Thursday, December 25, 2025
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Ebrahim Raisi Sworn in as Iran’s Eighth President

Raisi was sworn in during the ceremony held at the Iranian Parliament.

In a speech after taking his oath, Raisi praised the people’s turnout in the 2021 elections, and said the people’s message in the elections was independence and resistance against demands by bullying powers.

“At the same time we must  have constructive and extensive cooperation with the whole world,” he added.

Raisi stressed that his administration is resolved to have the anti-Iran sanctions lifted, and welcomes any diplomatic initiative to that end.

Raisi Stresses Closer Cooperation with Russia in All Areas

In a meeting with Chairman of the Russian State Duma Viacheslav Volodin in Tehran, the Iranian president expressed hope the document on comprehensive cooperation between the two countries will be finalised to pave the way for ever closer cooperation.

He said there are no impediments to the all-out expansion of ties between the two countries.

“We are pleased to see Russia’s economic progress and development in line with self-reliance, and we are set to best implement resistance economy policies aimed at reinforcing our resistance against economic blows, especially the United States’ cruel sanctions,” said Raisi.

Volodin, in turn, expressed congratulations to, and wished success for President Raisi and his administration on behalf of himself and his country’s president Vladimir Putin.

Volodin highlighted the need to upgrade the level of Iran-Russia cooperation on all fronts and expressed the Russian State Duma’s readiness in that regard.

He said he will convey to his Russian counterpart President Raisi’s proposal on finalisation of the document on comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.

The top Russian parliamentarian noted his country has always been keen to expand its cooperation with Iran in all areas.

He, however, said Tehran-Moscow relations have yet to reach the desired level, adding he will make every effort to boost mutual parliamentary relations.

He said sanctions against Iran and Russia are aimed at undermining the two countries, adding the two sides can work together to enhance their transactions and overcome that hurdle.

Raisi to Boost Iran’s Ties with Neighbours, Zarif Tells Kuwaiti FM

The top Kuwaiti diplomat is in Tehran heading a delegation to attend the swearing-in ceremony of new Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

In his Thursday meeting with Zarif, the Kuwaiti foreign minister once again expressed his congratulation on the election of Raisi as Iran’s new president, reiterating Kuwait City’s determination to further expand all-out relations with Tehran.

He also called for more consultations between the two countries on regional and international issues.

The Kuwaiti official lauded Zarif’s endeavours over the past eight years, and described as significant the initiatives put forward by Iran to boost regional cooperation in the Persian Gulf region.

Zarif, for his part, praised the respectful, cordial and close relations between Iran and Kuwait, and reviewed the extensive efforts made to enhance reciprocal ties.

He also announced that new Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is to work towards boosting relations with Iran’s neighbouring countries within the framework of Tehran’s definitive policy.

President Raisi Meets World Leaders ahead of Inauguration

In a tight schedule on Wednesday and Thursday, Raisi discussed bilateral, regional and international issues in separate meetings with Armenia’s Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Iraqi President Barham Salih, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Algerian Prime Minister Aymen Benabderrahmane, Speaker of Turkey’s Grand National Assembly Mustafa Şentop, Speaker of the Niger Parliament Seyni Oumarou, Speaker of the Senate of Pakistan Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani, Speaker of the People’s Assembly of Syria Hammouda Sabbagh, Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Denis Moncada, Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bisera Turkovic, Secretary-General of ALBA (the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America) Sacha Sergio Llorenti Soliz, and Foreign Minister of Oman Badr Albusaidi.

He also held talks with Chairman of the Assembly of Representatives of Tajikistan Mahmadtoir Zokirzoda, Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Uzbekistan Nurdinjon Ismoilov, Yemeni popular Ansarullah Movement’s Spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam, Ghana’s Minister for Tourism Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, Executive Director of the Secretariat of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measure in Asia (CICA) Kairat Sarybay, Foreign Minister of Bolivia Rogelio Mayta, former Prime Minister of Niger Seyni Oumarou, and Vice President of Venezuela Ricardo Jose Menendez Prieto.

