Russia: Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are new partners in BRICS

Russia: Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are new partners in BRICS

    Friday, November 15, 2024   No comments

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin revealed that Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have become partners in the BRICS bloc.

Pankin explained during a joint meeting of foreign and trade ministers of APEC member states that the BRICS summit held in Kazan "demonstrated the desire of the global majority to create a fair world order, with a focus on reforming international institutions and strengthening equal economic relations."

He also pointed out that "the summit resulted in a set of important agreements in the fields of trade, investment, artificial intelligence, energy, climate and logistics."

Pankin pointed out that "the share of the economies of the Asia-Pacific region in Russia's foreign trade has reached 70%, while about 90% of payments are made in national currencies."

In a related context, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister confirmed that his country continues to secure stable supplies of energy resources to the APEC countries.

It is noteworthy that the BRICS summit, which was held in Kazan between October 22 and 24, was attended by the heads of state of the group.

After a call between Pezeshkian and Bin Salman, the armies of the two countries discuss increasing military cooperation

After a call between Pezeshkian and Bin Salman, the armies of the two countries discuss increasing military cooperation

    Sunday, November 10, 2024   No comments

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a phone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that Iran "wants to deepen and expand relations between the two countries in all areas."

Pezeshkian believed that the Riyadh summit scheduled to be held tomorrow, Monday, to discuss ways to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, will have "effective and tangible results in stopping the crimes of the Zionist entity and the war and bloodshed in Gaza and Lebanon."

For his part, bin Salman confirmed to Pezeshkian that Iranian-Saudi relations "are going through a historic turning point," expressing his hope "to raise bilateral relations to the highest levels and in all areas."

The Saudi Crown Prince added, "I will seize the opportunity of your first deputy being in Riyadh and hold talks with him."

In a related context to enhancing cooperation between the two countries, the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri, announced that "cooperation between the Iranian and Saudi armed forces can be increased given the commonalities and many capabilities between the two countries."

He added during his reception of the Chief of the Saudi General Staff, Fayyadh bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili, today, Sunday, in Tehran, that "Iran is interested in the participation of the Saudi Navy in Iranian exercises and naval maneuvers next year with the presence of floating units or as an observer."

For his part, Al-Ruwaili stressed "the improvement in the level of cooperation in various fields between the armed forces of the two countries," noting that "the Beijing Agreement is a good basis for increasing bilateral cooperation between the two countries and we consider this agreement a strategic opportunity."

The Chief of Staff of the Saudi Armed Forces arrived in Tehran on Sunday afternoon at the head of a high-level delegation, and the two sides are scheduled to discuss bilateral relations and defense relations.

It is noteworthy that Bagheri had held telephone talks with Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman in December 2023, which addressed regional developments and raising the level of defense cooperation between the Iranian and Saudi armed forces.

BRICS Calling for a ceasefire in Gaza: We condemn Israel's attacks on Lebanon and Syria

BRICS Calling for a ceasefire in Gaza: We condemn Israel's attacks on Lebanon and Syria

    Wednesday, October 23, 2024   No comments

The BRICS group of countries stressed the need for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, expressing its condemnation of the Israeli occupation's targeting of humanitarian operations and aid distribution centers in the Strip.

In a statement issued by the summit held in Russia on Wednesday, BRICS expressed its support for granting occupied Palestine full membership in the United Nations.

In addition, the group's countries confirmed that they consider the occupation's bombing of pagers in Lebanon a violation of international laws, expressing their condemnation of Israel's targeting of Iranian diplomatic buildings in Damascus.

In the statement, BRICS urged all parties to resume the Iranian nuclear agreement, calling for strengthening the "non-proliferation regime and establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East."

Regarding the war in Ukraine, BRICS countries welcomed "good offices proposals on the Ukrainian settlement."

They also called for accelerating "the development and adoption of a comprehensive agreement to combat international terrorism within the framework of the United Nations," expressing "deep concern about the negative impact of unilateral sanctions on the global economy and other areas," and stressing the group's "leading role in the process of improving the global financial system."

