Global landscape undergoing paradigm shift, says Raisi

Speaking at the annual debate of the UN General Assembly in New York, Iran’s President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi discussed the emergence of non-Western powers, encouraged regional economic and security partnerships, and lamented the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

The world is reaching a critical junction point as an emerging order of non-Western states looks to pursue closer economic and political ties with one another, according to Raisi.

“The global landscape is undergoing a paradigm shift towards an emerging international order, a trajectory that is not reversible,” he said.

“As non-Western powers have emerged, there is a collective hope for a novel and equitable world order. The Islamic Republic of Iran advocates maximum economic and political convergence and is interested in interacting with the global community under the principle of justice.”

Through mutual political trust, economic cooperation, and indigenous security measures the goals of regional partners can be achieved more easily, said Raisi.

Holding up the Qur’an, he said “The holy book beckons humanity towards rationality, spirituality, the truth and justice. It expounds upon the unity of mankind proclaiming all earthly inhabitants it seeks to guide all towards human dignity... and speaks of equality among humans.”

Raisi emphasized the need for regional stability, noting the security of neighboring countries directly implicated the security of Iran.

He also criticized Western powers for what he claimed was an overt attempt to undermine stability in the region, claiming that Western intelligence agencies were moving terrorists across the region in a much targeted fashion.

“The surgical use of terrorists by certain Western governments as a political tool will be overcome by the collective will of the people of the region,” he said.

“Iran, who herself has been the biggest target of terrorists, has been at the forefront of combating terrorism in the region,” he added.

Iran additionally accused the United States of meddling in neighboring states, and drew attention to the situation in Afghanistan to highlight the humanitarian impact of Western military intervention on regional affairs.

“An independent and robust neighborhood presents an opportunity for the entire region. We will welcome any extended hand quite warmly.

Raisi lamented Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, labeling it a negation of the inherent rights of Palestinians.

He also emphasized the need to recognize Palestinian statehood and withdraw Israeli troops and settlements from the region.

“The people of the region see Iran as a secure partner for their own security and the occupying regime in Jerusalem is seen as the perpetrator of much of the violence in the region,” he said.

“Has the time not come to bring an end to seven and a half decades to the occupation of Palestinian lands, of the demolition of their homes, of the blood of their women and children, and for the people of Palestine to be recognized officially as a country?”

Iranian statement on the release of assets

Following the release of Iran’s funds that had been held in South Korea due to the US sanctions, the Iranian Foreign Ministry released a statement about the money and the prisoner swap with the United States.

“In order to achieve the rights of Iranian nationals all over the world as well as Iranians residing in the US and within the framework of an independent process, five Iranian citizens who were illegally prosecuted by the US judicial system due to their normal business activities were released and returned to their families,” the ministry said in the statement. 

“Prior to that, the Iranian assets in South Korea - which had been frozen due to the US pressures, making it impossible to use them for years - were unlocked thanks to diligent pursuit of the issue by the Foreign Ministry and Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Through a financial and banking process that lasted several weeks, the assets were transferred to the accounts of Iranian banks in Qatar,” the statement added.

It further continued, “These assets are under the control of the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran and will be used at the discretion of relevant Iranian authorities and based on the country’s needs and priorities.”

“Undoubtedly, the policies and actions of different administrations in the US in preventing Iran’s free and legitimate access to its financial resources in other countries are illegal and inhumane,” read the statement.

“Nevertheless, the illegal move of the US to abuse the international banking system and put pressure on other countries to limit Iran’s access to its assets does not in any way mean that the governments where these assets are kept have no responsibility in this regard, and those governments must be held to account for their unjustified move to comply with the illegal demands of the US government, the financial losses inflicted on Iran as a result of the long-term freezing of Iranian assets and its humanitarian consequences, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic,” it noted.

The ministry also stressed, “The Iranian people will never forget that. Even during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic the US regime, while ignoring the health emergency and humanitarian issues as well as repeated requests by the UN secretary general and human rights officials, denied Iran access to its financial resources in South Korea.”