Several top officials, including Chairman of Russia’s State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin, Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service for Political Affairs Enrique Mora, and Kuwait’s Foreign Minister have also arrived in Tehran to attend the inauguration ceremony. 

 

In Letter to UNSC Chief, Iran Warns Israel over Threat to Use Force

In a letter to the president of the United Nations Security Council, Iran’s Ambassador to the world body Zahra Ershadi denounced the baseless accusations levelled against Iran.

“Mr. President, I am writing this letter to you in connection with a letter dated August 3, 2021 by the representatives of Liberia, Romania and Britain,” she said.

“Without presenting any evidence to prove their allegations, those who wrote that letter have tried to arbitrarily accuse the Islamic Republic of Iran of attacking the Mercer Street ship by resorting to such statements as ‘very probable,’ ‘initial estimaes’ and ‘one or several drones,’ which suggest uncertainty, and by using ambiguous expressions such as ‘international partners’,” wrote part of Ershadi’s letter.

“This unfounded accusation, which was first levelled by the Israeli regime immediately after the attack [on the ship] and with blatant political motives, is not true based on the realities on the ground, and is politically and ethically inappropriate, and hence, the accusation is categorically rejected [by Iran],” she highlighted in her letter.

She underlined Iran has contributed heavily to boosting marine security and the freedom of navigation, and has played a key role in fighting piracy at seas.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to strongly reject other similar and groundless claims by the Israeli regime, which is the root cause of instability and insecurity in the Middle East and beyond for more than a decade now,” she underscored.

“This regime has a long and dark record of attacking commercial and civilian ships, an example of which is its savage attack, in the high seas on May 31, 2020, on six civilian ships of a flotilla taking humanitarian aid to besieged Gaza residents, and the killing of nine civilians and wounding of many others on those vessels,” she explained.

She called on the UN to condemn and take to task the Israeli regime for its threats against marine security as well as all of its illegal and extremely destabilizing moves.

“In accordance with the recent provocative remarks by officials of the Israeli regime, which were in flagrant violation of Article 2 of the UN Charter, they have threatened to use force,” she said.

“It is necessary to remind this regime that it should be awaiting the consequences of it adventurism and possible inappropriate calculations,” she noted.

“While warning against any such threats from any entity, the Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate to adopt any necessary measure to fully protect its people, sovereignty and national interests,” Iran’s envoy said.

She also warned about recent suspicious moves to create false-flag marine incidents in the Persian Gulf and beyond.

“Such irresponsible moves are detrimental to regional security and stability and must be stopped immediately,” she said.

IRGC Chief Warns Israel against Threatening Iran

Iran's IRGC Orders Navy to Target US Vessels If Harassed

Major General Hossein Salami said Iran, as stipulated in its defence strategies and policies, does not tolerate any action from any enemy at any location on any scale. 

“We are prepared for any scenario, and our defensive and offensive power is fully ready to give crushing responses to any enemy,” said General Salami, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

He touched upon the Israeli regime’s recent rhetoric against Iran, warning it against making any threatening remarks.

“Today, our missile and air defence systems as well as our naval, drone and land power are at an extraordinary level of preparedness, so much so that they can respond to any threat on any scale,” he said.

The top general said insecurity has its roots in the aggression-oriented policies of our enemies.

“Those who use the language of force against us – including the Israeli prime minister and other officials of this regime – should beware of the dangerous consequences of the comments they make and take care when making calculations,” he noted.

Iran No Longer Interested in Prisoner Swap with US: Report

“Iran, previously and on humanitarian grounds, backed down on its stance on ‘swapping all Iranian prisoners with all American prisoners’, and accepted individual swaps. But, now, seeing the dirty behavior of the administration of [US President Joe] Biden and its continued failure to fulfill its obligations, the motivation is lacking for Iran to continue this process. Therefore, Iran will completely remove from its agenda the issue of [prisoner] swap in the current form,” Nour News, a media outlet close to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, quoted the informed source as saying.

