a day.
Source: RT
