Raeisi felicitated Sharif upon his election as the new prime minister of Pakistan.

Sharif who was the consensus candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) was elected as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for the second time in a row by the majority vote of the new parliament members of this country.

The Iranian president expressed hope that in the light of deep historical and cultural ties, the two countries will work harder to strengthen and expand cooperation in order to achieve the desired level of relations.

“Within the framework of its permanent policy, the Islamic Republic of Iran is fully prepared to strengthen and deepen all aspects of bilateral relations with the brother and neighboring country of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” he stressed.

Raeisi also wished success for the new Pakistani government and also prosperity and well-being for the noble nation of Pakistan.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi’s current visit to Moscow is logical and well-timed. There is a regional dimension, which is related to the fact that after Vladimir Putin visits the Arabian Peninsula, it is important to meet with the Iranian president as well, to demonstrate a balanced approach towards crucial Middle Eastern actors.

Russia and Iran have rather an important agenda, which, firstly, means that the parties are preparing to sign a long-term co-operation agreement at the initiative of the Iranian side, which is expected to cement Russia’s status as a long-term partner of Iran. This document will be signed shortly.

Besides, a document on Iran’s accession to a free trade zone with the Eurasian Economic Union is at the final stage of negotiation, which will remove trade barriers and significantly facilitate trade between Russia and the entire Eurasian commonwealth. BRICS topics are certainly high on the agenda of both countries at the moment. In fact, this is the first summit meeting between the leadership of Russia and the leadership of Iran, a country that was recently invited to join BRICS.

And there are benefits for both sides. First of all, there is an issue related to the agreement on a common stance on oil. As the entry of Iran and Saudi Arabia into BRICS will allow the association to act as an additional platform for developing a consolidated position on oil production, which will be a logical addition to the existing OPEC+ mechanisms.

There are also sanctions, which will probably be one of the key issues from the point of view of both Russian and Iranian agendas. The entry of Saudi Arabia and Iran into BRICS will contribute to the further normalization of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which is beneficial for Russia because Russia is interested in the normalization of relations between its two key partners in West Asia. This could facilitate Russia’s trade, economic and political interaction with both Tehran and Riyadh.

Leonid Issaev is a candidate for Sciences* (Ph.D.) in Political Problems of International Relations and deputy Director of the Centre for Stability and Risk Analysis at the HSE University of Russia.

Iran ready to share scientific achievements with Kyrgyzstan: Raeisi

“Unfortunately, despite the wishes of the governments of Iran and Kyrgyzstan, the economic and commercial relations between the two countries have not yet expanded proportionately to the existing capacities of the two countries,” said Raeisi in a meeting with Sadyr Japarov, the President of Kyrgyzstan.

Emphasizing the importance of quick action to remove the obstacles to the development of relations between the two countries, the President considered the delay in the establishment of the joint commission between Iran and Kyrgyzstan as one of these obstacles and demanded the quick activation of this commission.

Raeisi also pointed out the remarkable scientific progress of Iranian youth despite the cruel sanctions and suggested to the President of Kyrgyzstan to spend more time traveling to Tehran so that he can visit Iran’s science and technology parks and learn about the achievements of Iran’s youth.

The President added, “Iran is ready to share these achievements with the friendly country of Kyrgyzstan.”

Sadyr Japarov, for his part, congratulated Iran on full membership in the Shanghai Organization and considered this membership and the increase in cooperation resulting from it to benefit the two nations and the region.

Stating that the two countries have very good capacities to develop relations, the President of Kyrgyzstan expressed his regret over the non-development of economic and trade relations between Tehran and Bishkek and said, “By completing the China-Central Asia-Iran corridor and also developing the rail communication platforms of the Central Asian countries with areas like Bandar Abbas in Iran can expand commercial and economic exchanges between the two countries.”

Japarov also welcomed Raeisi’s proposal regarding the exchange of Iran’s scientific capabilities and demanded an increase in cooperation between the two countries in international organizations.

The era of imposing opinions, and demands on nations over: Raeisi

In a meeting with Zoran Milanović, the President of Croatia, Raeisi stressed the desire of the Islamic Republic of Iran to expand political, economic and trade relations with the country.

Welcoming the announcement of the position of the President of Croatia to adopt an independent policy, the President stated, “Despite the efforts of some Western countries that seek to impose their interests and values on other countries of the world, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been able to turn sanctions and pressures into opportunities and achieve significant progress in various fields, especially in the field of technology.”

