Author: Steven Sahiounie

The foreign minister of Belgium expressed her country’s willingness to promote cooperation with Iran. In a telephone conversation with her Iranian counterpart on Monday, Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said Brussels is interested in expanding cooperation with Tehran and underlined the necessity of joint efforts by the two countries to overcome the obstacles. For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian pointed to the historical ties between Iran and Belgium, expressing hope that the relations would expand by focusing on constructive and effective solutions. The two senior diplomats also talked about the latest state of bilateral ties as well as…

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has extended an invitation to Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to visit Tehran, the Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson said. Nasser Kanaani announced at a press conference on Monday that the Iranian president has offered to reciprocally host the Saudi king after receiving an invitation to visit Riyadh. Predicting that the reciprocal visits by the authorities of the two Muslim countries would continue at the level of foreign ministers, the spokesman said Iran and Saudi Arabia are moving to carry out two comprehensive agreements signed in the past. Hailing the acceptable pace of implementation of…

During the show, which was live, the Venezuelan President took a call from a female viewer. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday launched his own television show on a public channel, a year before the next presidential elections are due. “We are starting a new stage of communications,” the Socialist leader said, as he introduced the new show called “With Maduro”. Reaching out to the people of Venezuela, Maduro is following in the footsteps of his predecessor and mentor, the late revolutionary Hugo Chavez, who was president from 1999 to 2013. Chavez hosted a Sunday program called “Alo, presidente” through which he…

China’s Foreign Ministry says it does not know of the French peace plan, while the Kremlin Spokesperson told journalists that Moscow, likewise, does not possess details. Resolving the war in Ukraine and brokering a deal between Russia and Ukraine may possibly enter the works if French President Emmanuel Macron’s attempt to have China mediate as early as this summer goes through successfully. On Tuesday, citing anonymous sources knowledgeable with the plan, Bloomberg stated that Macron has assigned his foreign policy advisor Emmanuel Bonne to collaborate with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi to produce a ground plan sustainable for a negotiation. However, per…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator The winds of change are blowing through Damascus, as the Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived on April 18 in Damascus, Syria on his first visit since the outbreak of the conflict in Syria in 2011. Syria has suffered a decade-long regional isolation from the US-NATO attack on Syria for regime change, which utilized the Muslim Brotherhood as foot soldiers. The Arab world has suffered from the western engineered “Arab Spring” and is now in the process of reclaiming independence and solidarity among those who had formerly met as brothers in the…

Foreign and Expatriates Minister, Fayssal Mikdad, met on Tuesday with Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Tunisians’ Abroad Nabil Ammar in Tunis, followed by an expanded session of talks that brought together delegations of the two countries. A joint statement following the meeting affirmed the necessity of preserving Syria’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and stability, and pushing regional and international efforts to accelerate the track of reaching a political solution to the crisis in addition to Syria’s restoration to its sovereignty on all its territory. The statement welcomed the restoration of Syrian-Tunisian normal relations, and the appointment of a Tunisian…

The ambassadors were summoned over carrying out “activities that do not correspond to their diplomatic status.” Russia summoned the US, UK, and Canadian ambassadors on Tuesday over interference in the country’s internal affairs. The three ambassadors were summoned for “gross interference in Russia’s internal affairs and activities that do not correspond to their diplomatic status,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The summoning comes a day after Kara-Murza, a Russian citizen who also holds a British passport, was sentenced by Russia’s judiciary to 25 years in prison on charges of treason among others. Canadian ambassador Alison LeClaire said…

Israeli occupation forces storm the Jenin refugee camp and besiege a house in it, amid intense overflight of Israeli warplanes. The Palestinian Ministry of Health on Tuesday confirmed that eight Palestinians were wounded and transported to the hospital after they were shot in the limps by Israeli occupation gunfire. Al Mayadeen correspondent in Palestine reported that Israeli occupation special forces stormed the Jenin refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank, and violent confrontations broke out between Palestinian Resistance fighters and the occupation forces. Our correspondent said sirens sounded in the camp after occupation forces stormed it. WAFA correspondent highlighted that among…

Darmanin stresses that any upcoming protests would not be intervened with by authorities due to the right to freedom of assembly, “whatever the cause,” in the French constitution. Following French President Emmanuel Macron’s televised address on Monday, over 24,000 Parisians took to the streets again to protest against his address on the pension reform, and police have so far detained around 60 protesters, according to Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin on Tuesday. Speaking on the LCI broadcaster, Darmanin said, “According to the figures given to me by the prefects, 24,000 people took to the streets yesterday in France — in Paris, Provence, and other regions. About…

EU foreign policy leader Josep Borrell believes China’s international influence is increasing. The European Union should not cut ties with China at a time when Beijing’s influence in the international arena is growing, EU foreign policy leader Josep Borrell said on Tuesday. Speaking to the European parliament, Borell said communication channels should not be endangered and contacts with China should not be broken off. Oddly, just days ago, Borrell announced that the EU does not fear China’s rise and urged Beijing to practice “responsibility” to achieve peace and security. The diplomat was scheduled to visit China from April 13 to April 15 but a…