“The Islamic Republic of Iran hereby thanks the government of Qatar for playing an effective role in transferring the assets of Iran and exchanging the prisoners. We also appreciate the valuable efforts of the Sultanate of Oman to advance this process and also the Swiss government’s cooperation and assistance in facilitating all this,” the Foreign Ministry concluded.

Five Iranians who had spent years in US jails were released on Monday in a prisoner swap between Tehran and Washington mediated by Qatar.

“After a successful team effort, five innocent Iranian compatriots in American prisons will be free today and two of them will enter Tehran via Doha,” Kazem Gharibabadi, Secretary General of Iran’s High Council for Human Rights, wrote on his X account on Monday.

“The High Council for Human Rights, alongside the government and the judiciary, will remain determined to uphold the rights of Iranians abroad,” he added.

Earlier Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani stated that two of the inmates will be returned to Iran, one will join his family in a third country, and two will remain in the United States.

The process of implementing an agreement with the US on the release of Iran’s assets as well as a prisoner swap has progressed at a favorable pace, said the spokesman.

Back in August, the United States and Iran agreed to liberate five American prisoners in exchange for the release of a number of Iranians held in the US and access to around $6 billion in Iranian oil revenues in South Korea.

It is worth noting that the US is to blame for all moratoriums made in such talks because it had illogically and futilely resisted all legitimate demands by Iran. The American officials thought they had the upper hand in the talks and gave the cold shoulder to any proposals.

 

Saudi Arabia to cooperate with Iran in petrochemicals

Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Tehran emphasized the existence of common fields for cooperation between the petrochemical industries of Iran and the kingdom and said. He said, “We are ready to expand cooperation with the petrochemical industry of Iran.”

Abdullah bin Saud al-Anzi made these remarks on Monday on the sidelines of a visit to the 17th International Exhibition of Plastic, Rubber, Machinery, and Equipment (IRAN PLAST 2023), Shana reported.

During his visit to the booth of the National Petrochemical Company (NPC) at the exhibition, he held talks with the NPC managers.

He said, “There are common areas of cooperation between SABIC (Saudi Arabia's Basic Industries Corporation is a Saudi chemical manufacturing company) and Iranian petrochemical companies, and we hope to see meetings held soon with the coordination of the National Petrochemical Company.”

Prince Faisal arrives to attend UN General Assembly session

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in New York on Sunday. On behalf of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, Prince Faisal is leading Saudi Arabia’s delegation attending the opening meetings of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 78).

The minister will participate in several official meetings during which discussions will be held on the latest international developments and global efforts aimed at further strengthening the foundations of international peace and security. Issues related to human development, preserving the planet Earth, and achieving sustainable development goals will also figure high in the meetings.

Prince Faisal will also attend a number of ministerial meetings that will be held within the framework of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and the Arab League.

On the sidelines of the General Assembly session, the foreign minister will hold a number of bilateral meetings with representatives of friendly countries, and with a number of officials of international organizations participating in the activities of the General Assembly session, which will begin on Monday, September 18. The UNGA 78 will feature the high-level general debate from Tuesday, September 19 to Saturday September 23 and on Tuesday September 26.

World leaders gather to engage in the annual high-level General Debate under the theme “Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all.”

There will also be high-level dialogue on financing for development of the General Assembly; high-level meetings on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response; universal health coverage; fight against tuberculosis, and preparatory ministerial meeting for the Summit of the Future.

More sanctions imposed on Iran ahead of Mahsa Amini first death anniversary

The United States, Canada, Britain and some other European Union countries on Friday imposed more sanctions on Iran ahead of the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini.

“Countries that have regularly committed the harshest violence against their own citizens, especially against women and minorities, people of color, aboriginals, natives and immigrants and have never had the least courage to strongly protest or condemn the crimes of the child-killing Zionist regime have no right to shed crocodile tears for the Iranian nation,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said in a press release.