Raeisi said that the era of imposing opinions and demands on the nations is over, adding, “Why do America and Europe, who own nuclear arsenals, prevent other countries from benefiting from nuclear technology? The Islamic Republic of Iran has achieved remarkable achievements in the fields of agriculture, industry and medicine through the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and in this regard, last year we were able to treat one million patients with radiopharmaceuticals.”

Emphasizing that the Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to cooperate with all countries that want cooperation with Iran and will welcome this cooperation, the President added, “Regarding Palestine, we believe that referring to the vote of the people living in Palestine and the Palestinians is the only solution to this crisis.”

Zoran Milanović, for his part, announced his country’s interest in developing relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran and stated that there are suitable capacities between Iran and Croatia to develop interactions in various fields.

Milanović described the adoption of an independent foreign policy as the basis for reaching the ideal world, and while declaring his opposition to any attempt to impose values and cultures on other countries, he condemned America’s withdrawal from the nuclear agreement.

Iran ready to deepen ties with neighboring countries: Raeisi

Raisi met and held talks with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune during which the President referred to the very good capacities of Iran and Algeria and emphasized the efforts of the officials of the two countries to improve the level of relations, especially in the field of commercial and economic interactions.

“The improvement of relations between Iran and Algeria was stopped due to the special circumstances of coronavirus, which should be restored and be improved with the efforts of the officials of the two countries,” he added.

Raeisi described the activation of the joint commissions of the two countries to be effective in expanding cooperation between Iran and Algeria while appreciating the positions of the Algerian President in supporting the oppressed people of Palestine and condemning the actions of the Zionist regime, as well as the positions of Algeria in the African Union in preventing Zionist influence, expressing hope that the expansion of cooperation between the two countries in the political, economic and commercial fields will increase regional and international cooperation.

Stating that Iran has no problem in developing relations with neighboring countries, the President considered the interference of Western countries, especially America, as the cause of disruption in the relations of regional countries.

For his part, Abdelmadjid Tebboune referred to the history of good relations between the two countries and emphasized the serious effort to revive and improve the relations between Iran and Algeria.

He stated that he is familiar with the political, economic, scientific and research capacities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and demanded cooperation with Iran in these fields and said, “We know that sanctions have turned Iran into a powerful country and we are ready to improve our relations with Iran.”

The President of Algeria, emphasizing his country’s support for the rights of the Palestinian people in the creation of an independent Palestinian state, said that the strengthening of relations between Islamic and regional countries has increased the strength of these countries in dealing with threats.

Tebboune stated that the Western countries seek to abuse the countries of the region, and emphasised the necessity of confronting the influence and interference of the Western countries and considered becoming strong as one of the best ways to achieve this goal.

Neighbourhood, membership of Iran, Kazakhstan in SCO suitable platform for development of ties: Raeisi

Raisi, in the meeting with the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, which took place at the headquarters of the United Nations pointed to the meetings and good agreements between the Presidents of the two countries last year and emphasized efforts to accelerate the full implementation of the agreements, especially in the economic and business field.

The President described the neighborhood of Iran and Kazakhstan through the Caspian Sea and membership in the Shanghai Organisation as a suitable platform for the development of relations between the two countries and said, “Increasing the exchange of goods, both by sea and by rail, is in the interest of the two nations and the countries of the region, and steps should be taken to accelerate the realization of this goal.”

The President of Kazakhstan, in turn, referred to the vast capacities of the two countries, saying that Iran is a strategic partner and a close friend of Kazakhstan,

He welcomed the increase in the exchange of goods between the two countries, announcing his country’s interest in accelerating the implementation of the agreements between the two countries.

Iran ready to participate in expanding peace, security in world: Raeisi

Raeisi made the remarks in a meeting with Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres.

He expressed appreciation for the efforts made by the Secretary-General and the United Nations Secretariat, emphasizing the importance of justice, the eradication of discrimination and poverty, and sustainable security as key missions of the United Nations.

The President criticized the war-mongering nature of major powers and hegemony, stressing the need for UN intervention to prevent actions that could disrupt global peace and stability.

He also highlighted concerns about the political and social future of Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, and Africa due to excessive demands and power-seeking behavior.

Raeisi affirmed Iran’s readiness to participate in initiatives promoting peace and security worldwide, stating that cooperation with the United Nations is a fundamental aspect of the Islamic Republic’s policy.

He urged the UN to obtain accurate news about Iran, as media affiliated with dominant states often misrepresent the Islamic Republic, saying that the Iranian society enjoys racial justice and the government attaches great importance to women’s rights.