It is noteworthy that the activities of the second day of the BRICS Summit 2024 began on Wednesday in the Russian city of Kazan, where a number of leaders, leaders and guests arrived in the city to participate in the summit, which was held in an expanded manner.

During a brief meeting held by Russian President Vladimir Putin with the group’s leaders, he confirmed “the existence of radical changes in a multipolar world,” stressing that his country “seeks to strengthen BRICS’ position in the world and focus on solving global and local problems,” adding that the group’s countries “show responsibility in their dealings with global situations through actions, not words.”

What to expect from BRICS under Russia's leadership

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced today, Wednesday, during a narrow meeting with the leaders of the BRICS group, that there are radical changes in a multipolar world.

During the meeting, Putin stressed that the BRICS countries have enormous economic, scientific, demographic and political potential.

He pointed out that Russia seeks to strengthen the position of BRICS in the world and focus on solving global and local problems, adding that the group's countries "show responsibility in their dealings with global situations through actions, not words."

The Russian president also stressed that "the BRICS countries' share in the global economy by the end of this year will represent 36.7%, which is more than the share of the G7 countries," adding that "the BRICS countries have become the most powerful economic group in the world."

He stressed that using the dollar as a weapon undermines confidence in it, noting that Russia is not abandoning it but is forced to look for alternatives.

Regarding the expansion of BRICS, Putin said: “Of course, it would be wrong to ignore the unprecedented interest of the countries of the Global South and East in strengthening contacts with the group’s countries, as more than 30 countries have already expressed this desire in one form or another,” but at the same time, “it is necessary to maintain balance and prevent a decline in BRICS’ effectiveness.”

During the meeting, the Russian President proposed to form a list of BRICS partner countries and to fix this in the final declaration of the Kazan Summit.

An alternative to SWIFT and de-dollarization.. BRICS expansion pushes towards a new global financial system

With the BRICS summit being held in the Russian city of Kazan with the participation of 36 countries, the group's aims have begun to materialize in practice, as its serious and decisive efforts to expand its membership circle have become apparent, and thus push towards creating a new financial system, far from the SWIFT system, which serves specific economic entities and entrenches economic crises that harm every entity trying to find a place outside the framework of Western hegemony.

The use of the US dollar and the SWIFT system as a weapon by the United States of America, especially after targeting Russia and separating it from the SWIFT system in 2022, has raised deep concerns about the security of the global financial system centered around America, as this exclusion has serious economic consequences, not only for the targeted countries, but for global trade in general.

This situation has highlighted the urgent need for alternatives to SWIFT, and for a financial system less dependent on the dollar to mitigate such risks. In this context, the group has long been discussing the idea of ​​a BRICS currency, which could be a basket of currencies backed by natural resources such as gold, oil and gas. What helps BRICS is that its countries collectively have larger gold reserves than the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank combined, according to the Independent Online website, and it is now seeking to expand its membership.

  

Israel is normalizing the assassination of religious leaders by targeting Sistani

Israel is normalizing the assassination of religious leaders by targeting Sistani

    Wednesday, October 09, 2024   No comments

Channel close to Netanyahu included Sistani on Israeli assassination list. Channel 14 Israel published a photo of the highest Shiite authority in Iraq, Ali al-Sistani, as one of the targets of Israeli assassination plans.

The photo of al-Sistani appeared alongside photos of the leader of the Houthi Ansar Allah group, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, Naim Qassem, deputy secretary-general of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Yahya Sinwar, head of the political bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Esmail Qaani, commander of the Quds Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The Israeli channel, which is close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, broadcast the photos yesterday, Tuesday, with the word “target” over the head of each of the aforementioned figures, without explaining the reasons for placing al-Sistani on the assassination list.

The photos appeared while one of the right-wing channel’s correspondents was talking about the possible Israeli response to the missile attack launched by Iran on Israel last Tuesday.

