Speaking to reporters on his return flight from the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday, Erdogan said Turkey was not afraid of possible US sanctions over its trade with Iran, NDTV reported.
He added that Ankara did not want to sever its cooperation with Tehran.
Last year, the US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers and reimposed sanctions on the country.
Under the terms of long-term supply contracts signed by Ankara and Tehran before the new round of US sanctions against Tehran, Turkey was set to buy 9.5 billion cubic meters of gas over the period up to 2026.
The Trump administration on Wednesday sanctioned several Chinese companies for allegedly shipping Iranian oil in violation of US sanctions.
Iranian Agriculture Minister Mahmoud Hojjati, who has travelled to Kazakhstan, has met with Kazakh Prime Minister Askar Mamin on the second day of his trip and discussed ways to develop bilateral cooperation.
During the meeting, the Kazakh premier said being a neighbor of Iran, which has a long history and civilisation, is a great honour for the people and government of Kazakhstan, and it is necessary to take advantage of this geographical position.
Referring to the capacities of the two countries, Mamin expressed readiness to increase the volume of trade.
“Kazakhstan is fully prepared to cooperate in mining, pharmaceuticals, transportation and increasing flights between the two countries,” he noted.
In turn, Hojjati also touched upon the capacities and capabilities of both countries and expressed readiness to transfer the knowledge and experience of Iranian experts.
Banking as well as rail and road cooperation were among other issues discussed by the two sides.
Trade turnover between the two countries increased fivefold in the last six years from $400 million to more than $2 billion in 2009. Iran imports grain, oil products and metals from Kazakhstan and the Central Asian state has special interests in Iranian investments in mechanical engineering, infrastructure, transport, telecommunications.
A group of Iranian researchers have devised a method to prevent the incomplete combustion of hydrocarbon fuels by creating an added value at fuel filters. They say using this type of filter will not only decrease air pollution, which is caused by the incomplete combustion of fuel, but also reduces energy consumption.
“During the course of these studies, we managed to design and develop a fuel filter (petrol filter) optimizer which is installed on vehicles and prevents the incomplete combustion of fuel by creating some actions and reactions in hydrocarbon fuels, including petrol, leading to complete combustion in the process,” said Komeyl Ghanbari, a researcher on the team.
He said the invention received the silver medal in Silicon Valley International Invention Festival held in late June 2019 because of being innovative.
“The Silicon Valley International Invention Festival (SVIIF) is held in the city of Santa Clara every year with the support of the International Federation of Inventors Associations (IFIA), the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO),” he said.
“This exhibit is aimed at disseminating information to the public about new inventions from around the world and creating a unique opportunity to offer new scientific achievements at the heart of global innovations at Silicon Valley,” he added.
He said the this is the first time that the technology used in the Iranian-made filters has been introduced in the world.
In the past, the researcher added, some magnets were added to the fuel filter that were not so efficient in creating complete combustion of hydrocarbon fuels.
“But in this project, we managed to create a field which, without using magnets, is able to prevent the incomplete combustion of fuel in vehicles,” he added.
About 30 countries with 140 inventions attended the event, but the Iranian team was not granted a visa to present its invention.
Silicon Valley serves as the global centre for high technology, innovation and social media. It is home to many of the world’s largest high-tech corporations, including the headquarters of 39 businesses in the Fortune 1000, and thousands of startup companies. Apple, Facebook and Google are among the most prominent.
Silicon Valley also accounts for one-third of all of the venture capital investment in the United States, which has helped it to become a leading hub and startup ecosystem for high-tech innovation and scientific development.
Stone artifacts have been identified by archaeologists near the village of Bangelayan in Bandar Abbas. These stone handicrafts include mother stone, related parts, simple chips, jagged and scratching tools that are dispersed across the region.
Due to the technological and typological features of the lithographs, this area can be attributed to the Middle Paleolithic period. The Middle Paleolithic period dates from about 7,000 to 40,000 years ago, coinciding with the presence of Neanderthal humans and possibly ancient wise men in Iran.
