GCC unveils vision for regional security

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has launched its Vision for Regional Security during a ceremony at the group's General Secretariat in Riyadh. This landmark initiative, presented by Jasem Albudaiwi, Secretary General of the GCC, signifies a profound commitment to ethical values and unity, aiming to build a hopeful and prosperous future for the region.

The Vision for Regional Security, highlighted by Albudaiwi as more than just a political commitment, is founded on the principles of dialogue, cooperation, coordination, and respect for diverse perspectives. These principles are deemed essential for confronting challenges and ensuring the common security upon which the GCC's aspirations for a better future are based.

The ceremony, attended by senior officials from the foreign ministries of GCC countries, diplomats, and experts, marks a pivotal step toward achieving international security and peace.

The GCC's dedication to tackling political, security, and economic challenges both regionally and globally was reiterated, emphasizing the importance of collective action and sincere will in establishing lasting peace.

Albudaiwi outlined the vision's strategic objectives, which focus on preserving regional security, ensuring stability and prosperity, promoting international peace, and fostering economic and environmental sustainability. The vision comprises several pillars, including security and stability, economic development, and environmental and climate change, addressing a wide array of challenges from geopolitical shifts to cultural and social issues.

This vision represents a call to action for all parties to collaborate toward a secure and prosperous future, reinforcing the GCC's role as a reliable partner in political, security, and economic spheres on the global stage.

Israel: Jerusalem Day Celebrations

Jerusalem Day commemorates the day Jerusalem was reunited in 1967, at the end of the Six Day War. This was a momentous event and signified a stunning victory over the armies of Syria, Egypt and Jordan. It also represented the return of Jewish prayer rights to the Western Wall, part of the retaining wall of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Under foreign occupation, Jews had been barred from their holiest sites in their holiest city, a crime that went largely unacknowledged at the time.

Jerusalem is a holy city and it ought to be a symbol of peace and coexistence in the region. This potential role for the city can be seen in such recent developments as the Abraham Accords and Israel’s rapidly developing ties with a vast range of countries, including Muslim-majority states like Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.

Unfortunately, there are those who would like to turn this important day into one of tension and strife. This is a recurring theme that begins in the lead-up to the day each year. As in years past, the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas has put out warnings and threats against the flag march that takes place every year. The terrorists claim, absurdly, that this is a “religious war” waged by Israel against the al-Aqsa Mosque. This Hamas disinformation, used to incite and inflame tensions, is part of an ongoing effort by the terrorists to exploit the day and try to provoke violence.

At the same time, there are also misguided Israeli youth who use the day to chant racist and hateful slogans as they march through parts of the Old City, harassing locals who have shuttered their businesses along the parade route from Damascus Gate to the Western Wall. This, too, is utterly unacceptable.

While Jerusalem Day begins with the kind of peaceful commemoration and symbolism that represents the best values of our country – including a commemoration on Mount Herzl for Ethiopian Jews who perished on their way to Israel and a procession throughout the city ending in the Old City – the day has the potential of descending into clashes that mar the celebrations.

While some voices call for rerouting the flag march to reduce tensions, others see concessions and rerouting as appeasing the inciters, infringing on Israeli sovereignty and enabling further demands from Israel. The question is whether rerouting represents capitulation to threats and tacit acknowledgment that Jerusalem is divided, rather than it being the unified city that the day is meant to celebrate.

We cannot bridge some of the controversies that will always underpin the day - Terrorist groups and extremists will always try to exploit these events, and benefit and gain power from tensions and chaos.

On the other hand, it is important to point out that our democratic society is a tolerant one. Days before Jerusalem Day, there were scores of protesters at Tel Aviv University commemorating the “Nakba” – the “catastrophe” of Israel’s birth, in the Palestinian narrative – while waving Palestinian flags. If Palestinian flags can be waved in large numbers in Tel Aviv, it is only natural that the Israeli flag can be waved in the Old City of Jerusalem. That is how democratic countries work - We protect the rights of all and we don’t allow threats to decide how the majority may live.

It is our hope that this Jerusalem Day will pass without incident. We should show support for our law enforcement authorities, who shoulder the challenging burden of managing security in the city.

At the same time, the day should remind us of the need to invest in our capital, which means investing in all of its communities and ensuring that residents of eastern Jerusalem also have security and basic services. Jerusalem is a city that faces numerous hurdles, from poverty to education and the need to retain educated young people. We have not fulfilled the unification of 1967 if we cannot provide the services that all of the city’s residents deserve.

With all eyes on Jerusalem during today’s events, let us redouble our efforts to bring peace, coexistence and equality to our beloved capital.

Editorial by The Jerusalem Post

 

 

 

Iran-Saudi Arabia to boost economic co-op

During a meeting between Iran’s Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Ehsan Khandouzi and Saudi Arabia’s Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan, the two sides discussed the ways to expand economic cooperation and remove the barriers in the way of trade between the two countries.

In the meeting, which was held on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the board of executive directors of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) in Jeddah, the Saudi Arabian minister expressed satisfaction with the re-establishment of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia and said, “We hope that quick steps will be taken in relations with Iran.”

