US Treasury sanctions have targeted a network that spans Syria, Iran and Russia, and which is responsible for shipping oil to the Syrian regime….reports Asian Lite News
Iran and Syria on Sunday pledged to take “mighty steps” to confront sanctions imposed on them by the United States, saying their relations will strengthen under Iran’s new leadership, media reported.
The announcement was made by Iran’s new Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. He was received at the airport in Damascus by Faisal Miqdad, foreign minister in the Syrian regime, it was reported.
US Treasury sanctions have targeted a network that spans Syria, Iran and Russia, and which is responsible for shipping oil to the Syrian regime.
Sanctions on Tehran were imposed after former President Donald Trump pulled US out of a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in 2018.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has appointed Mohammad Eslami as the new chief of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI).
Eslami, the former minister of Transport and Urban Development, replaces Ali Akbar Salehi who has served as the AEOI chief since August 2013, reports Xinhua news agency.
The 65-year-old Eslami holds degrees in civil engineering and has also formerly served as the Governor of Iran’s Mazandaran province, a deputy minister of the Ministry of Defence and the CEO of Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company.
The AEOI is in charge of overseeing the country’s nuclear programs and handling Tehran’s cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, namely the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Neighbours should act as facilitators
Iran has said that Afghanistan’s neighbours should act as facilitators to the establishment of an inclusive and participatory government with the presence of all internal groups in Afghanistan, a foreign ministry’s statement said.
During a meet with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said, “The role of other countries, including neighbours, should only be a facilitator to the establishment of an inclusive and participatory government with the presence of all Afghan groups.”
The statement added that Raisi also termed the US withdrawal from Afghanistan a turning point for the interaction of all Afghan groups for peace, security and stability in Afghanistan and said,
“Certainly, the US presence in Afghanistan and the region does not provide security, and countries should help different groups in Afghanistan to form an inclusive and participatory government.”
Pointing out that the policy of Iran has been to support the people of Afghanistan for the past four decades, Raisi said, “Iran hosts about four million people of Afghanistan and has always been, and will continue to support the Afghan people.”
Afghanistan’s situation deteriorating as the Taliban took control of the country on August 15 after the fall of the government. The Kabul airport is witnessing nowadays a heavy chaos due to instability in the region. (with inputs from ANI,IANS)