Initial investigations show that early humans of the Paleolithic period in this place, in addition to making stone tools, probably used these tools for activities such as slaughtering of the hunted animals.
According to Director General of Hormozgan Province Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Department, due to the vastness of the area, the diversity and density of the handmade stone crafts has turned the region into one of the most important Paleolithic sites identified behind the northern coasts of the Persian Gulf and the Makran region.
Early humans may have been present in the region, but further research is needed to determine their lifestyles.
Mother Stone is a folded stone or slate or a large piece of rock from which they cut and made tools for slaughter and peeling.
This case is being prepared to be registered in the National Heritage List.
He made the remarks in a Friday address to the ministerial meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) held in New York on the sidelines of the 74th meeting of the UN General Assembly.
In his speech, he highlighted the significance of holding the ministerial meeting of ECO at a time when the US has increased its unilateral and hegemonic illegal measures.
Araqchi said such illegitimate measures have shaped a dangerous and unpredictable future for developing countries, and the current situation, where a superpower imposes its will and demands on other nations in the world, will influence the welfare and development of future generations as well.
“Under such dangerous circumstances, where the pillars of multilateralism are under unprecedented attacks, the Economic Cooperation Organization – as an exemplary case of successful multilateralism and with high goals, causes, and values – has created a unique atmosphere for promotion of cooperation and implementation of major projects and plans in the region,” Araqchi added.
“Although ECO has had an undeniable progress, it is still far from the level where it can meet the regional people’s expectations. Therefore, it is necessary to identify and deal with the obstacles and shortcomings, and at the same time find effective solutions to help the Organization and improve the region’s development,” he noted.
Hi said it is quite essential for ECO member states to have political will and commitment in order to achieve tangible results at operational levels.
The Iranian diplomat finally expressed the hope that the Organization’s activities would witness considerable developments given the serious interest and close cooperation of member states and through focus on the implementation of new plans and initiatives in line with the objectives of ECO Vision 2025, especially in the fields of trade, energy, transportation, and tourism.
The Economic Cooperation Organization or ECO is an Asian political and economic intergovernmental organization which was founded in 1985 in Tehran by the leaders of Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey.
It provides a platform to discuss ways to improve development and promote trade and investment opportunities. The ECO is an ad hoc organisation under the United Nations Charter.
The objective is to establish a single market for goods and services, much like the European Union. The ECO’s secretariat and cultural department are located in Iran, its economic bureau is in Turkey and its scientific bureau is situated in Pakistan.
The hospital is located outside the area around UN headquarters, and the US administration has already restricted FM Zarif from going anywhere outside the area.
The US government’s move to reject Zarif’s request to visit a 40-year friend was reported on Friday by Foreign Policy, which quoted US and Iranian officials as saying.
“Foreign Minister Zarif would like to visit a colleague who is in the hospital receiving world-class care,” said a State Department spokesperson.
“We have relayed to the Iranian mission that the travel request will be granted if Iran releases a US citizen,” the spokesperson added.
In reaction to the move, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araqchi, who has worked a long time with Takht-Ravanchi especially when they were both members of Iran’s nuclear negotiating team, said in a post on his Instagram account that his friend will soon recover and get out of the hospital, but the “disgrace” is what will remain for the US administration.
The US announced its travel restrictions on Zarif back in July, when he was in New York to take part at a UN meeting.
US State Secretary Mike Pompeo claimed at the time the decision was a tit for tat measure, as no American diplomat is allowed to step in Tehran.
This comes as the US, as the host of the UN headquarters, is required by the International law to provide the envoys of all members of the UN with an appropriate ground to take part in the UN meetings.
Meanwhile, since Iran and the US have no diplomatic ties, there is no justification for the presence of American diplomats in Iran, particularly now that the US has imposed the most severe sanctions in history on the Iranian nation.