In a statement on Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, "Mahsa’s tragic and senseless death in the custody of Iran’s so-called 'Morality Police' sparked demonstrations across Iran that were met with unspeakable violence, mass arrests, systemic internet disruptions and censorship by the Iranian regime." 

Kanaani described such moves and meddlesome remarks as “laughable and hypocritical shows”.

“Unfortunately, certain sides that have a dark historical record on human rights issues and women in a coordinated move and despicable efforts have issued worthless political statements to provoke sedition in the Islamic Republic of Iran by beating the drums of repetitive and ineffective sanctions,” Kanaani pointed out.  

The Foreign Ministry official despised the unlawful and undiplomatic moves of these countries and said it is better for the Europeans to acknowledge that the continuation of such unconstructive behaviors will never meet their interests and should adopt a new policy based on respect toward the great and civilized Iranian nation and the national sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran.  

The ministry spokesman concluded his remarks by saying that it is quite clear that the far-sighted Iranian people and the government as well as responsible security bodies will not waver in upholding collective security under the negative propaganda and biased moves of the Western sides. 

In a separate statement, The US Treasury Department also said it imposed sanctions on more than two dozen people and entities it said were connected to what it called violent suppression of protests in the wake of Amini's death.

The action targets 29 people and groups, including 18 key members of the IRGC and Iran's Law Enforcement Forces, as well as the head of Iran's Prisons Organizations, the department said. They also target officials linked to Iran's internet blockade and several media outlets.
Douran Software Technologies CEO Alireza Abedinejad as well as media organizations Press TV, Tasnim and Fars news agencies were also among those sanctioned.

The British government also announced sanctions against several Iranian officials, including the culture minister, his deputy and the mayor of Tehran.

 

 

"End Fossil Fuels" protests kick off worldwide

Climate catastrophe is already devastating the lives and livelihoods of people across the world and primarily those in the Global South, who are least responsible for causing it.

According to Common Dreams, hundreds of demonstrations around the world are demanding a rapid, just, and equitable phase out from fossil fuels in favor of sustainable renewables. Thee demonstrations began on Friday ahead of United Nations Secretary General António Guterres' Climate Ambition Summit in New York City.

"From Pacific nations, heavily affected by sea-level rise and storms, through Mumbai to Manila, London to Nairobi, over 650 actions are planned in 60 countries, culminating in a march in New York City on September 17," according to protest organizers.

The Global Fight to End Fossil Fuels opposes the fossil fuel industry, which has made obscene profits at the expense of the world's people, biodiversity, and a safe and livable climate," added organizers, who expect millions to join the protests over the coming days. "It calls on governments and companies to immediately end fossil fuel expansion and subsidies."

The actions come amid the hottest summer on record and as experts continue to sound the alarm over unwavering environmental destruction, especially by the fossil fuel industry and its political and financial backers.

International scientists revealed this week that six of nine barriers that ensure Earth is a "safe operating space for humanity" have been breached, which followed recent findings that greenhouse gas concentrations, global sea level, and ocean heat content hit record highs last year.

Climate chaos—fueled by oil and gas giants that have spent decades lying about their planet-heating pollution along with rich governments and institutions that continue to break their promises and pump billions of dollars into the fossil fuel industry—is already killing people. The death toll from flooding in Libya this week has climbed to 11,300.

"The world is at a tipping point," said Tyrone Scott of the War on Want and the Climate Justice Coalition in the United Kingdom ahead of protests this weekend. "Climate catastrophe is already devastating the lives and livelihoods of people across the world and primarily those in the Global South, who are least responsible for causing it."

"We must uproot the systems of exploitation and oppression which keep the majority of the world's population in poverty while lining the pockets of corporates and rich shareholders. This is a watershed moment. How we respond will determine how the world is shaped for generations," Scott stressed. "We demand an end to fossil fuels. We demand a fast and fair transition. We demand climate justice."

