Iran can act as a serious counterbalance in the current duo between Turkey and Azerbaijan, increasing Armenia’s chances in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace deal, an Armenian orientalist said today, highlighting the possible benefits for the country in the current geopolitical context.
“That will be an opportunity to counterbalance the Turkish influence in the region. For us, that implies a chance to relax Turkey’s pressure,” Director of the National Academy’s Institute of Oriental Studies Ruben Safrastyan told reporters, considering the issue a serious diplomatic challenge for Armenia.
Agreeing that it is for now too early to consider specific steps, Safrastyan said he nonetheless thinks that Armenia should try to derive maximum benefits. “Given that Iran is a friend country – also in these difficult days – we need to take into account the Iran-Turkey strain and take advantage of the opportunity. The Iranian factor is very positive and in our interests,” he added.
Russian agriculture watchdog warned Iran against transit of Turkish goods, which have been banned by Moscow.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian agriculture watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor warned Iran against transit of Turkish goods, which have been banned by Moscow, the agency’s head, Sergey Dankvert, said.
“Rosselkhoznadzor warned Iran about inadmissibility of transit of Turkish goods through the country,” Dankvert said, as quoted by the Russkaya Sluzhba Novostey radio station on Sunday.
He added that Iran was expected to start deliveries of poultry to Russia after January 20, and of diary products after February 15.
Relations between Moscow and Ankara deteriorated following the downing of Russia’s Su-24 frontline bomber over Syria by a Turkish jet on November 24.
On November 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on economic measures against Ankara in retaliation for the downing of the Su-24 aircraft. The decree, which entered into force on January 1, 2016, included a food import ban on certain categories of products.
Obama lifts ban on aircraft sale to Iran
US President Barack Obama lifts a decades-old ban on the export of civilian passenger aircraft to Iran.
US President Barack Obama has lifted a decades-old ban on the export of civilian passenger aircraft to Iran as Tehran prepares to see sanctions relief.
President Obama delegated that authority to Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday through a presidential memorandum, a directive similar to an executive order.
The historic decision comes against the backdrop of planned implementation of Iran’s historic nuclear deal with world powers at the weekend.
“They have nearly completed their major nuclear steps, and that’s nothing to gloss over,” US Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said.
He added that the decision would take effect as soon as the nuclear agreement is implemented and international sanctions are lifted on Iran.
“The [nuclear] agreement makes two exceptions: Iran can buy U.S. civilian passenger aircraft, and sell certain crafts – specifically carpets and rugs – to the United States,” USA Today reported.
US sanctions ban the sale of aircraft and parts to Iran. Under an interim nuclear deal in 2013, the West eased the ban on sales of spare parts but selling planes is still prohibited.
An airplane operated by Iran’s national flag carrier Iran Air is taking off. (File photo)
Western sanctions are the biggest enemy of Iran’s aviation which has been plagued by a series of air crashes, claiming the lives of hundreds of Iranians.
The nuclear accord reached with Tehran last July has provided Iran with a chance to renew its fleet of commercial aircraft.
Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhundi has said that Iran would need to buy 500 commercial aircraft of various models at a cost of $50 billion.
Iran’s civil aviation fleet consists of 248 aircraft with an average age of 20 years, 100 of which are grounded, he has said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is expected to issue its final report on Saturday confirming that Iran has lived up to its obligations under the nuclear agreement, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The IAEA is expected to confirm that Iran had fulfilled its obligations so that the 28-nation EU, alongside the United States and the United Nations, can end their sanctions on what is known as “Implementation Day” for the JCPOA.
Iran and the P5+1 – the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China plus Germany finalized the text of the JCPOA in the Austrian capital of Vienna in July 2015.
Under the JCPOA, limits are put on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for, among other things, the removal of all nuclear-related economic and financial bans against the Islamic Republic.
Breaking News: Iran releases four dual-national inmates in prisoner swap
Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi
Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi says Iran has released four dual-national prisoners as part of a prisoner exchange agreement.
“In line with ratifications of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and the Islamic establishment’s general expediencies, four Iranian prisoners, who hold dual nationality, have been released within the framework of a prisoner swap,” Dolatabadi said on Saturday, IRNA reported.
