Author: Steven Sahiounie

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has named a former ambassador to Russia as his top political adviser. Mehdi Sanaei was named Deputy for Political Affairs of the Iranian Presidency Office on Saturday in a decision announced by Mohsen Haji Mirzaei, the head of staff for Pezehkian. He succeeds Mohammad Jamshidi, who served as former President Ebrahim Raisi’s political advisor for three years. Sanaei served as Iran’s ambassador to Russia until 2019 and teaches at the University of Tehran’s Russian Studies Department, part of the Faculty of World Studies. The Iranian parliament has granted confidence to President Masoud Pezeshkian’s government, speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf…

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi says Muslim countries, particularly Iran and Turkey, should hold more consultations to counter the Israeli regime’s destabilizing moves in the region. In a phone call with Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan on Saturday, Araqchi said West Asia faces intensification of crises and the Israeli regime’s moves to cause more tension and spread instability across the region. He underscored the importance of improving relations between Iran and Turkey and expressed his country’s readiness to boost constructive talks aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation in all fields. Fidan, for his part, extended his congratulations to Araqchi over…

Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc criticized the US and Israel on Saturday, accusing them of blocking a cease-fire in Gaza and committing acts that amount to genocide. Speaking to reporters in Istanbul before the gala screening of the documentary Al-Shifa Hospital – 14 Days of Horror, prepared by the Recorded for Humanity Initiative and Al Jazeera 360 with Anadolu as the global communications partner, Tunc told how Al-Shifa Hospital was destroyed by Israel in front of the eyes of the world, with a great many people killed. He condemned US support for Israel, particularly highlighting the standing ovation most members…

Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr Abdelatty spoke by phone with his new Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi to discuss regional crises, including the latest developments in the Gaza war and efforts toward reaching a ceasefire in the 10-month-old conflict. According to a statement by the Egyptian foreign ministry, FM Abdelatty expressed to Araghchi Cairo’s hope for a truce agreement that would include a ceasefire in Gaza and a captive-prisoner exchange deal. Abdelatty also voiced hopes that mediation efforts would succeed in reducing regional tensions to prevent further violence and escalation. The two top diplomsats also discussed the repeated Israeli violations of international and humanitarian…

The United States and other Western countries have trained the Kiev regime, set it on a terrorist path, and have long been directing its strikes on civilian targets, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. “We have been documenting these crimes for a long time, despite denials or attempts to present them in a different light. We have said that the United States, in the first place, has groomed the Kiev regime, putting it initially on an extremist path and now on a purely terrorist one,” she said on the sidelines of the 10th Territory of Senses national educational youth…

A top US general began an unannounced tour to the Middle East on Saturday to explore ways to avoid any fresh escalation in tensions that may lead to a larger confrontation, as the region prepares for a retaliatory strike on “Israel” from Iran. Air Force General C.Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has started his journey in Jordan and is to visit Egypt and “Israel” in the following days to hear military officials’ opinions. His visit comes amid so-called efforts to broker a ceasefire deal between the Palestinian resistance and “Israel,” which Brown stated would “help bring down the temperature” if…

Former US President Donald Trump has accepted the endorsement of Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who has said he will end his independent run for office in swing states. Hours after making the announcement on Friday, 70-year-old RFK Jr. joined Trump on stage during the Republican presidential candidate’s rally in Glendale, Arizona. Kennedy said that Trump will “make America healthy again” and be a president “who is going to protect us against totalitarianism.” Trump embraced and thanked Kennedy for his support and stated that his father, US Senator Robert Kennedy, and his uncle, John F. Kennedy, would be “very, very proud of Bobby.” “I am…

Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov is expected to return home from Washington in October, a diplomatic source in Moscow told TASS. “As for Antonov’s return from Washington, preliminarily, this will happen in October, the source said. Antonov, 69, has been Russia’s Ambassador to the United States since August 2017. Prior to that, he was Russian deputy defense and foreign minister. Source: TASS

Independent US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Friday that he was suspending his campaign and endorsed Republican candidate Donald Trump, ending a bid that began in April 2023 with RFK as a Democrat hopeful. Kennedy’s candidacy initially gained momentum as voters expressed dissatisfaction with both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, leading Kennedy to pivot his campaign to an independent run. At one point, a Reuters/Ipsos poll in November 2023 showed him drawing 20% of the vote in a three-way race against Biden and Trump. Despite his early success, Kennedy’s campaign faced challenges in securing spots on state ballots as…

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signed the law making it possible to ban the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which was approved by the local legislative assembly on Tuesday. Such data were posted on the website of the Ukrainian parliament. The document is expected to come into force in thirty days after its promulgation. The law was prepared by the direct order of Zelensky and approved in the first reading in October 2023. Persecution against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church started in the country after the coup in 2014. Source: TASS