The Malaysian prime minister tweeted a photo of himself and the Saudi monarch while they were being transported between events in Kuala Lumpur.
King Salman’s month-long Asia tour will see him visit Indonesia, Brunei, Japan, China, the Maldives and Jordan “to meet with the leaders of those countries to discuss bilateral relations and regional and international issues of common concern”.
King Salman’s entourage will be 1,500-strong during the trip aimed at forging economic ties with the region at a time when the kingdom aims to diversify its economy to reduce its dependency on oil.
After four days in Malaysia, the royal will head to Indonesia and take in, amongst others, trips to China and Japan as part of a rare diplomatic mission.
According to airfreight cargo company PT Jasa Angkasa Semesta (JAS), the elderly king has two Mercedes-Benz S600 limousines among his 459 tonnes (metric) of cargo with him for his nine-day trip to Indonesia.
The limousines arrived in Denpasar, Bali, on February 18. Two electric lifts have also arrived in the country for the 81-year-old king.
“We have been officially appointed to handle all [cargo] belonging to the King’s entourage aircraft,” JAS Director Adji Gunawan said, as reported by the Strait Times. The company will need more than 570 staff to accommodate the King’s needs.
Gunawan reported that the King’s 600-strong entourage, currently in Malaysia with him, will join him in Indonesia, along with an additional 800 delegates, including princes and ministers. The total figure is expected to be close to 1,500, RT reported.
The delegation began to arrive over the last two weeks across 36 flights. Three luxury hotels in Kuala Lumpur have been completely booked out by the entourage for the duration of the visit.
Addressing a conference of ECO foreign ministers in Islamabad on Monday, Zarif stressed that the restructuring of the Organization needed to be based on an inclusive economic plan as well as adequate growth models.
Zarif added that ECO also needed to strengthen the mechanisms to respond to the requirements of its member states.
This, he added, could be part of the reforms that were launched over the past few years but were yet to be finished.
Here is the full text of his remarks:
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Fellow Ministers; Distinguished Secretary General
Excellencies; Ladies and Gentlemen
At the outset, allow me to express my profound appreciation for your participation in the 33rd Council of Ministers of our Economic Cooperation Organization. I would like to begin by paying tribute to the people and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for hosting this meeting and for the excellent arrangements and gracious hospitality extended to us.
Since last COM Meeting, ECO’s existing frameworks and networks for regional cooperation continued to function; thanks to the ECO Member States, ECO Secretariat and our partner organizations. Distinguished Secretary General has extensively elaborated in his Report on the sectoral achievements and challenges that the Organization has experienced since the 32nd COM Meeting. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to him and his colleagues in the Secretariat for their dedication and efforts towards implementation of the ECO overall agenda.
Dear Colleagues
At the end of my tenure as the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, I would like to briefly share with you my views about the ECO as it stands now and as it ventures ahead to play a large role in the future of relations among our countries. In the 32nd COM Meeting in November 3124, and in the “Tehran Communiqué”, the Ministers clearly indicated that continued regional cooperation within ECO framework would require, first and foremost, enhanced institutional and operational capacities in the Organization, enabling it to respond in a timely and effective manner to the needs and aspirations of the Member States. Accordingly, the imperative of reform attained momentum, which was reinforced further by the evolving global trends in the context of the post-3122 global development agenda.
Notwithstanding the pending reforms and changes, the corresponding roadmap is now developed: the new “ECO Vision 3132″. Member States, assisted by the Secretariat, have charted the “Vision” which lays out the ECO goals and programs in the coming decade. The “Vision”, along with its associated plans for action, is expected to drive us towards further regional integration and cohesion. If it happens, ECO will celebrate an important milestone in its three-decade history of evolution. Ensuring that the “Vision” and other such frameworks will deliver their expected output, in a timely and effective way, predominantly requires a new regional economic architecture for cooperation and integration within the ECO. This should be based on a development paradigm and supported by fitting economic growth models for our Region. I firmly believe that ECO should invest more time and energy to carefully devise Vision’s implementation frameworks and mechanisms, and to ensure conducive policy environment for its realization.
Distinguished Friends,
As a member-driven organization, no success in the ECO can be envisaged unless all Member States are actively involved. The “less than full membership” arrangements or agreements have revealed their negative structural and institutional impacts on the Organization. We need to have all Member States on broad; while ECO in return needs to prove that it works for the whole membership. There has been a clear request by Member States that ECO should now focus on projects and programs which bring about maximum economic benefits to the Member States and the Region as a whole. ECO needs to prove its added value for each and every single Member State, enhancing the sense of ownership among them. Conversely, we, the Member States, should lend our full support to the Organization and its activities.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is committed to continue its unwavering support for the ECO. We believe that the Economic Cooperation Organization is by far the best option for cooperation among the countries of the Region. We firmly believe ECO-sponsored regionalism not only improves prospects for individual and collective economic development, but enhances political and security relations among the Member States. We can ensure a more stable, peaceful and resilient community of countries through ECO’s cooperation and integration schemes, uplifting also our capacities to respond individually and collectively to the challenges and vulnerabilities.
