Iran

TEHRAN, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani has called on members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to adopt a practical approach toward Iran, instead of making "unreal" claims, so as to prepare the ground for improving and deepening intra-regional relations.

He made the remarks in a statement released by his ministry on Friday, reacting to Iran-related claims in a communique at the end of the 157th Session of GCC Ministerial Council in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Thursday.

05 September 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia’s first Ambassador to Iran since resumption of diplomatic relations arrived in Tehran to assume official duties, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, Anadolu Agency reports.

“The Kingdom and Iran are neighbours and possess many economic components, natural resources and advantages that contribute to enhancing aspects of development, prosperity, stability and security in the region,” Ambassador Abdullah Al-Anzi said.

TEHRAN, Sept 6 (NNN-IRNA) – Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Iran, Abdullah bin Saud al-Anzi, arrived in Tehran yesterday, a few hours after the arrival of Iranian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Alireza Enayati, in Riyadh, earlier in the day.

The Saudi envoy used to be his country’s ambassador to Oman, before starting his new mission in Iran, the report said.

In March, Saudi Arabia and Iran reached, in Beijing, a groundbreaking agreement, to resume diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies and missions within two months.

TEHRAN, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Iran and China have "good capacities" for environmental cooperation, especially in combating dust and sand storms, said Ali Salajegheh, Iran's vice president and head of the Department of Environment (DoE).

Salajegheh made the remarks on Tuesday at a press conference in the capital Tehran ahead of the International Conference on Combating Sand and Dust Storms, which will be held in Tehran on Sept. 9 and 10.

The press conference was also attended by Stefan Priesner, the United Nations resident coordinator for Iran.

04 September 2023; MEMO: Iran’s new Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Alireza Enayati, is set to begin his diplomatic mission in Riyadh on Tuesday, Anadolu Agency reports.

“I will leave for Riyadh on Tuesday,” Enayati told the state news agency, IRNA.

He said the new Saudi Ambassador to Iran will also start his mission in Tehran “in the same period of time”.

TEHRAN, Sept 4 (NNN-IRNA) – Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met with visiting Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan yesterday, to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation and the implementation of bilateral agreements.

At a joint press conference, Amir-Abdollahian said, the two countries set an annual trade volume target of 30 billion euros (32.33 billion U.S. dollars), and are halfway to achieving the goal.

TEHRAN, Sept 4 (NNN-IRNA) – A senior military commander said, Iran used its homegrown Karrar interceptor drone, to warn U.S. aircraft off the country’s airspace, on a number of occasions over the past two years.

In an interview with Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, which was published yesterday, Alireza Elhami, deputy commander of the Iranian Army’s Air Defence Force, made the remarks while commenting on the air force’s drone and defence capabilities.

TEHRAN, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Monday blamed Western states' "miscalculations about the riots in Iran" for the failure to conclude talks on the revival of a 2015 nuclear deal in September last year.

At a weekly press conference in the Iranian capital Tehran, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said the final draft resolution of the talks was ready to be concluded in September 2022 to prepare the ground for all sides' return to the deal, the Iranian Students' News Agency reported.

TEHRAN, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Iran and Iraq held a groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday for a joint railway project near the common border in Iran's southwestern Khuzestan province, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported.

The event marks the start of construction of a railway that would span 32 km between Shalamcheh city in the Iranian province and the port of Basra in southern Iraq, said the report.

31 August 2023; MEMO: A veteran Iranian weightlifter has been banned for life for shaking hands with an Israeli opponent at the 2023 World Master Weightlifting Championships in Poland after winning a silver medal, Anadolu Agency reports.

Mostafa Rajaei, who is in his early 40s, was seen shaking hands and posing for photographs with Israeli weightlifter, Maksim Svirsky, during the competition after they both had a podium finish.