The correspondent said during his interview accompanying the photos that Israel "has made a decision to strike Iran, but the targets that will be attacked have not yet been determined," and he also indicated that the date of the possible Israeli response has not yet been determined either.

He said that unless a decision is made regarding the determination of targets and the date of the response, all possibilities are possible.

Israel has not previously spoken about the assassination of Sistani, although a number of its officials have mentioned the names of all the other figures whose pictures were shown on the channel as potential targets on the Israeli assassination list.

Sistani, who was born in 1930, is a religious authority for the fundamentalist Twelver Shiites and resides in the city of Najaf in central Iraq, which is the center of the main religious science schools known as the "Najaf Seminary," and he is one of the most influential figures in the country due to his broad religious authority. His name might have been added to Israel's assassination list due to his statements about the assassination of the Lebanese leader of Hezbollah. Sistani issued a statement, then, saying that "Martyr Nasrallah is a leadership model that is unparalleled in recent decades"

In his official statement he added: "We received with great sorrow and regret the news of the martyrdom of the great scholar, the hujjat al-Islam and Muslims, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and a group of his brothers in the honorable Lebanese resistance, and dozens of innocent civilians in the horrific massacre committed by the Zionist enemy army in the beloved suburb of Beirut."

He added, "The great martyr was a leadership model that was rarely seen in recent decades. He played a distinguished role in the victory over the Zionist occupation by liberating Lebanese lands and supported the Iraqis with everything he could in liberating their country from the ISIS terrorists. He also took great positions in support of the oppressed Palestinian people until he paid his precious life as a price for that." He added, "As we offer our sincere condolences and deepest sympathy to the noble Lebanese people and all oppressed peoples in this great loss and affliction, we implore God Almighty to bestow His vast mercy and satisfaction upon the deceased and to unite him with His saints, Muhammad and his pure family, in the highest heavens, and to inspire his family and all those who are grieving his loss with patience and solace. To God we belong and to Him we shall return."

Iraqi government responds

In the first reactions, the Iraqi government said that it rejects in the strongest terms any infringement on the status of the supreme religious authority.

The spokesman for the Iraqi government, Bassem Al-Awadi, stressed in an official government statement that "after the Zionist entity has gone too far in its genocidal war, committed blatant crimes against humanity, and openly practiced murder and aggression in Gaza and Lebanon, it is the turn of its inciting and racist media, in a cheap attempt to harm the image of the supreme religious authority."

He added, "the Iraqi government rejects in the strongest terms any infringement on the status of our authority, which is appreciated and respected by all the Iraqi people, the Arab and Islamic worlds, and the international community, and warns of the danger of these attempts based on a racist intellectual background, and foundations that have gone too far in disregarding the sanctities of peoples, which encourages the expansion of the circle of aggression and exposes international security and peace to a real threat."

He continued, "the Zionist entity proves, once again, that it is nothing but a criminal group that thrives on fabricating crises, feeding aggression and wars, and its isolation increases day after day, and the popular and international positions in the world rejecting its behavior are nothing but confirmation of this aggressive trend."

Based on these facts, the Iraqi government- according to the statement - "call on the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and all international and UN forums, to reject and denounce everything that affects the feelings of Muslims in the world, and attempts to undermine figures with global influence and respect."

The statement explained that Iraq, government and people, have made every effort to stop the war, but Israel and its extremist government, in addition to the failure of the international community, have caused the situation to worsen, and today it is trying to spread insults to cover up the clear crimes, which we reject in general, and consider it a dangerous aggression that will not change Iraq's firm and principled position on all fateful issues.

CIA: Iran capable of producing a nuclear bomb in a week

CIA: Iran capable of producing a nuclear bomb in a week

    Tuesday, October 08, 2024   No comments

CIA Director William Burns said that Iran is capable of producing a nuclear bomb within a week, but there is no evidence that it has decided to do so.

NBC quoted Burns - during a security conference in Georgia - as saying that Iran has made progress in its nuclear program by accumulating depleted uranium to levels that allow for the manufacture of nuclear weapons.