Photo of Negar Ghodskani, an Iranian woman who was indicted in 2015 in Minnesota and arrested in June 2017 in Australia at the US’ request on charge of violating the American sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran. After extradition to the US following three years in detention, she was finally released and sent back home on September 25, 2019
Negar Ghodskani, 40, was indicted in 2015 in Minnesota and arrested in June 2017 in Australia at the US’ request on charge of violating the American sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
US prosecutors say Ghodskani had established a front company in Malaysia to illegally obtain restricted communications circuitry from companies in the US, in violation of the country’s anti-Iran bans.
At the time of her arrest, she was four months pregnant. She gave birth to her son Nickan in custody later in November 2017, but the baby was taken away from her and raised outside the prison.
After spending three years in an Australian jail, Canberra finally extradited Ghodskani to Minnesota in July 2019. US prosecutors had asked for a prison term of around three to five years, but US District Court Judge Joan Ericksen ruled on Tuesday that the 27 months she had spent in prison was enough, and she must be deported to her home country.
The Associated Press on Thursday quoted her lawyer, Robert Richman, as saying that Ghodskani had arrived in Iran by Wednesday night.
The “deportation” coincided with the visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to New York, where he attended the 74th annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, and that raised the possibility the release of Ghodskani has been part of a prison swap deal between Iran and the US, similar to the 2016 exchange of prisoners.
However, Richman told AP that Ghodskani’s deportation was not part of any prisoner swap, and the idea of a swap was never discussed. “Negar Ghodskani is not an important person to Iran.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also declined on Thursday to discuss the possibility of a US-Iranian prisoner swap after the release of Ghodskani.
Later on Friday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi provided details on the release of Ghodskani, but did not clarify whether it was part of a prisoner swap with the US. He just described the US court’s ruling to release the Iranian detainee as a move to cover up what he calls the “legal scandal” of the US prosecutor who had prosecuted an innocent woman.
But these stances do not seem to be consistent with what Iranian officials had suggested over the past few months.
The issue of Ghodskani was raised by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during his discussion with Asia Society President and CEO Josette Sheeran in New York back in April.
“We have an Iranian lady in Australia who gave birth to a child in prison, not even on bail, inside prison, on an extradition request by the United States because she was responsible as a translator in a, whatever, in a purchase operation – purchase – of some transmission equipment for Iranian broadcasting company,” Zarif said.
“That’s her charge. She has been lingering in an Australian jail for the past three years. … nobody talks about this lady in Australia who gave birth to a child in prison whose child is growing up outside prison with mother in prison,” he added.
He said Iran had told Donald Trump’s White House team six months earlier that Tehran was open to a prisoner swap scheme but had not received a response.
President Rouhani also raised the issue of a prisoner swap with the US during his press conference in New York on Thursday, saying that Iran expected the US to reciprocate release of Lebanese-American “spy” Nizar Zakka in June, but Americans just appreciated the move.
Photo of Negar Ghodskani, the Iranian woman recently released by the US after spending 27 months in jail, uppon arrival in Tehran.
“During Mr. Trump’s term in office, the issue of holding talks on prisoners was raised once or twice … We once released a dual Lebanese-American prisoner, but they did not fulfill their promise to make a reciprocal move and release some Iranians, and sufficed it to thank Iran. Iran is always ready for negotiation on exchange of prisoners, and now the ball is in the US court,” Rouhani said, according to a transcript of his response to NBC’s reporter published on his official website.
Now it is not clear whether the US’ release of Ghodskani is its fulfillment of a long overdue promise to reciprocate the release of Zakka, or it is a goodwill gesture to convince Iranians to release the dual nationals currently jailed in Iran.
Earlier this month, Iran’s judiciary confirmed it had detained three Australian citizens on charge of spying and taking images from sensitive areas.
One of the cases related to images taken by British-Australian woman Jolie King and her Australian boyfriend Mark Firkin from military and restricted areas, and the other case involved British-Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert accused of “spying for another country”, Iran’s Judiciary spokesman Gholam-Hossein Esmaeili said.
There are also at least four US citizens, mostly dual nationals, currently jailed in Iran. Xiyue Wang, a US citizen and Princeton University graduate student; Iranian-American father and son, Siamak and Baquer Namazi; and Michael White, a Navy veteran imprisoned in 2018, are among those jailed in Iran.