To be updated…
BREAKING NEWS: Iran says it has released 10 U.S. sailors accused of “trespassing” in Iranian waters.
An undated photograph released by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps on Wednesday showing detained American Navy sailors in an undisclosed location in Iran. Credit Sepahnews, via Associated Press
TEHRAN — Iran has released two United States Navy patrol boats and 10 crew members who were described as “trespassing” in Iranian waters near a major naval base, state news media reported on Wednesday.
The Pentagon and the State Department said that one of the boats had experienced mechanical problems en route to Bahrain from Kuwait on a routine mission on Tuesday, and the Iranians appeared to have accepted that explanation.
The release was announced shortly before 10 a.m. on an Iranian state-run news channel, IRINN. “The detained U.S. Marines, after it was realized that their entry into Iran’s territorial waters was unintentional, and after the Marines apologized, were released into international waters in the Persian Gulf,” the channel reported, attributing the statement to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Pentagon: 2 U.S. Navy Boats With 10 American Sailors Held by Iran Military
NBC Report
Iranian military forces seized two U.S. Navy boats Tuesday and are detaining them on Iran’s Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf, senior U.S. officials told NBC News.
The officials said it’s unclear whether the 10 American sailors aboard two small riverine vessels had strayed into Iranian territorial waters before they were captured.
The sailors were on a training mission around noon ET when one of the boats may have experienced mechanical failure and drifted into Iranian-claimed waters, officials added. Iran’s coast guard took them into custody, although the crew has been described as being safe.
Following reports of the incident, Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with Iranian officials in Tehran by phone, attempting to secure the sailors’ release.
One senior official told NBC News the Iranians understand it was a mistake and have agreed to release the Americans in international waters within hours.
The Persian Gulf has been a flash point in the Middle East, and the incident comes on the same day President Barack Obama is set to give his annual State of the Union address.
Senior U.S. military commanders also criticized Iran last month for its “highly provocative” actions when it fired unguided rockets near U.S. ships, including the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier.
Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told The Associated Press that the boats were moving between Kuwait and Bahrain when U.S. officials lost contact with them. Farsi Island sits in the Persian Gulf in between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and is fortified by Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
Erdoğan’s visit to Saudi Arabia and the latter’s execution of a Shia Muslim cleric,
Turkey MFA summons Iran ambassador
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Turkey issued a statement informing that the Iranian ambassador to Ankara was summoned to the ministry, and in connection with some Iranian media reports, informed Sözcü daily of Turkey.
The Iranian diplomat was told that the Turkish MFA strongly condemns the Iranian media which attempt to see a connection between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Saudi Arabia and the latter’s execution of a Shia Muslim cleric, several hours thereafter.
The statement noted that the news services which are linked to some state agencies also spread such news.
Erdoğan had stated that the execution of this Shia Muslim cleric was an internal affair of Saudi Arabia.
Iran accuses Saudi Arabia of airstrike on Yemen embassy
People gather at the site of Saudi-led airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)
Agence France Presse
TEHRAN: Iran: Thursday accused Saudi warplanes of deliberately bombing its embassy in Yemen, in a new escalation of diplomatic tensions that have reverberated across the Middle East.
Shiite-dominated Iran also announced a ban on imports of all products from its Sunni-ruled rival, following a dramatic chill in relations that has triggered international alarm.
It comes days after Saudi Arabia broke off diplomatic ties with Iran in response to an arson attack on its own embassy in Tehran by protesters infuriated by Riyadh’s execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.
Tehran said an unspecified number of embassy staff had been wounded in the raid on the rebel-held Yemeni capital Sanaa, which has been targeted by months of air strikes by a Saudi-led Arab coalition.
“This deliberate action by Saudi Arabia is a violation of all international conventions that protect diplomatic missions,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari said, quoted by state television.
“The Saudi government is responsible for the damage caused and for the situation of members of staff who were injured,” Ansari added, without specifying when the alleged strike took place or the seriousness of the injuries.
“The Islamic republic reserves the right to pursue its interests in this matter,” he said.
Iran also announced that a ban on Iranians travelling to the Saudi holy city of Mecca for the year-round minor pilgrimage, known as the umrah, would remain in place indefinitely.
