NOURNEWS- The following headlines appeared in English-language newspapers in the Iranian capital on Saturday, August 19, 2023:
IRAN DAILY:
-- Tehran-Riyadh Ties on Right Track:
Iran’s foreign minister said relations between Tehran and Riyadh are on the right track after he paid a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, marking the improvement of relations between the two regional powers.
On Friday, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held talks with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, where the two sides reviewed bilateral relations and explored opportunities for cooperation between Tehran and Riyadh.
They also discussed the latest international and regional developments.
“Discussions were frank, beneficial and productive,” Amir-Abdollahian said in a social media post after the meeting, adding that the countries “agree on the security and development of all in the
region”.
The meeting came as part of the Iranian foreign minister’s visit to Riyadh on his first trip to Saudi Arabia since a Chinese-brokered rapprochement deal reached between the two countries in March.
Earlier on Thursday, Iran’s top diplomat held talks with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
Amir-Abdollahian described Thursday’s meeting in the Saudi Foreign Ministry’s Islamic Solidarity Hall as “a prelude to the meeting of the heads of the two countries,” without specifying when Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi would visit Saudi Arabia at King Salman’s invitation.
“We are sure that these meetings and cooperation will help the unity of the Islamic world,” he said, proposing a “regional dialogue”.
Describing progress in the detente between Riyadh and Tehran, the Iranian foreign minister told a joint press conference with his Saudi counterpart, “Relations between Tehran and Saudi Arabia are on the right track, and we are witnessing progress,” adding, “The talks were successful.”
The top Iranian diplomat highlighted that Iran believes security in the region must be ensured through reliance on local capabilities, stating that Iran stretches out a hand of cooperation to neighboring countries.
“Within such a framework, we have planned promotion of solid relations with other countries like Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates apart from restoration of ties with the friendly and neighboring Saudi Arabia.”
Regional security
Prince Faisal, for his part, said on Thursday, “Our meeting today is a continuation of the steps taken towards implementing the agreement to resume diplomatic relations, which represents a pivotal platform in the history of the two countries and the path of regional security.”
In June, Iran officially reopened its embassy in Saudi Arabia and Iranian media reported earlier this month that the kingdom’s embassy in Tehran had resumed
operations.
Prince Faisal confirmed on Thursday that the Saudi Embassy in Tehran has also resumed operations, which he described as “another step in the development of relations between the two countries”.
-- ‘Iranophobia’ no longer functioning:
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, reciprocated his Saudi counterpart’s recent visit to Tehran with a journey to the kingdom. During this visit, the FM engaged in discussions with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan in the capital city of Riyadh and subsequently held an important meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah. Farhan's recent visit to Iran, following years of severed ties, marked a significant thaw in the political relations between two prominent Muslim nations of the Middle East. Now, with Amir-Abdollahian visiting Saudi Arabia, the trajectory continues, underscoring the ongoing trend of diplomatic re-engagement.
-- Russia, Brazil explore Iran’s membership in BRICS:
The president of Russia and the foreign minister of Brazil talked with their Iranian counterparts, highlighting what the Asian country could add to BRICS if its application for membership is accepted in the bloc’s upcoming summit in South Africa.
In a telephone conversation on Thursday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed ways to promote bilateral cooperation in various fields, specifically in the energy sector and trade. Also, the Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said Brazil and Iran have significant economic and trade capacities, and expressed the Brazilian government’s interest in the expansion of ties with Iran.
KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL:
-- IRGC is World’s Largest Anti-Terrorist Organization:
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Thursday touched on the enemy’s policy of creating crises, undermining the country’s security, and disrupting people’s lives.
Addressing commanders and officials of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), the Leader said the enemy’s defeat and the nation’s victory will be “definite” through efforts to bring about national unity, encouraging people’s participation, helping people, especially the lower classes, round-the-clock and Jihadi works by authorities, and continuing movement, hope and enthusiasm toward the realization of the goals of the Islamic Revolution.
The Leader said forgetting the facts and truths of the Islamic Revolution by the Iranian nation is one of the goals of the world’s satans.
He called the formation of a group with the characteristics of the IRGC as a unique incident in the great revolutions of history.
“There are flaws and weaknesses in all human groups, but in the history of the country, there has never been a military group with such spiritual, political, moral, and human uprightness,” he said.
The Leader also described the growth of the IRGC as unique.
-- ‘Frank Talks’ With MbS in Riyadh:
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman met Iran’s Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian on Friday in the highest-level talks since the countries reconciled in March after years of estangement.
The meeting in Jeddah came a day after Amir-Abdollahian arrived in the kingdom and declared ties between the countries were “on the right track” following talks with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
“Discussions were frank, beneficial and productive,” Amir-Abdollahian said in a social media post after meeting the de facto Saudi ruler, adding that the countries “agree on the security and development of all in the region”.
Muhammad bin Salman, widely known as MbS, has pushed to reorient Saudi foreign policy in recent years amid troubles in its historically close relationship with the United States.
Footage of the meeting on Iranian state media showed MbS and Amir-Abdollahian smiling as they spoke, while Prince Faisal and the Iranian delegation looked on. Saudi state news agency SPA said they discussed international and regional developments.
China brokered a rapprochement in March leading to a resumption of full diplomatic relations, which Saudi Arabia had broken off in 2016 when protesters attacked its Tehran embassy over Riyadh’s execution of a prominent Shia cleric.
Prince Faisal visited Tehran in June and said he hoped Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi would visit the kingdom at the “appropriate time”.