Tens of thousands of activists from across the United States are expected to join the March to End Fossil Fuels in New York City on Sunday. Marchers—backed by hundreds of organizations and scientists—have four key demands for President Joe Biden:

Stop federal approval for new fossil fuel projects and repeal permits for climate bombs like the Willow project and the Mountain Valley Pipeline; 2) Phase out fossil drilling on our public lands and waters; 3) Declare a climate emergency to halt fossil fuel exports and investments abroad, and turbocharge the build out of more just, resilient distributed energy (like rooftop and community solar) and 4) Provide a just transition to a renewable energy future that generates millions of jobs while supporting workers' and community rights, job security, and employment equity.

"Despite his numerous and explicit pledges to the contrary, President Biden has turned out to be a strong supporter of fossil fuels," Food & Water Watch Northeast region director Alex Beauchamp, an organizer of the NYC march, said in a statement Friday.

"With each passing day, Biden's failure to lead on clean energy drives the planet deeper into the abyss of irrevocable climate chaos," he added. "We're marching to send a message that true climate leadership means halting new oil and gas drilling and fracking, and rejecting new fossil fuel infrastructure like pipelines and export terminals—beginning now."

Betamia Coronel, senior national organizer for climate justice at the Center for Popular Democracy, highlighted in a Friday opinion piece for Common Dreams that "BIPOC communities have always lived at the intersection of wealth disparity and the climate crisis and it is Black, Indigenous, immigrant, working-class people of color who have been leading the efforts in the lead up to this historic march in NYC."

Dozens of actors, activists, and climate leaders—including Bill McKibben, Blair Imani, Cornel West, Jameela Jamil, Jane Fonda, Lennox Yearwood Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Naomi Klein, Rosario Dawson, Rashida Tlaib, Rebecca Solnit, and Vanessa Nakate—joined more than 700 groups on Friday in sending a pre-march letter to the US president.

"The United States is the top global oil and gas producer and the largest historic greenhouse gas emitter. It is imperative that the US change course and become a true global climate leader by ending the extraction and use of fossil fuels," they wrote, urging Biden to commit to phasing out fossil fuels at the UN summit on September 20. "The world is watching."

Biden has also faced mounting pressure to declare a climate emergency this year, as the United States has endured a record-setting number of billion-dollar disasters, from a deadly fire in Hawaii to Hurricane Idalia. Since last week, eight campaigners have been arrested outside the White House for a series of protests demanding a climate emergency declaration and other executive action to end the era of fossil fuels.

Organizers planned to continue the nonviolent civil disobedience campaign in Washington, DC on Friday, and warned that each day Biden delays in taking this step is precious time lost to save lives and secure a livable future for humankind and countless other species.

Iran becomes 3rd top oil producer among OPEC members

Iran continued to increase its oil production in August to reach three million barrels per day (bpd) and stand at the third place among OPEC top producers, according to figures released in the organization’s latest monthly report.

OPEC data shows that Iran’s oil output increased by 143,000 bpd or 5% in August as compared to production figures reported in July, Shana reported.

The figures showed that Iran had regained its position as the third largest oil producer in OPEC in August after Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Iran posted the largest increase in oil production in OPEC last month, as the country is exempt from output cuts introduced by the alliance to help boost international oil prices.

Iranian heavy oil prices rose to US$87.58 per barrel in August from US$81.48 reported in July, OPEC data showed.

The figures prove earlier reports suggesting Iranian oil production and exports had reached multi-year record levels in August despite US sanctions that restrict the country’s ability to engage in normal trade of oil products.

Estimates by international energy firms published earlier this month had suggested that Iran’s oil exports were nearly 3.15 million bpd in August as oil exports from the country reached over 2 million bpd.

Private refiners in China accounted for a bulk of oil purchases from Iran last month as shipments rose to an all-time record of 1.5 million bpd.

Iran’s Oil Minister Javad Oji said earlier that Iran’s oil production will reach 3.4 million bpd by late September.