Dehqani made the remarks in a Thursday address to a UN General Assembly meeting held in New York to commemorate the International Day for Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
In his speech, Dehqani described nuclear disarmament and creation of a world free from these weapons as a necessity that is long overdue, and stressed Tehran’s support for the cause.
He said the new rounds of nuclear arms race and nuclear weapons modernization race are worrying trends that threaten human survival.
He noted that the United States’ withdrawal from the JCPOA is another example of its irresponsible policies that undermine international peace and security, and at the same time, the country’s withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty has exacerbated the situation.
The incumbent US president seeks to acquire more nuclear weapons in order to stay at the top of the pack, Dehqani said, highlighting the US’ extensive plan to modernize its nuclear arsenals and develop small nuclear weapons with lower threshold for use.
He also pointed to the US’ 2018 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), and said in this document, nuclear weapons have gained an increased role in the country’s strategies, and it advises the resumption of nuclear explosive tests, which is alarming.
Dehqani said the disastrous trend and the irresponsible policies of the US must be stopped. “No one should possess nuclear weapons, and we should destroy these weapons before they destroy us.”
To achieve that goal, it is necessary that countries possessing nuclear weapons comply with their explicit obligations under the Article VI of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), he added.
The Iranian diplomat referred to the situation of the Middle East, and said all-inclusive compliance with the NPT in the region is an immediate necessity, as the only possessor of nuclear weapons that has not joined the treaty, namely the Zionist regime, has jeopardized the peace and stability of the region and beyond.
He said the regime’s nuclear weapons are the only obstacle on the way of achieving a nuclear-weapon-free Middle East, proposed by Iran in 1974.
Therefore, the Israeli regime must be forced into immediate and unconditional membership in the NPT as a party without nuclear weapons.
Dehqani finally expressed Iran’s preparedness to cooperate with all sides to totally eliminate nuclear weapons, and said Iran encourages all nations to use any opportunity to realize this collective responsibility.
Israel, the sole possessor of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, has a policy of deliberate ambiguity about its nuclear program.
During the Friday meeting, the two sides conferred on bilateral relations, continuation of close contacts and consultations between the two countries’ officials, and the latest developments and progress made in the Astana Process.
Zarif once again underlined Iran’s full support for maintaining the territorial integrity of Syria.
“The US regime’s recent sanctions against certain countries are against the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which has emphasized and encouraged the cooperation of all countries with Iran,” Mousavi said in a Friday statement.
“Through this move, the US administration is punishing other countries for respecting a resolution that even America had voted for,” he added.
The spokesman slammed the measures taken by Trump’s economic terrorism team as a factor against the security of international trade, and said, “As the main victim of economic terrorism, the Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns such destabilizing behaviours including the sanctions introduced against a number of Chinese companies, and warns the international community against the consequences of the US’ unilateralism in the form of economic terrorism.”
Mousavi also condemned sanctions against a number of Russian individuals and companies on the pretext of cooperating with the legal and legitimate government of Syria which is a member of the United Nations.
“The US’ excessive use of the weapon of sanction and economic terrorism has, on the one hand, turned into a factor against the American people and companies’ interests, and on the other hand, increased concerns about violating other independent countries’ freedom of doing international trade,” he said.
“The world needs to find solutions against such destructive interventions and thuggish unilateralism,” he added.
The US has put sanctions on several Chinese companies and their top officials for allegedly shipping Iranian oil, putting dozens of supertankers off limits to western energy traders.
The US Treasury department on Wednesday blacklisted two oil tanker subsidiaries of Cosco, a leading Chinese shipping and logistics company, although the parent company remains unaffected.
China Concord Petroleum, Pegasus 88 Limited, Kunlun Shipping Company and Kunlun Holding Company were also sanctioned.
The Trump administration also imposed sanctions Thursday against a Moscow-based firm and five vessels the Treasury Department said shipped fuel to Syria used to support the Syrian government.