Saudi Arabia has lost confidence in U.S. commitment to regional security and wanted to bolster ties with China, which has retained good relations with Iran. This month it succeeded in getting China to attend a diplomatic meeting on Ukraine that Beijing had earlier avoided.
On Thursday, Amir-Abdollahian said he held “fruitful and important talks” in Riyadh. He touched on economic and security cooperation between Iran and Saudi Arabia, saying that ties between the two countries “are progressing in the right direction”.
-- Thousands Flee as Wildfires Hit Spain, Canada Territories:
Thousands were fleeing wildfires advancing on one of the largest cities in Canada’s far north and the Spanish holiday island of Tenerife that has burnt through more than 2,600 hectares of land is the “most complex” blaze to hit the Canary Islands in four decades.
The order to evacuate Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories of Canada marks the latest chapter in a terrible summer for wildfires. More than 20,000 residents of the regional capital have left.
Emergency responders were constructing firebreaks, installing sprinkler lines and water cannons, and laying fire retardant in an effort to prevent the blaze from reaching the city -- which remained a real possibility in coming days, officials said.
Northwest winds over the next two days will send the fire “in directions we don’t want,” said Mike Westwick, Northwest Territories’ fire information officer.
Heeding Wednesday’s evacuation order, Tiffany Champagne was one of many who crammed into the airport in Yellowknife awaiting flights -- the first departing at 1:00 pm (1900 GMT).
Carriers WestJet and Air Canada announced they were increasing flights out of the city.
As of Thursday, more than 1,000 wildfires were burning in Canada, including about 230 in the Northwest Territories, where more than 8,100 square miles (21,000 square kilometers) have been set ablaze.
In British Columbia in western Canada, an evacuation order was put in place for the city of West Kelowna, which was under threat of a different fire.
In addition to those traveling by car, some 5,000 had been evacuated on emergency flights as of Thursday night.
Yellowknife Mayor Rebecca Alty warned drivers being led out in kilometers-long convoys that the flames were skirting the edges of highways and they would encounter limited visibility as thick smoke turned the sky orange.
-- Presidents Raisi, Putin Discuss Strengthening Ties:
President Ebrahim Raisi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have discussed Iran’s future membership in the BRICS grouping of emerging economies and possible ways to strengthen economic cooperation.
Russian state news agency TASS, citing the Kremlin, also reported on Thursday that both head of state also reaffirmed their support for further developing bilateral ties in trade, transport and logistics, and energy.
The phone conversation comes as Iran is looking to join BRICS, the influential group of developing economies consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
As chair of the group of five countries seen as an alternative to the Western hegemony, South Africa will host the annual BRICS summit in Johannesburg on August 22-24.
The 15th summit of BRICS heads of state will be held next week, with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in attendance.
In a telephone conversation, Presidents Raisi and Putin reviewed regional developments in Caucasus and the progress of economic agreements especially in the fields of energy cooperation and the North-South Corridor, the Iranian president’s deputy chief of staff for political affairs Muhammad Jamshidi said.
“The two presidents agreed to expand regional economic cooperation,” he added.
TEHRAN TIMES:
-- Why is the world’s largest terrorist organization angry at the IRGC?:
Changing the meaning of key phrases is one of the most important characteristics of imperialist powers, from freedom and democracy to human rights and terrorism. America has a detailed and heavy record in this regard. The US has followed this strategy more hurriedly since World War II and greatly intensified it after the September 11 attacks. One of the most tangible actions of Washington in this regard was declaring the IRGC as a terrorist organization. In April 2019, the Trump administration declared the Guards as a terrorist organization. Of course, labeling the Guards by the US government is not strange. According to America, anyone who stands up against their sinister plans and resists them is a terrorist, from the Guards in Iran to Palestinian resistance groups who fight for survival in an unequal battle with the Israeli army. The IRGC was formed after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. It was established as various security and deadly threats were largely looming against the nascent revolution.
-- Unraveling the Niger dilemma: Decoding the erosion of France’s influence in West Africa:
The intricate tapestry of historical and cultural connections between France and Africa is in the midst of a seismic recalibration. France’s once unassailable stature as a colonial force on the continent is confronting an array of fresh and formidable trials, most notably underscored by the recent unfolding of events in Niger subsequent to the ousting of President Mohamed Bazoum on the 26th of July. The reverberations of potential military interference, emanating from both global and regional actors, have laid bare a transformative terrain where France’s firm grasp over its erstwhile colonies seems to be slipping through its fingers
-- Iran FM, Saudi crown prince hold frank, fruitful talks :
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian held frank and fruitful talks in Jeddah on Friday. Amir Abdollahian said in a post on X that he spoke with the Saudi crown prince for 90 minutes. Since the two nations’ relations were repaired after years of estrangement, the highest-level negotiations took place behind closed doors.
-- Iran starts producing the most modern, accurate satellite:
The head of the Iranian Space Organization (ISA) announced on Thursday the launch of the production process of “Pars-3”, Iran’s “state-of-the-art and accurate” satellite. “Previously, we had given some promises about the production of remote sensing satellites with high accuracy,” Hassan Salarieh said. “Today, I proudly announce that the ISA has taken a very important step in the area of designing and producing indigenous remote sensing satellites with very good accuracy,” Salarieh explained. He mentioned “Pars-2” and “Pars-3” as examples of satellites whose manufacturing has officially started. Salarieh recognized Pars-2 and Pars-3 as satellites with imaging accuracies of four and two meters, respectively.Iran is one of the top 10 nations in the world for satellite manufacture and launch capabilities.
NOURNEWS