According to the Nour News report, after US President Joe Biden took office, he claimed human rights come before political issues and asked for resumption of talks on the exchange of prisoners. London followed suite and asked simultaneous negotiations on the release of Nazanin Zaghari, who is imprisoned in Iran. 

There followed indirect talks between Iran and the US on the release of four Americans in exchange for four Iranians jailed in the US, plus the release of seven billion dollars in Iranian assets, frozen in third countries, as well as talks with the UK on the release of Zaghari. Both talks continued until there was a final agreement.   

Iran went into the talks declaring that the issue of the prisoners will not be linked to the talks in Vienna for revival of the nuclear deal. Tehran also stressed that it is going into the talks just on humanitarian grounds.

However, after the Vienna talks were stalled, the US went back on its initial claims and tied the swap to the negotiations. Washington claimed the release of Iranian funds would reduce Tehran’s motivation to continue the Vienna talks. London followed suite on the US and the talks on a prisoner swap came to a complete halt.

Zarif Urges E3 to Avoid Policies Based on Threat, Pressure

Javad Zarif

In his meeting with Mora, who previously served as the coordinator of the JCPOA Joint Commission in the six recent rounds of talks in Vienna, Foreign Minister Zarif highlighted the history of talks that culminated in the JCPOA and the problems created in the process of its implementation because of the US violation of its commitments and lack of good faith, and elaborated on Iran’s stances in this regard. 

He also pointed to the challenges of the Vienna talks aimed at reviving the JCPOA.

The Iranian Foreign Minister praised the efforts of Mr Josep Borrell, the Secretary General of the European External Action Service, and Mr Mora in the recent talks, and criticised the stances held by the three European countries and their inaction towards the US breach of its commitments in recent years.

He also urged Europeans to pay more attention to the realities and avoid supporting policies that are based on pressure and threat.

Iranian, Bosnian Foreign Ministers Meet in Tehran

Bisera Turković, the Vice-Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the country’s Foreign Minister who is in Tehran to attend the inauguration ceremony of Iran’s new president, had a meeting with Foreign Minister Zarif on Wednesday afternoon.

During the meeting, the two sides conferred on regional and international developments and exchanged views on the latest status of bilateral relations.

The two top diplomats also highlighted the historical civilisational and cultural commonalities that link the peoples of Iran and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and underlined the necessity of enhancing political consultations and friendly ties in different areas.

In this meeting, Foreign Minister Zarif stressed Iran’s all-out support for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

World-Famous Iranian Stuntman Dies after Movie Scence Accident

It happened when Aghdasi was working at a car accident scene.

He was hospitalized a few days in a Beirut hospital, but finally succumbed to the injuries to his brain. According to his will, a his body organs will be donated.

Aghdasi established the Stunt Men 13 group back in 2007 and continued his activities with his group both in Iran and on the international stage.

World-Famous Iranian Stuntman Dies after Movie Scence AccidentBorn in 1982 in Iran, he was admitted to a university in Italy in the Physical Education major. Nevertheless, he stayed in Iran as he knew Payman Abadi on the one hand, and was interested in working as a stuntman on the other.

Aghdasi was the first bungee jumping instructor in Iran.

He also worked in the fields of karate, aikido, show jumping, mounted archery, parachuting, free fall, base jumping, parkour and martial arts.

He was present in more than 60 Iranian as well as six international projects.

He received the Knight Award in the Just Out Festival from the Serbian president.

World-Famous Iranian Stuntman Dies after Movie Scence Accident

Aghdasi was the first and only Iranian stuntman to have received the award.

He also received other international awards, including the Sag Award Screen Actor Guild Award 2012 for the James Bond film.

World-Famous Iranian Stuntman Dies after Movie Scence Accident

He also finished first in a car tumbling festival in Russia in 2014.

He was also nominated for the Best Short Film Award in the Sochi Film Festival in Russia.