– Somalia cuts ties –
Longstanding frictions between the Middle East’s foremost Sunni and Shiite Muslim powers exploded into a full-blown diplomatic crisis at the weekend when Riyadh executed Shiite cleric and activist Nimr al-Nimr along with 46 others.
Nimr’s death unleashed a wave of anger across the Shiite world, including in Iran where protesters stormed and set fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran and consulate in the second city of Mashhad.
Iran denounced the attacks on the Saudi missions, but the repercussions quickly rippled across the region with Saudi allies Bahrain, Sudan and Djibouti also cutting diplomatic ties with Tehran.
Somalia followed suit on Thursday, saying it had given Iranian diplomats 72 hours to leave the Horn of Africa nation.
“This step has been taken after careful consideration and in response to the Republic of Iran’s continuous interference in Somalia’s internal affairs,” the statement said, without giving further details.
Among other Saudi allies, the United Arab Emirates has downgraded relations with Iran while Kuwait and Qatar have recalled their ambassadors.
Iran’s embargo on imports from Saudi Arabia will reportedly affect goods worth about $40 million, mainly fabrics and packaging products.
The Yemen conflict, which pits the pro-Iranian Huthi Shiite rebels against pro-government forces backed by Riyadh and other Gulf Arab states, is one of the main sources of dispute between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
– Diplomatic fallout –
They also support opposing sides in Syria, where Tehran has provided military assistance to its close ally President Bashar Assad against rebel groups, some backed by Saudi Arabia.
The growing tensions have heaped doubt on a U.N.-backed plan that foresees talks between the Syrian sides this month in a bid to end a war that has claimed more than a quarter of a million lives.
The roadmap, unanimously adopted by the U.N. Security Council, calls for the establishment of a transitional government within six months and elections within 18 months.
The Iran-Saudi crisis also threatens a fragile U.N.-backed initiative to end the war in Yemen, where the world body says at least 2,795 civilians have been killed since March.
U.N. envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed has called for a new round of talks on January 14 but the sides have yet to confirm that they will attend.
At the same time the row has dealt another blow to the unity of the OPEC oil cartel, which includes both Iran and Saudi Arabia, at a time when a glut of crude on world markets has sent prices plunging.
The growing Middle East tensions have further reduced expectations of any action by OPEC to try to shore up oil prices.
With fears of weaker Chinese demand also mounting, New York’s main crude contract slid to a 12-year low of $32.10 a barrel Thursday.
Iran in talks to send gas to Georgia via Armenia
Iran has held negotiations with Georgia on sending its natural gas to Georgia through Armenia, Managing Director of the National Iranian Gas Exports Company (NIGEC) Alireza Kameli said.
“Based on negotiations with Georgia, we are supposed to take gas to the Armenian border, for Georgia to receive it at its border with Armenia,” Kameli noted. “For signing a deal, however, the gas exports plan must be economical for Georgia,” Press TV of Iran quoted the NIGEC boss as saying.
The plan is to transfer 300-500 million cubic feet a day of Iranian gas through a pipeline for use in power generation in Georgia, he added.
But Alireza Kameli stressed that the planned gas exports to Georgia are intended for domestic use, and not for Europe.
Bahrain, Sudan sever ties with Iran, UAE reduces number of diplomats
Bahrain calls for Iranian diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours.
Bahrain has severed diplomatic relations with Tehran following storming of Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran, state news agency BNA reported.
“Bahrain decided to break off diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran and calls upon all members of the mission to leave the kingdom within 48 hours,” BNA said.
On Saturday, demonstrators protesting in Iran against the execution of Sheikh al-Nimr by Riyadh attacked the Saudi embassy in capital Tehran and the consulate in the city of Mashhad. The protests continued on Sunday.
Iranian diplomats were ordered to leave the country within 48 hours, while 47 of Saudi diplomatic mission staff have safely returned to their homeland with the help of the United Arab Emirates.
Al-Nimr was among 47 people convicted on terrorism charges whose execution Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday, setting off a diplomatic row and exacerbating sectarian strife.
According to the Al Arabiya news channel, Riyadh announced on Sunday cutting ties with Tehran and decided to evict Iranian diplomatic mission from Saudi Arabia.
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