Category: MIddle East

Iran-China Relations: Expectations From Raisi’s High-Profile Tour To China – Analysis

Iran’s President Raisi made a high-profile tour to China and received an official welcome from his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on 14 February. This is the first state visit by an Iranian president to China in 20 years. As part of a three-day visit, high-ranking delegations of Tehran and Beijing signed 20 agreements to further boost mutual cooperation in different […]

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US backs UN assessment that new al-Qaida leader is in Iran

The United States said Wednesday its assessment aligns with a United Nations report that the new head of the al-Qaeda terror group, Saif al-Adel, is based in Iran. “When it comes to his presence there, offering safe haven to al-Qaeda is just another example of Iran’s wide-ranging support for terrorism, its destabilizing activities in the Middle East and beyond,” State […]

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IEA’s Minister of Public Health leaves for Iran

Minister of Public Health, Dr. Qalandar Ebad, who is heading a delegation, left for Iran on Saturday where he will participate in the G5 conference. Ebad and his delegation will discuss bilateral cooperation in the health sector with his Iranian counterpart, and short-term and long-term capacity building programs of the Institute of Cancer Treatment in Afghanistan. The delegation will also […]

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ISIS attack threat: Saudi embassy in Kabul closed

Saudi Arabia has closed its embassy in Kabul over threats of possible attack and its 14 diplomats, including charge d’affaires Abdullah Fahd al-Kahlani, have moved to Islamabad. The shifting of the diplomats to Pakistan was confirmed by the highly-placed sources at the Foreign Office and Saudi mission on Tuesday. The Saudi embassy was closed on Friday last after threats of […]

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OIC holds meeting for 49th foreign ministers session

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) preparatory meeting for the 49th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers for member states started in Jeddah on Sunday. The 49th session will be held on March 16 and 17 in Nouakchott, Mauritania. OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha said that the Palestinian cause — the central cause of the OIC — has seen […]

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Qatari envoy meets with Muttaqi, Haqqani and Agha in Kabul

Qatar’s Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Counterterrorism and Mediation in Conflict Resolution Mutlaq bin Majed Al Qahtani met with a number of senior Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) officials on Sunday in Kabul for talks on the current situation in the country. The Qatari envoy met with IEA Foreign Affairs Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi; Minister of […]

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Iran hoping to establish trade hub in Afghanistan

Iran’s deputy minister of trade Mohammad Mousavi said Tuesday in a meeting that Tehran is considering setting up a trade center in Afghanistan in the near future. According to Mehr News Agency, Mousavi expressed hope that the establishment of this center will strengthen ties between Kabul and Tehran. He did not however say where the center would be situated. Addressing […]

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Iran thwarts drone attack on military site

A loud explosion at a military plant in Iran’s central city of Isfahan was caused by an “unsuccessful” drone attack, Iranian state media reported on Sunday, citing the defence ministry. “One of (the drones) was hit by the … air defence and the other two were caught in defence traps and blew up. Fortunately, this unsuccessful attack did not cause […]

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Iran’s new envoy to Kabul officially starts his mission

Iran’s new ambassador to Afghanistan Hasson Kazemi Qomi started work officially on Saturday, replacing Bahador Aminian. Qomi was previously the president of Iran’s special envoy for Afghanistan but was appointed to the position in mid-December 2022. However, he formally took over the reins of the embassy on Saturday. Qomi recently proposed the formation of a joint committee with the Afghan […]

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Qatar to stand with Afghan women amid ‘irrational’ restrictions

Qatar has vowed to stand with Afghan women amid the “irrational” restrictions imposed on them by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on Tuesday. In an interview with CNBC Middle East, Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar has been reaching out to the IEA government to understand the rationale behind the restrictive policies […]

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