As a result, Burns continued, Iran may be able to quickly obtain enough fissile material to make an atomic bomb if it chooses to do so, and there will be less time for the outside world to respond.

He added that there is no evidence that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has reversed his decision taken in late 2003 to suspend the nuclear weapons program, and said that American intelligence agencies believe that Iran has suspended its program in accordance with Khamenei's declaration last year.

The US intelligence chief explained that Tehran has developed "conception methods" by building a missile arsenal, noting that Iran has become closer to producing a nuclear bomb since the US withdrawal from the nuclear agreement in 2018.

In response to recent rumors that an earthquake in Semnan province near the capital Tehran was related to a nuclear test, the Nour News website, which is close to the Iranian National Security Council, stated that "the suspicious rumors spread by foreign media about the first Iranian nuclear test are completely false and contradict Iran's nuclear and defense doctrine."

Burns' statements and talk of a nuclear test came amid Israeli threats to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities in response to Tehran targeting Israel with dozens of missiles after the assassination of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and Abbas Nilforoushan, deputy commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, in Israeli raids on Beirut, and the assassination of Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh on Iranian soil.

The CIA confirms similar statements by US officials that essentially concluded that building a nuclear weapons is now in the hands of Iranian leaders. In July of this year, the head of the State Department, Blinken, also stated that Iran was a week to a week and half from the breakout stage for developing nuclear weapons. Other Western officials confirmed that US assessment is accurate. Given the timeline, this means that the decision for building a nuclear weapon is entirely in the hands of Iranian leaders. The developments and threats since July 2024 can only push them to building a weapon. Alternatively, and absent in Western assessment of Iran capabilities, is whether Iranian leaders have thought of using depleted uranium in their rockets, especially after reports that Israel may have used depleted uranium bombs in its assassination of Hassan Nasrallah and Abbas Nilforoushan in Beirut last month.

Also, if Western assessment about Iran's nuclear capabalities is true, restoring the 2015 nuclear deal that Trump withdrew from in 2028 becomes moot. The starting point for any new deal will start with the Iran preserving what it has achieved and what the West can offer to limit increased nuclear activities.

Taliban Delegation Arrives in Moscow for Consultations on Afghan Issues

Taliban Delegation Arrives in Moscow for Consultations on Afghan Issues

    Friday, October 04, 2024   No comments

A Taliban delegation, led by the acting Afghan Foreign Minister, has arrived in Moscow for the “Moscow format” consultations on Afghanistan. The format, established in 2017, brings together 10 nations interested in an Afghan settlement, including Russia, India, Iran, and China.

The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that the decision to remove the Taliban from the list of terrorist organizations "was made at the highest level," the Russian news agency TASS reported on Friday. The Russian president's special representative to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, explained that this decision must be followed by various legal procedures.

Russian President Vladimir Putin noted last July that Russia considers the Taliban an ally in the fight against terrorism. Russia has called on Western countries to lift sanctions imposed on Afghanistan.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed the need for the West to take responsibility for the reconstruction of post-conflict Afghanistan, stressing the need to return confiscated assets to Kabul.

Relations between Russia and the Taliban have strengthened since they seized power in August 2021, following the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan. Moscow has gradually moved towards removing the movement's designation as a "terrorist organization," despite Western sanctions imposed on the Taliban for more than 20 years.

"We urge Western countries to recognize their responsibility for the reconstruction of post-conflict Afghanistan, lift sanctions imposed on it, and return confiscated assets to Kabul," Lavrov said.

Lavrov stressed that Russia will not accept any military presence of other countries in Afghanistan or the establishment of new military bases in neighboring countries. He also stressed the importance of the current Afghan government in combating drug production and fighting ISIS.

Lavrov called for increasing humanitarian aid to the Afghan people, and stressed that Russia will continue to provide food support and basic supplies to Afghanistan.

At the end of his remarks, Lavrov called on the United States to return confiscated Afghan assets, holding the West responsible for the country's post-conflict reconstruction.