Let me conclude by assuring the new ECO chairmanship, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, of the full support of the Islamic Republic of Iran. We will also continue our advocacy policy towards the Secretary General and the ECO Secretariat to accomplish their critical role in initiating, implementing and monitoring the activities within the Organization.
The state department’s official Persian-language Twitter account, @USAdarFarsi, tweeted congratulations to the Iranian people and Asghar Farhadi, director of The Salesman, after the movie won an Oscar for best foreign-language film on Sunday, according to screenshots of the message circulated on Twitter.
However, it later removed the tweet “to avoid any misperception that the USG [US government] endorsed the comments made in the acceptance speech,” according to a US State Department spokeswoman.
A second state department official said the decision to delete the tweet was made within the department.
Farhadi boycotted the Oscars ceremony and issued a statement criticising Trump’s January executive order that temporarily banned entry to the United States by Iranians and citizens of six other Muslim-majority countries. The ban was blocked by federal courts, although the administration has said it is working on a new order, The Guardian reported.
Farhadi chose two Iranian-Americans – a female engineer and a former NASA scientist – to represent him at the ceremony. Anousheh Ansari, an engineer who was the first female space tourist, read a statement on Farhadi’s behalf calling the travel ban “inhumane”.
“Terrorists can carry out bombings and terrorist measures in countries that have been the origin of their nurturing and training and where they have bases and support for their evil intentions,” Shamkhani said on Monday.
Shamkhani described the social, political and cultural conditions in Iran as being completely at odds with terrorist ideologies and teachings, Press TV reported.
“The presence of a vigilant security apparatus and wise and discerning citizens,” he said, “prevents the presence, growth and operation of terrorist elements inside the country.”
In its match against Saudi Arabia’s Al Taawoun, Esteghlal’s Kaveh Rezaei was on target just 50 seconds into the match at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Oman. Al Taawoun backline failed to clear a long throw-in from the right and the ball eventually fell kindly to Rezaei, who finished through a crowd of defenders from eight yards, Tasnim reported.
The Iranian football team extended the lead in the 70th minute when Al Taawoun again was unable to clear the ball, Mohsen Karimi was on hand to finish from six yards.
With two minutes remaining, Brazilian defender Leandro Padovani scored with a header to seal a 3-0 victory for Esteghlal.
In another match of the day, Iran’s Esteghlal Khuzestan, kept its record unblemished in Group B of the AFC Champions League, Press TV reported.
The continental debutants from Ahvaz opened the scoring in the second minute of the fixture against Al Jazira of the United Arab Emirates at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium is in Abu Dhabi, when forward Mehdi Momeni picked up Arash Afshin’s header and laid the ball into the path of Cameroonian footballer Aloys Nong to net the winner.
Abu Tahseen is a member of the ‘Popular Mobilization Units’ (PMU) and has participated in five wars; namely, the Yom Kippur war, Iran-Iraq war, Kuwait invasion, the Gulf War and the current war in Iraq.
The seasoned sniper is now rumoured to be stationed near Mount Sinjar in northwestern Iraq, Al Masdar News reported.
Tahseen is said to be a legend amongst fellow soldiers and appeared in a video clip that was posted by the PMU to their YouTube channel.
Speaking directly to the camera, the PMU sniper describes how he killed two enemy fighters that day and two the previous day, including a man named Abu Hudaifa, an ISIS commander.
Abu Tahseen loves fighting ISIS so much that when he was once handed a month break from the battlefield, returned after just 12 days.
Almost all newspapers today covered the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film given to Asghar Farhadi’s film The Salesman. Many of them referred to the political atmosphere of this year’s Oscars and some even described Farhadi’s success as a result of political issues.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s remarks about his government’s economic achievements and the stability of Iran’s market as a result of his administration’s measures also received great coverage.
Another top story was the remarks made by Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli about the UN experts on fight against money laundry who are due to visit Iran.
