TEHRAN: Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi on Thursday vowed to improve the country’s sanction-hit economy and its COVID-19 response, saying that the current situation “does not befit” the Islamic republic.
He delivered the remarks while chairing the first meeting of his Cabinet which was approved by parliament on Wednesday.
Lawmakers approved one-by-one 18 out of 19 candidates put forward by the ultra-conservative Raisi for the ministerial posts.
They rejected only his pick for the education portfolio, thus requiring the president to make another choice for that post.
The new president was sworn in by parliament in early August, but the outgoing administration remained at the helm until Wednesday’s parliamentary vote.
The confidence vote in the strictly conservative lineup — all men — allows Raisi to begin leaving his mark.
“The country’s situation today does not befit the great nation of Iran and it must certainly change,” Raisi said in a speech broadcast live on television.
The Islamic republic is “seriously lagging behind” in certain areas, Raisi said, adding that his government’s priorities would be to curb a surge in coronavirus infections as well as to control inflation and “improve people’s livelihoods.”
In Iran where ultimate power rests with supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Raisi inherits a difficult socioeconomic situation.
The ultraconservative won a June 18 election marred by record low turnout and an absence of significant competitors.
Iran has been strangled financially by sanctions reimposed by Washington after then US President Donald Trump pulled out of a multilateral nuclear deal in 2018.
Its already severe economic crisis has been amplified by the pandemic.
Iran is the country in the Middle East worst hit by the virus and is currently grappling with a fifth wave of infections — the strongest yet — with daily deaths and cases hitting record highs several times this month.
The country recorded its highest single day death toll on Tuesday, with 709 fatalities registered by the Health Ministry in 24 hours.
Fewer than 6.5 million of Iran’s 83 million people have received a second vaccine dose, according to official figures.
Choked by US sanctions that have made it difficult to transfer money abroad, Iran says it has struggled to import vaccines.
Raisi vowed to increase vaccine imports and boost local production without offering details, saying efforts so far have been “necessary but not enough.”
Authorities have approved the emergency use of two domestically developed vaccines, but the only mass-produced one, COVIran Barekat, is in short supply.
Western powers, Russia and China are all keeping a watchful eye for any sign of willingness by Iran to resume discussions that began in Vienna in April aimed at salvaging the 2015 nuclear deal.
The parties agreed in late June to meet for a new round of talks, but discussions have yet to resume.
In the aftermath of his election victory, Raisi declared on June 20 that he will not permit negotiations just for “negotiation’s sake.”
But he also said: “Any negotiations that guarantee national interests will certainly be supported.”
New Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made no reference to the 2015 deal Wednesday, listing other matters as the top concern in messages posted after taking office.
“Neighbors & Asia #1 priority,” he wrote on Twitter.
So far Raisi has named four vice presidents. Among them is Maj. Gen. Mohsen Rezai, a former Revolutionary Guards chief and among the losers in the presidential poll, named vice president in charge of economic affairs.
Raisi says economy, COVID-19 response ‘does not befit’ Iran
https://arab.news/c3w49
Raisi says economy, COVID-19 response ‘does not befit’ Iran
- Mideast’s worst-hit country grappling with fifth wave of infections as daily deaths hit record highs
Qatari minister arrives in Damascus on first Qatar Airways flight since Assad’s fall
DUBAI: Qatar’s minister of state for foreign affairs arrived in Damascus on Monday on the first Qatar Airways flight to the Syrian capital since the fall of President Bashar Assad two weeks ago, Doha’s foreign ministry said.
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson said Mohammed Al-Khulaifi was the most senior official of the Gulf Arab state to visit Syria since militants toppled the Assad family’s 54-year-long rule.
Iran foreign ministry affirms support for Syria’s sovereignty
- Assad fled Syria earlier this month as rebel forces led by the Sunni Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) entered the capital Damascus
TEHRAN: Iran affirmed its support for Syria’s sovereignty on Monday, and said the country should not become “a haven for terrorism” after the fall of president Bashar Assad, a longtime Tehran ally.
“Our principled position on Syria is very clear: preserving the sovereignty and integrity of Syria and for the people of Syria to decide on its future without destructive foreign interference,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a weekly press briefing.
He added that the country should not “become a haven for terrorism,” saying such an outcome would have “repercussions” for countries in the region.
Assad fled Syria earlier this month as rebel forces led by the Sunni Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) entered the capital Damascus after a lightning offensive.