He also commended Iran for its constructive role in Yemen’s developments and supported Iran’s initiatives to end the Yemen crisis.

Raeisi made the remarks in a press conference with 250 local and foreign media reporters and photographers on the occasion of Government Week on Tuesday at the venue of the Iran International Conference Center.

Referring to the neighborhood policy of the Iranian government, Raeisi announced Iran’s trade cooperation with neighboring countries has grown by 14%.

The development of markets in Latin America, Africa, and Asia is in line with the policies of the Iranian government, he noted.

Referring to Iran’s membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and BRICS, he said that this shows that the enemies have failed to isolate Iran in the international arena.

Membership in SCO and BRICS is definitely of high importance in confronting American unilateralism, he also said, adding that Iran has great and unique capacities in this regard.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he said that Iran has always announced that JCPOA is not the only case and the country is following many cases at the same time.

He also said that Iran did not leave the sanction-lifting talks and it was the other party who left and now regrets to return the table of negotiation.

Some say that the solution to resolve problems is to connect with some Western countries, he said adding, “We will not wait for Westerners to smile. We do not tie people’s lives and economy to their smiles.”

Membership in Shanghai and BRICS is definitely important in confronting American unilateralism, he also said, adding that Iran has great and unique capacities in this regard.

Iran has always announced that JCPOA is not the only case and the country is following many cases at the same time, he said, referring to following the relationship with the neighboring, aligned, and Islamic countries.

Iran did not leave the sanction-lifting talks and it was the other party who left and now regrets to return the table of negotiation, he said.

Some say that the solution to resolve problems is to connect with some Western countries, he said adding, “We will not wait for Westerners to smile. We do not tie people’s lives and economy to their smiles.”

“We are trying with all our might to neutralize the sanctions and not let the enemy achieve their goals by sanctioning the Iranian nation,” he also noted.

“Some countries ask how Iran has achieved success and progress in spite of threats and sanctions, our answer is that the Iranian nation’s art is to turn threats into opportunities, and this angers the enemy,” President Raeisi said.

Regarding the release of Iran’s frozen assets in Japan, he said, “We make a lot of efforts to free Iranian money in other countries, and this issue is one of the priorities of our foreign policy.”

“I will visit Japan at the appropriate time and we invited Japanese officials to visit Iran because our relations are good,” he added.

“I sincerely thank you for the many efforts that you made in different conditions… to be able to confront the enemy’s media campaigns that aim to distort the truth,” Raeisi said in the closing ceremony of the 21st Iran’s National Media Festival on Tuesday, which marks the National Journalists’ Day.

He stressed that confidence building is one of the most important characteristics of a journalist.

“The enemy’s goal is to weaken hope and faith in the hearts of the people. These are the two basic principles that the Leader of the Islamic Revolution [Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei] emphasizes.”

Raeisi stated that the enemy’s propaganda aims to disappoint people, adding that media workers play an important role in “creating hope.”

Iran marks National Journalists’ Day, which commemorates the death anniversary of a journalist and eight Iranian diplomats who lost their lives in a terrorist attack in Afghanistan, on the 17th day of the Persian calendar month of Mordad, which falls on Tuesday this year.

The nine Iranian citizens were killed after Taliban militants entered the Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif in 1998 in an incident that sparked worldwide condemnations.

Iran’s former Charge d’Affaires to Kabul Mohammad Reza Forqani was quoted by Fars News Agency in 2015 as saying that the Taliban had taken the Iranian diplomats hostage, but later released them.

He said that the US and British spy agencies played a role in the killing of the Iranians in a bid to sow discord between Iran and Afghanistan.

The chief executive made the remarks during a joint press conference with his Nicaraguan counterpart, Daniel Ortega, in Managua, Nicaragua’s capital, on Wednesday.

“Cooperation between Latin American countries and other independent countries across various regions can forge a unity that can both neutralize sanctions and increase the capacities of the countries in question,” the Iranian president said.

Throughout the tour, the Iranian chief executive has been similarly promoting the existence of integrity among independent nations as means of pushing back against the world’s hegemonic powers.

Speaking alongside Ortega, Raeisi likewise noted that nations’ resistance as well as their pursuit of justice and freedom would render imperialists inactive and drive them back.

“This is what has happened across many Latin American countries in the face of the imperialist system and the United States’ and its supporters’ excessive demands,” he noted.

The president hailed that Iran too had turned the threats that have faced it on the part of the US and its allies into opportunities, and has, resultantly, attained “remarkable progress” in various fields such as the scientific, technical-engineering, healthcare, and pharmaceutical areas.