The above issues, as well as many more, are highlighted in the following headlines and top stories:
19 Dey:
1- Returning Calm to Iran’s Market, Biggest Achievement of Rouhani’s Gov’t
2- Judiciary Chief: It’s a Crime to Use Anti-Iran Media for Election
Abrar:
1- Farhadi’s Second Gift to Iranian Cinema
2- Seoul Accuses North Korean Officials of Murdering Their Supreme Leader’s Brother
3- Israeli Paper: Assad’s Fate in Hands of a Russian General
4- GOP Congressmen Continue Efforts to Impose Anti-Iran Sanctions
Abrar-e Eqtesadi:
1- Iran’s President Declares 5.2% Increase in Dollar Rate This Year
Aftab-e Yazd:
1- Cultural Diplomacy: Farhadi once again won Oscar and conveyed message of Iranian people to the world
2- What’s Farhadi’s Message [Editorial]
Arman-e Emrooz:
1- World Accompanies Iran in Condemning Trump: Farhadi’s Oscar in Ansari’s Hands
2- Interior Minister: Int’l Money Laundry Experts to Be Deployed in Iran
Ebtekar:
1- Art against Politics: Farhadi wins Academy Award for second time with ‘The Salesman’
2- Rouhani Still Engaged in Executive Affairs: Government spokesman’s reaction to Rouhani’s decision to run for presidential votes
Etemad:
1- Rise of Peace in Dawn of Oscars
2- Rouhani: Under Sanctions, Iran Returned to Qajar Era
3- UN Experts in Tehran: Iran’s growing concern over increased laundry of drug trafficking money
Ettela’at:
1- First VP: Government Supports Production that Observes Consumers’ Rights
2- Deputy FM: US to Be in Loss If Trump Scraps Nuclear Deal
3- Rouhani: We Need Powerful Banks for Interaction with World
Ghanoon:
1- Oscar, Second Take: Farhadi, Ansari, Naderi shine in Oscars 2017
2- Iran Behaving Magnanimously towards Azerbaijan Republic: Official
Iran:
1- Oscar without Visa
2- Blue Night of Asia: Iran’s Esteghlal Tehran FC and Esteghlal Khuzestan FC defeat Saudi and Emirati rivals in AFC Champions League
Jame Jam:
1- Trump Is Same as Obama, but More Outspoken: Iranian Adviser
2- Trump’s Disgrace at Brilliant Night of Iranian Cinema
Javan:
1- Rouhani Blames US and Iranian Banks for Continued Banking Sanctions
2- Iran’s Nemati Selected as World’s Best Female Para Archer in 2016
3- Trump’s Political Oscar: Farhadi’s The Salesman wins Oscar in anti-Trump atmosphere in US
Jomhouri Eslami:
1- Kordestan Turns to Western Iran’s Medical Hub after Inauguration of 10 Projects
2- Europe’s Message Is Supporting JCPOA: Deputy FM
Ka’enat:
1- Return to Freedom: Farhadi’s Oscar Is Artists’ Final Blow to Trump
Kayhan:
1- When We Have Cocoa Milk, Why Water? [Kayhan’s report of President Rouhani’s remarks, alluding to the low quality of water in Khuzestan province]
2- Sheikh Isa Qassim’s Trial Session Postponed for Ninth Time
3- Yemeni Sources: Al Saud Has Poured 2m Bombs and Rockets on Yemeni People in Past 2 Years
4- What Did ‘The Salesman’ Sell to Win Oscar?
Khorasan:
1- Rouhani: It’s Unprecedented to Have One-Digit Inflation Rate, High Economic Growth at Same Time
Shahrvand:
1- A Reward against the Wall: Farhadi Wins Iran Second Oscar
Shargh:
1- An Oscar against Far-Rightists: Farhadi’s Second Oscar for Iranian Nation, Cinema
2- President: Major Corruptions Take Place in Polished Way
3- Trump, Are You Awake? [Editorial about Farhadi’s Oscar]
Vaghaye Ettefaghieh:
1- Trump’s Humiliation: Farhadi Wins Iran Second Oscar
2- Trump’s War with Europe without Bullets: Economy Is Subject This Time
Vatan-e Emrooz:
1- Hollywood against Trump, Trump against Hollywood: Best foreign language film Academy Award given to Farhadi for second time
2- Zionist Rabbi: Al Khalifa Is Symbol of Moderation!
Iranian media have published several analyses in reaction to an unannounced (or perhaps planned, but hidden from the rival) visit to Iraq by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir. Among those articles, an opinion piece by Tabnak news website is worth reading.
Here are excerpts from the Farsi article:
Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy démarches have gained momentum, especially since tension heightened between Iran and the US. A busy Saudi foreign minister has made arrangements at the regional level and beyond to make up for Riyadh’s decade-long lethargy in the foreign policy arena. Jubeir’s recent stop was Iraq, but one cannot expect it to be the last stop.