“In this regard, it is necessary to remove the economic and trade barriers against the two countries”, he stressed.

Referring to the great opportunities for interaction and cooperation between the two countries, Al-Jadaan expressed hope that he will soon meet the Iranian finance and economic affairs minister in Riyadh.

The Iranian minister welcomed the progress of economic relations between the two countries and stated that the development of relations is important not only for Iran and Saudi Arabia but also for all countries in the region.

Khandouzi said these bilateral relations are very important not only from an economic point of view but also in the political and security fields.

Explaining Iran's program in the field of economic relations with Saudi Arabia, Khandouzi said, “At the government level, Iran and Saudi Arabia have not finalized any basic agreement in the field of investment, customs, and trade. In this regard, it is necessary to draw up and sign MoUs between the parties.”

The Saudi Arabian side, while agreeing to cooperate in the three fields of customs, trade, and investment, expressed hope that with the assistance of his country’s ministries, cooperation in the mentioned fields will be followed up.

 

Iran marks end of arms embargo

On October 18, the global ban on the sale of conventional arms to Iran expired and opened the way for the Islamic Republic to import weapons, including warplanes and helicopter gunships, missiles, tanks, artillery and other weapon systems. The ban was imposed by UN Resolution 1929 in 2010. It was lifted as part of the 2015 nuclear deal – enshrined in UN resolution 2231 – as one of the incentives for Tehran to cooperate on its nuclear program. Iran was also allowed to export its domestically produced arms for the first time in a decade. 

Iran hailed the expiration of the arms embargo. “As of Sunday, we can purchase or sell arms from and to anyone we desire,” President Hassan Rouhani said. He noted that the United States had failed to extend the arms embargo in a new UN resolution. “Today is a momentous day for the international community ... in defiance of the US regime’s effort,” Iran’s foreign ministry said in a statement. In a tweet, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said “normalization of Iran’s defense cooperation with the world is a win for the cause of multilateralism and peace and security in our region.”

 In April, the Trump administration launched a diplomatic initiative at the United Nations to extend the embargo on the sale of conventional arms indefinitely. But on August 14, the Security Council roundly rejected the US resolution in one of the worst diplomatic defeats ever for Washington. Only two countries (the United States and the Dominican Republic) on the 15-member council voted for the resolution; two (Russia and China) rejected the resolution, and 11 nations abstained. To win passage, a Security Council resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes from the Council’s five permanent members – Britain, France, China, Russia and the United States. In September, after the UN vote, the United States unilaterally reimposed UN sanctions despite criticism for other world powers.

As the embargo expired in mid-October, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threatened to sanction any individual or company that supports Iran’s conventional weapons program. “Any nation that sells weapons to Iran is impoverishing the Iranian people by enabling the regime’s diversion of funds away from the people and toward the regime’s military aims,” he warned in a statement.

“Today is a momentous day for the international community, which in defiance of the U.S. regime’s efforts, has protected UN Security Council Resolution 2231 and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). As of today, all restrictions on the transfer of arms, related activities and financial services to and from the Islamic Republic of Iran, and all prohibitions regarding the entry into or transit through territories of the United Nations Member States previously imposed on a number of Iranian citizens and military officials, are all automatically terminated.

In one of the JCPOA’s innovations, the definitive and unconditional termination of arms restrictions and travel bans requires no new resolution, nor does it require any statement or any other measure by the Security Council. The lifting of arms restrictions and the travel ban were designed to be automatic with no other action required. This was achieved after painstaking negotiations, and with a prescient anticipation of the possibility of a breach of obligations by one or more of the other parties to the JCPOA. The very same procedure is applied for the termination of missile-related restrictions in the year 2023, and the subsequent conclusion of ‘consideration of the Iranian nuclear issue’ in the Security Council in the year 2025.

“Therefore, as of today, the Islamic Republic of Iran may procure any necessary arms and equipment from any source without any legal restrictions and solely based on its defensive needs, and may also export defensive armaments based on its own policies. It should be underlined here that rejecting imposition in any form is the cornerstone of Iran’s foreign policy. Therefore, the imposition of any restriction on any field—including finance, the economy, energy, and armaments—has never been recognized by Iran.

“At the same time, Iran’s defense doctrine is premised on strong reliance on its people and indigenous capabilities. Ever since the eight-year imposed war on Iran by Saddam Hussein’s regime—during which the Iranian people were victims of sophisticated and lethal weapons provided to Saddam by the West while Iran was deprived of procuring even the most basic defensive weaponry—the Islamic Republic of Iran has provided for its defensive needs through indigenous capacities and capabilities.

This doctrine has been and will continue to be the principal driver behind all measures of the Islamic Republic of Iran in maintaining its strong defensive power. Unconventional arms, weapons of mass destruction and a buying spree of conventional arms have no place in Iran’s defense doctrine. The country’s deterrence stems from native knowledge and capability, as well as our people’s power and resilience.