“The enemy’s new conspiracy of creating fear in the hearts of students… and their parents is a crime and an inhumane act,” Raeisi said in an address to a cabinet session on Sunday.

The president ordered Iranian officials to swiftly probe into the case and inform people about its whereabouts to allay their concerns.

He emphasized that the move is “another link in the chain of the enemy’s plots” which has been carried out to create chaos in the country, manipulate public opinion, and instill fear among the students.

He stressed the importance of finding the main perpetrators of the act and dealing with them seriously.

Since November 2022, some Iranian students have reported symptoms of poisoning while in school. The outbreak started in Qom before expanding to other cities.

In most cases, students suffered respiratory problems, nausea, fatigue and dizziness, while some were hospitalized.

On Friday, President Raeisi announced that he had tasked the ministers of intelligence and interior with pursuing the poisoning cases.

“Through its hybrid war, the enemy sought to create despair among the people. And recently through its psychological war… the enemy sought to create stress and fear among students and parents so as to spark riots,” he said.

In recent days, President Ebrahim Raeisi has held constant phone calls with officials of the city and urged for speeding up the reconstruction and increasing the number of temporary accommodation camps and shelters.

A 5.9-magnitude earthquake hit the city at 9:44 pm local time on January 28. The epicenter was located 23 kilometers southeast of Khoy with a population of 175,000.

At least three people died and over 900 were injured as a result of a powerful earthquake.

The earthquake caused 20 to 50 percent damage to buildings in 70 villages, according to the Governor of the West Azarbaijan Province.

Raeisi made the remarks in a phone conversation with the President of the Azerbaijan Republic Ilham Aliyev on Saturday night.

He offered condolences to his Azerbaijani counterpart over the death of the head of the security service of the Azeri embassy in Tehran who was killed in an attack on the embassy on Friday morning.

Referring to the measures taken by relevant agencies to follow up on the embassy attack which killed the head of the security service of the embassy and wounded two embassy guards, the Iranian president expressed his sympathy with the people and government of Azerbaijan.

The friendly and fraternal relations between the two nations of Iran and Azerbaijan are based on unbreakable cultural and historical ties, Raeisi said, adding that the governments of Iran and Azerbaijan do not allow their relations to be influenced by the insinuations of the ill-wishers of the two nations.

Aliyev, for his part, thanked the Iranian President for expressing sympathy with Azerbaijan, saying that it was an unexpected crime, but the cooperation of the two countries in this field should be so strong that no one can find an opportunity to disturb the friendly relations of the two countries under the pretext of such incidents.

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian condemned the Friday armed attack on Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tehran, saying the enemies should not be allowed to take advantage of the incident, which he said was not an act of terrorism.

“We should not allow this incident to have any adverse consequence on ties between the two countries,” Amir-Abdollahian said in a phone conversation with Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov on Friday.

Following the assault, Tehran police chief Brigadier General Hossein Rahimi said the gunman, who entered the Azerbaijani embassy and started shooting with a firearm, was arrested.

“In the initial investigation, the attacker stated that his motivation was personal and family problems,” Gen. Rahimi said, adding the man is an Iranian national married to an Azerbaijani woman.

The Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi held a joint press conference with the visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi after their meeting on Sunday afternoon.

The president pointed to the deep-rooted ties between Iran and Iraq and noted that Iraq is the biggest trade partner among the neighbors for Iran.

“We have the closest relations among neighboring countries with Iraq,” Raeisi said adding that during earlier today’s meeting, the political and economic relations between the two countries were discussed and economic relations between the two countries were decided to increase.

He added that the two sides decided to expand their relations in the field of political, economic and trade and also decided to connect Shalamcheh railway to Basra as soon as possible.

According to the Iranian president, new steps would be taken to facilitate banking and monetary relations between the two countries.

Raeisi also praised al-Kadhemi’s government for facilitating the pilgrimage for Iranian pilgrims, adding that the Iraqi government has agreed to provide more facilities to the Iranian pilgrims.

“We believe that dialogue among statesmen in the region will solve the problems,” he went on to emphasize.

Elsewhere, the Iranian president said that “The Zionist regime’s attempts to normalize its relations with regional countries will not create security for the regime.”

The Iraqi prime minister, for his part, said that “Today we agreed to increase trade relations and plan a timetable for pilgrimage trips [to Iraq].”

Al-Kadhimi also said, “Our relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran are very important and efforts made in this regard are in line with the interests of our nations.”