Author: Steven Sahiounie

Iran and Iraq on Sunday signed a bilateral agreement on security cooperation. The agreement was signed by Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani and Iraq’s National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji in Baghdad at a meeting attended by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani. Accompanied by the governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) and two Foreign Ministry deputies, Shamkhani has traveled to Baghdad to hold talks on economic and political subjects and sign the document on mutual security cooperation, which was being prepared for months. The agreement commits Iran and Iraq to safeguarding the principles of…

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has been invited to Riyadh by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, who expressed his desire to strengthen economic and regional cooperation between the two countries. Mohammad Jamshidi, the Iranian president’s deputy chief of staff for political affairs, confirmed the invitation in a Twitter post, saying that Raisi welcomed the invitation and emphasized Iran’s readiness to enhance cooperation. “His Excellency Salman bin Abdulaziz, the King of Saudi Arabia, in a letter to Ayatollah Raisi, while welcoming the agreement between the two brotherly countries, invited him to make an official visit to Riyadh and called for the strengthening economic and regional…

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said one of the main subjects that Tehran and Riyadh have underlined in the recent agreement on the restoration of ties was regional peace. Speaking to reporters at a press conference in Tehran on Sunday, Amirabdollahian said Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed on the normalization of relations that were severed seven years ago. Asked about the settlement of the crisis in Yemen in light of détente between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the foreign minister said Tehran believes that the Yemeni issue relates only to the people of Yemen. “However, emphasis on peace in the…

An Iranian lawmaker unveiled plans for Iran and Bahrain to reopen their embassies in Manama and Tehran. A member of an Iranian parliamentary delegation that traveled to Bahrain recently to attend the 146th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) said she has held talks with the chairman of the Bahraini National Assembly about the revival of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Elham Azad noted that the embassies of Iran and Bahrain in Manama and Tehran will reopen soon. She said the top Bahraini lawmaker has also stressed the need to act more strongly in relation to regional issues with closer…

The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry denounced the French police’ resort to violence against protesters as a testimony to France’s non-compliance with democracy and freedom of speech. In a post on his Twitter account on Sunday, Nasser Kanaani slammed as unacceptable the French police’ violent crackdown on citizens staging protests against the president’s pension reforms. Kanaani said such brute force against protesters reveals the French government’s failure to respect the principles of democracy and freedom of speech. The Iranian spokesman also advised France to avoid double standards and instrumental use of human rights and to stop resorting to violence against demonstrators. The…

The agreement will allow the UK to deport asylum seekers to the African nation in return for a $145 million to Kigali over five years. British Home Secretary Suella Braverman expands a deal with Rwanda which allows the UK to detain asylum seekers reaching the European country and deport them to the African nation. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) earlier slammed this agreement between the two as a “clear breach” of international law, describing it as an “asylum ban”. Braverman, who is on an official visit to Rwanda, claimed that the scheme would “act as a powerful…

Trucks loaded with Russian cucumbers and tomatoes have been spotted in the Polish town of Bronisze, Berliner Zeitung reports Poland continues to import Russian vegetables despite wide-ranging EU sanctions against Moscow, Berliner Zeitung reported this week. According to the newspaper, dozens of trucks are constantly arriving at the wholesale market in the Polish town of Bronisze on the outskirts of Warsaw, loaded with Russian cucumbers and tomatoes. The cucumbers are priced at 55 zloty ($12.48) for 5 kilos, which is well below the cost of EU-produced vegetables, the outlet noted. Vegetables have become increasingly expensive in recent months, with local…

UBS reportedly wants the Swiss state to partly cover the acquisition of the failing lender Multinational investment bank UBS wants the Swiss government to cover about $6 billion of the costs if it agrees to buy Credit Suisse, a rival lender whose shares plummeted this week amid customer outflows and a loss of investors, Reuters reported on Saturday, citing sources. Earlier media reports indicated that the banks were discussing a merger, an idea pitched by the Swiss National Bank and Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), to save Credit Suisse from insolvency. The government funds are expected to help cover the…

The beverage is finding its way into the sanctioned country through parallel imports, RBK reports Coca-Cola remains one of the top sellers among cola-flavored beverages in Russia, a year after the American company decided to quit the country’s market, business daily RBK reported this week. The iconic drink was the second-most-popular cola beverage among Russian consumers in January and February, accounting for more than 14% of sales per unit, according to RBK’s calculations based on information from fiscal data operator Prodazhi.rf. The top seller among cola drinks is the Dobry Cola brand, produced in Russia at factories that belonged to…

The era of cheap energy from Russia is over, the head of Germany’s utilities regulator has said Germany has managed to avoid an energy crisis this year, but there is a risk that the next heating season will be more difficult, Klaus Mueller, the head of Germany’s Federal Network Agency said in an interview with the Rheinische Post, published on Saturday. According to Mueller, the country’s gas storage facilities are currently 64% full, and even if it the weather turns cold in the next few weeks, German energy supply for the remainder of the heating season is secured. He warned,…