Incontrovertibly, Jubeir’s surprise trip to Baghdad after around 13 years should not be underestimated. Since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, no ranking Saudi official had paid an official visit to Iraq. That makes Jubeir’s recent trip all the more significant and noteworthy.
Saudi Arabia, one of Iran’s major rivals in the region, will not miss any chance to make harsh criticism of and press charges against Iran over its regional policies. Now, one of its top officials has travelled to a country which is Tehran’s closest regional ally and is known for its alignment with the Islamic Republic.
There are two viewpoints on the table when it comes to Jubeir’s Iraq visit: an optimistic point of view and a pessimistic one. Some believe Saudi Arabia seeks to get close to Iraq as Iran’s number-one ally in the region in order to take the same step that Tehran has taken via Kuwait and Oman to help ease tension with Persian Gulf countries. Optimists say Riyadh is looking to Iran as a role model and wants to follow in its footsteps step by step. If that is the real intention of Saudi Arabia, it could help boost stability in the Middle East region and usher in a new era in serious mutual cooperation. However, Jubeir does not seem to have travelled to Iraq with such a mission.
Saudi Arabia is not in a position to get engaged in a process of détente with Iran without getting major concessions from Tehran. On the other hand, when we look at Jubeir’s trip against the backdrop of his recent moves and critical speeches about Iran, especially his remarks in the Munich Securityu Conference, this optimistic view vanishes into thin air.
This leads us to the sceptical view about Jubeir’s Iraq visit. It seems after getting regional Arab states and, above all, Turkey on board against Iran, the top Saudi diplomat has kicked off a second phase of diplomatic demarches to counter and ostracize Iran. This is one of the tough stages of Riyadh’s plot against Iran: To either get Iran’s allies on board or neutralise them. To that end, Iraq is the most probable choice for Saudi Arabia because Riyadh’s policy on Syria is crystal clear and Saudi Arabia is waiting to see what the outcome of the Geneva talks will be and how things will unfold as a transitional government might take power in Syria, paving the way for a new administration. Riyadh hopes any new administration will be better than that of Bashar al-Assad who is an Iran ally.
A statement released by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry on Jubeir’s visit mentions a key point in this regard. The statement quotes Jubeir as saying that Iraq’s neutrality can set the stage for reconciliation between Tehran and Riyadh.
Although Jubeir has openly used the term “reconciliation” between Iran and Saudi Arabia, no sober mind has forgotten the remarks he made in Munich recently or in London and Paris previously, that making efforts to bring about a détente between Iran and Saudi Arabia would be a nonstarter. So, one can guess Jubeir’s modus operandi: If Iraq cannot be made to join the ranks of Riyadh’s allies against Iran, it can be neutralised, at least. In fact Saudi Arabia is seriously asking Iraq to remain neutral.
What reinforces the pessimistic view on Jubeir’s trip to Iraq is an article by Abdulrahman Rashed, the former editor-in-chief of the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat daily. His article was carried by this very newspaper as well as by the Al-Arabia News Channel. In the article, he calls on Arab states, especially Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan to form a joint military alliance to contain Iran.
He rehashes remarks by Trump and Saudis that the JCPOA [Iran nuclear deal] has made Iran’s foreign policy in the region more aggressive. He says Iran’s behaviour changed only after the conclusion of the nuclear agreement, and that Iran is now much better off financially and militarily. He said Iran fills the power vacuum in Iraq and is expanding its hegemony in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
He says military cooperation of some sort is a very good mechanism to harness Iran, especially if the cooperation goes beyond the military domain. He says it is necessary to form a military counterbalance to stand up to the military alliance between Iran, Iraq and Syria.
Jubeir in Iraq and Rashed in London are weighing the scheme that Riyadh has orchestrated against Iran. Now, rumours are getting stronger that Washington and regional Arab states seek to form a NATO-style regional alliance against Iran.
Al-Masri, also known as Ahmad Hasan served as the deputy of Ayman al-Zawahiri. Al-Masri was believed to have been operating in Syria since 2015.
Reports coming in from Syria confirms the death of the 59-year-old Egyptian. Images posted on social media hinted that al-Masri was the target of a US drone strike as he was travelling in his car on Sunday.
The images posted on Social media shows al-Masri’s car, a Kia, with a massive hole on the roof. Also on the post was the picture of several rescuers trying to get the body out of the vehicle, News Line reported.
Abu Khayr al-Masri was initially a member of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad at the start of his path towards terrorism. He fled Egypt in the 1980’s and found his way to the Balkans to fight in the Bosnian war.
Al-Masri was also an explosive expert and he was allegedly behind the waves of terror attacks, including the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania back in 1998.
He also fought in Afghanistan where he became a close associate of Zawahiri.
© All Content by IFP News ( Iran Front Page ) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
