Abdullah will lead a delegation of HCNR officials, members of the Afghan National Parliament, and the country’s Foreign Ministry officials during his three-day trip to Tehran, the Iranian spokesman said on Wednesday.
In the visit, the Afghan official will meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, and other high-ranking Iranian officials, Khatibzadeh added.
Speaking in a meeting with the new Danish ambassador to Tehran on Wednesday, October 14, Araqchi noted that the security of the Persian Gulf region should be provided by the countries of the region.
Araqchi said the presence of foreign troops will not only not help establish security, but will prepare the ground for the escalation of tensions as well.
The Iranian official underlined that Persian Gulf security is an issue of common interest for all regional countries. He said the establishment of sustainable security in the region is contingent upon dialogue and collective cooperation among regional countries and non-interference by foreign powers.
“Therefore, instead of deploying troops and military equipment or selling massive amounts of arms to certain regional countries, Denmark and other European countries had better tackle the root cause of tensions in the region, namely the United States’ destructive and wrong policies in the Persian Gulf region,” he said.
In the meeting, the two sides also exchanged views on regional and international developments, fighting terrorism, the situation in the Middle East, the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis and potential for economic cooperation between the two countries.
In the telephone conversation, Foreign Minister Zarif and his Japanese counterpart talked about Tehran-Tokyo bilateral relations as well as the regional and international developments.
Foreign Minister Zarif hailed the election of Yoshihide Suga as Japan’s prime minister and congratulated Motegi on his re-election as the minister of foreign affairs of Japan.
He also expressed hope that Mr. Suga’s administration would continue Japan’s previous policy of striving to play a role in contributing to regional stability.
Foreign Minister Zarif also stressed that Iran should be able to use its foreign currency resources held in Japan, condemned the US regime’s illegal restriction on Tehran’s access to those funds, and denounced the limits preventing the purchase of medicine and foodstuff for the Iranian people as a crime against humanity.
“Iran expects the government of Japan to prevent such unlawful American measure within the framework of the general commitment of countries to the implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions, including the Resolution 2231,” Zarif added.
The Iranian foreign minister also expressed gratitude to Japan for supporting Iran in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, hoping for the expansion of cooperation and bilateral ties between the two nations.
On the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Foreign Minister Zarif said it is highly significant that every effort would be made to have the other parties honour their commitments under the JCPOA.
Highlighting Iran’s active and constructive role in the establishment of peace and stability in the region, Zarif said, “The presence of foreign forces would not only not be of any help, but would further complicate and aggravate the problems in the region.”
For his part, Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi thanked Foreign Minister Zarif for offering congratulations, and stressed the need to strengthen cooperation in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic and delivering medical supplies by using Iran’s financial resources.
Japan’s policy of striving for stability in the Middle East has not changed, he noted, adding that Tokyo has always supported the JCPOA and will continue to do so.
In her press briefing on Wednesday, Health Ministry Spokeswoman Sima-Sadat Lari said the new deaths increase the overall death toll to 29,349.
She further reported 4,830 new cases of COVID-19 infection, raising the total number of cases to 513,219.
So far, she added, 414,831 patients have recovered from the disease or been discharged from the hospital.
Lari said 4,609 patients are also in critical conditions caused by more severe infection.
The spokeswoman noted that 4,398,723 COVID-19 tests have been taken across the country so far.
She said the high-risk “red” zones include Tehran, Qom, Mazandaran, East Azarbaijan, Isfahan, Yazd, Ardabil, Khorasan Razavi, Khuzestan, Hamadan, West Azarbaijan, Bushehr, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Alborz, Lorestan, Markazi, Ilam, South Khorasan, Kermanshah, North Khorasan, Semnan, Gilan, Zanjan, Qazvin, and Kerman provinces.
The “orange” zones also include Golestan, Hormozgan, Kurdistan, and Fars provinces, she added.
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Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a weekly cabinet session on Wednesday, Mahmoud Vaezi reminded the White House of the “futility” of sanctions and pressures on Iran.
“Whatever happens in the US and whoever takes power –be it the current administration or another president– will be mindful that the US cannot achieve results against this (Iranian) nation, this government and this establishment through pressure,” he underscored.
Pointing to the “tough conditions” resulting from the US sanctions, the president’s chief of staff thanked the people of Iran for “realizing that the administration, the government and the three branches of power do not accept such conditions, as they are doing their utmost, but are not going to give in to the enemy’s pressures or bow down.”
“This is the price we are paying for our independence,” he noted.
While the enemies had formulated plans for Iran’s economic collapse within three months, their plots have gone nowhere after two years and nine months despite all the pressures and sanctions, Vaezi added.
The US has launched a fierce war against Iran with maximum power, he noted, saying, “The fact that the Supreme Leader says ‘we are facing a serious economic war with a person and a group that does not respect any principles’ (is a proof of) what the thugs do.”