The takeover by HTS — proscribed as a terrorist organization by many governments including the United States — has sparked concern, though the group has in recent years sought to moderate its image.
Headed by Ahmed Al-Sharaa, Syria’s new leader and an ardent opponent of Iran, the group has spoken out against the Islamic republic’s influence in Syria under Assad.
Tehran helped prop up Assad during Syria’s long civil war, providing him with military advisers.
During Monday’s press briefing, Baqaei said Iran had “no direct contact” with Syria’s new rulers.
Sharaa has received a host of foreign delegations since coming to power.
He met on Sunday with Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan, and on Monday with Jordan’s top diplomat Ayman Safadi.
On Friday, the United States’ top diplomat for the Middle East Barbara Leaf held a meeting with Sharaa, later saying she expected Syria would completely end any role for Iran in its affairs.
A handful of European delegations have also visited in recent days.
Regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia, which has long supported Syria’s opposition, is expected to send a delegation soon, according to Syria’s ambassador in Riyadh.
Iran says ‘no direct contact’ with Syria rulers
- Foreign ministry spokesman: ‘We have no direct contact with the ruling authority in Syria’
TEHRAN: Iran said Monday it had “no direct contact” with Syria’s new rulers after the fall of president Bashar Assad, a longtime Tehran ally.
“We have no direct contact with the ruling authority in Syria,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said at a weekly press briefing.
Jordan FM holds talks with Syria’s new leader, calls for inclusive government
- It was the first visit by a senior Jordanian official since Bashar Assad’s fall
- Safadi expressed concern over Israel's growing involvement in Syria, warning that it is exacerbating regional conflicts
AMMAN: Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi urged the formation of a Syrian government that represents all factions, during his meeting with Syria’s new leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa in Damascus on Monday,
He emphasized the need for a comprehensive political process to resolve the ongoing crisis and called on the United Nations to step in and assist Syria. The minister also reaffirmed Jordan's readiness to support efforts aimed at rebuilding the war-torn country.
Meanwhile, Safadi expressed concern over Israel's growing involvement in Syria, warning that it is exacerbating regional conflicts.
It was the first visit by a senior Jordanian official since Assad’s fall.
Jordan, which borders Syria to the south, hosted a summit earlier this month where top Arab, Turkish, EU and US diplomats called for an inclusive and peaceful transition after years of civil war.
Sharaa, whose Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) spearheaded the offensive that toppled Assad on December 8, has welcomed senior officials from a host of countries in the Middle East and beyond in recent days.
Jordanian government spokesman Mohamed Momani told reporters on Sunday that Amman “sides with the will of the brotherly Syrian people,” stressing the close ties between the two nations.
Momani said the kingdom would like to see security and stability restored in Syria, and supported “the unity of its territories.”
Stability in war-torn Syria was in Jordan’s interests, Momani said, and would “ensure security on its borders.”
Some Syrians who had fled the war since 2011 and sought refuge in Jordan have begun returning home, according to Jordanian authorities.
The interior ministry said Thursday that more than 7,000 Syrians had left, out of some 1.3 million refugees Amman says it has hosted.
According to the United Nations, 680,000 Syrian refugees were registered with it in Jordan.
Jordan in recent years has tightened border controls in a crackdown on drug and weapon smuggling along its 375-kilometer border with Syria.
One of the main drugs smuggled is the amphetamine-like stimulant captagon, for which there is huge demand in the oil-rich Gulf.
Israeli airstrikes on Gaza kill at least 20 people, Palestinian medics say
- Israel’s air and ground offensive has killed over 45,200 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry till date
Palestinian medics say Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip have killed at least 20 people.
One of the strikes overnight and into Monday hit a tent camp in the Muwasi area, an Israel-declared humanitarian zone, killing eight people, including two children. That’s according to the Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, which received the bodies.
Hospital records show another six killed in a strike on people securing an aid convoy and another two killed in a strike on a car in Muwasi. One person was killed in a separate strike in the area.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central city of Deir Al-Balah said three bodies arrived after an airstrike on a school-turned-shelter in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp.
The Israeli military says it only strikes militants, accusing them of hiding among civilians. It said late Sunday that it had targeted a Hamas militant in the humanitarian zone.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 hostage. Around 100 captives are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel’s air and ground offensive has killed over 45,200 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry says women and children make up more than half the dead but does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally. The military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