He then touched on the recent sanctions the US has imposed on 18 Iranian banks, saying Tehran had made arrangements beforehand to deal with the sanctions since two months ago.
Iran would not make its plans public, because the enemy may block the new ways for Iranian trade, he added, noting that most of the Iranian ministries working with foreigners use “special methods” to bypass the sanctions.
“However, we would pay a higher cost. Under normal situation, we could have handled the exports more easily and our imports would also cost less. All in all, the situation is difficult. We have always maintained that we are sorry for people, we are sorry because of the pressures,” Vaezi stated.
“There is no other option for it (the US) to change stances. Those who had made plans for three months (have gone nowhere) after two years and some nine months now. So I believe that the situation will be better in future, God willing,” he concluded.
President Hassan Rouhani authorized travel restrictions to be imposed in the capital Tehran as well as in Karaj, Mashhad, Isfahan and Urmia, said Health Minister Saeed Namaki on Wednesday.
“We should turn to the third peak in the coronavirus outbreak, which gripped part of the country,” he noted.
“With the studies we have conducted on the virus, we realized that the virus has undergone some mutations,” he said.
The minister underscored the virus is infecting people at a higher pace than before.
He expressed with the enforcement of the new travel restrictions, the infection and mortality rate from the virus will decrease.
According to the new restrictions, only the cars belonging to the citizens of these five cities are allowed to enter their hometown, and other cars will be denied entry, unless they prove they live in one of those cities.
There will be no quarantine inside these five cities, however.
President Rouhani made the comment in a Wednesday cabinet session, while referring to Washington’s destructive moves in the region.
“Look what they did to Afghanistan, and look what’s going on in this country, and see who is in control of its western and eastern parts,” he noted.
“Those who claimed to be fighting the ISIS terrorist group … see what they did? Can the US government say what success it has achieved in its foreign policy over the past four years,” he said.
President Rouhani said White House rulers have been defeated on all fronts. “They haven’t secured even one single success,” he said.
The president then congratulated Iranians as the UN arms embargo on Iran expires on Sunday, October 18
He said the unfair, 10-year ban will be removed despite US attempts to keep them in place.
President Rouhani said this achievement was one of the results of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“As of Sunday, we will be able to buy and sell weapons,” the president noted.
Bijan Namdar Zangeneh noted the production of petroleum and natural gas did not stop at all, adding, electricity generation and water production are dependent on the production of petroleum and gas.
“If oil and [natural] gas are not produced, electricity and water will not be produced, either,” he said in ceremony where more than 140 respiratory devices used for coronavirus patients were donated by the petroleum ministry to hospitals in the country’s oil-rich regions.
He said the ministry began to take action, from the very outset of the coronavirus outbreak, to move forward with the production of oil “as its activities were sensitive and its was not possible to shut down crude production.”
“We couldn’t stop work on islands and platforms as well as at operational units,” he said.
He added the ministry has contributed to the production of disinfectants, etc., saying, “We will continue with our activities in the regard.”
“During this time, our colleagues at the oil ministry spared no effort to allay people’s suffering and pain,” he said.
Ali Rabiee said Iran welcomes a lasting ceasefire between the warring sides.
“As we have announced time and again, we welcome any initiative that can stop the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia and establish a ceasefire and prevent the killing of people,” he noted.
“I deem it necessary to express the Iranian government’s concern and regret over the killing of civilians and I stress the need to avoid a repeat of such incidents at a time when the region and the peoples of the regional countries need peace and tranquility more than ever,” said Rabiee.
“Fortunately, in light of diplomatic engagements, the two warring countries agreed on a humanitarian ceasefire. Of course, we also witnessed the harrowing violation of the truce whereby a number of people were killed,” he added.
He also expressed concern over the escalation of conflict in the Azeri city of Ganja.
The spokesman recalled consultations between Iranian officials and senior authorities of other regional countries to help settle the crisis.
“From the outset of the fighting and during the course of the Iranian president and foreign minister’s talks with their counterparts, we have expressed our viewpoints and made our efforts. We have held talks with the officials of other countries in the region,” he said.
“We have announced the official position of our authorities and we have announced our readiness for mediation. We are pressing ahead with our attempts. Based on the plans envisaged, we are moving forward with our negotiations with the warring sides,” the spokesman said.
“God willing, Iran’s humanitarian efforts will bear fruit. We are among the few players in the region that have a good relationship with all those involved in the crisis, including the warring sides or key regional countries. We have good bilateral ties with these countries as well,” he added.
“We will try our utmost to help bring a ceasefire to the Nagorno-Karabakh region and urge the warring sides to seriously respect international law and territorial integrity in all negotiations. We hope they will avoid any move that would destabilize the ceasefire and the first steps toward diplomacy and the truce,” he said.
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