Hong Kong to Kill 2000 Pets

Hong Kong officials are killing hamsters by the thousands after declaring the rodents responsible for spreading COVID-19. Meanwhile, in China’s mainland, the blame has been put on international mail packaging.

As one of the world’s last major holdouts of a zero-tolerance approach to the virus, China is fanning unusual theories about the source of emerging COVID-19 clusters despite doubts from overseas experts over the likelihood of such claims.

On January 18, 2021 Hong Kong ordered 2,000 hamsters, chinchillas, rabbits, and other small animals to be “humanely” put down after a health check on the rodents found 11 to carry the Delta variant of COVID-19. All of them are hamsters imported from the Netherlands, from a local pet shop where a 23-year-old worker had tested positive to COVID-19.

While the officials acknowledged there’s no clear evidence hamsters could transmit the virus to humans, they are telling pet owners who bought hamsters from any store in the city beginning December 22, 2021 to hand over their animals for culling. Those who visited the pet store after January 07, 2022 are subject to quarantine. All 34 pet stores in the city that sell hamsters are now shuttered, and imports of all small mammals have come to a halt.

Hong Kong’s pet killing follows heightened virus containment measures in Beijing, where authorities suggested that mail from Canada might have been the culprit for the city’s first Omicron case.

The city’s health officials noted how the first Omicron patient, a 26-year-old woman, who has not traveled outside Beijing recently, handled a parcel sent from Canada via the United States and Hong Kong, before developing a sore throat two days later. They have detected the Omicron variant on both the outside of the package and in its contents, as well as on other mail samples delivered from the same origin, the officials said.

 “This is something not only new but intriguing and certainly not in accordance with what we have done both internationally and domestically given what we know about the transmissibility of Omicron,” he told reporters at a January 17, 2022 press conference.

Health experts have assessed the risks of virus transmitting through contaminated surfaces to be extremely low. The World Health Organization (WHO) said that coronavirus in general “need a live animal or human host to multiply and survive and cannot multiply on the surface of food packages.”

Touting the theory that the virus might have come from somewhere other than China is hardly new for the Chinese authorities. In October 2020, Beijing said an outbreak in the port city of Qingdao originated from a shipment of imported cod. In a June outbreak linked to a Beijing wholesale market, officials pointed to frozen salmon from Norway as the cause, citing a sample on a cutting board used for processing the fish that tested positive for COVID-19.

July last year, amid tensions between India and China, Beijing withheld over 1,000 containers of Indian shrimp on the grounds that the packaging allegedly contained virus residues.

In a bid to deflect growing scrutiny on Beijing’s coverup of the pandemic origins, authorities and state media have consistently put forward claims, without credible evidence, that the virus originated outside of the country. Following a WHO-China joint virus probe in China’s Wuhan last year, authorities have also repeatedly called for origin tracing efforts to begin outside of China.

The regime’s pandemic-control actions, though, have also come at a particularly sensitive time for Beijing. Less than three weeks before the country’s capital opens the Winter Olympic Games, Beijing and cities across China have struggled to stamp out waves of COVID-19 infections.

Hundreds of Omicron infections have surfaced in multiple parts of China even as Delta cases continue to spike. After the Omicron variant extended its reach to Beijing, Olympic organizers called off ticket sales to the general public, saying the entry will be reserved for a targeted group of spectators only.

Five takeaways from Biden news conference

US President Biden held a rare formal news conference Wednesday, one day before the first anniversary of his inauguration. The event came with the president's poll ratings at a low ebb and as he is enduring one of his most difficult stretches to date. 

His legislative agenda has stalled and he faces challenges ranging from inflation to Russian aggression. 

But the president, speaking amid the grandeur of the East Room of the White House, had a chance to reset the agenda with the midterm elections just 10 months away. Here are the five biggest takeaways:

A big misstep on Russia

Biden’s loquaciousness has a history of getting him in trouble. So it proved again on Wednesday. A predictable question on a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine produced an odd and damaging response. 

Biden suggested that a “minor incursion” by the Kremlin forces might not receive much aggressive push back from the United States.

The comment lit up social media, and a second reporter asked Biden about it later in the news conference. 

Offered a second bite at the cherry, Biden missed yet again, this time implying that a limited Russian action would make it difficult for him to drive a unified response from NATO.

White House aides immediately scrambled to try to clear up the confusion. They had little success.

They core of the problem is that Biden’s remarks sounded weak and timid — liabilities that Putin will try to maximally exploit. 

The Russian leader has form. He annexed Crimea in 2014 and, for all its noble-sounding words of protest; the international community has not been able to reverse the move.

The entire thrust of Washington’s approach in its negotiations with the Kremlin has been to show seriousness this time around.

But Biden put a hole in his own strategy on Wednesday, for no obvious reason.

In terms of domestic politics, the remark will also feed into the conservative tendency to portray Democrats as puny on the world stage.

The news conference was long — very long

Biden spent almost two hours in the East Room, and even joked about the longevity of the event in its closing stages.

“How many more hours am I doing this? I’m happy to stick around,” he said.

There were pluses and minuses to the marathon approach.

On one hand, the briefing’s duration was proof of Biden’s stamina and mental acuity — a retort to conservative critics who suggest that, at 79, he is not up to the job. 

In fact, that issue was explicitly — and somewhat pompously — brought up at the news conference by a reporter for Newsmax, and Biden swatted it aside.

But the length of the news conference also played to two Biden-related weaknesses — an eagerness to talk at considerable length and a propensity for inexact language. Those aren’t functions of his age. They are traits that have marked his entire political career. 

In the later stages of the event, for example, Biden suggested he might not consider the midterm elections legitimate under certain circumstances— but the wording of his answer was rather unclear.

Some commentators complained the event grew dull because of its length. 

But that critique is not likely to matter much with the general public, relatively few of whom are likely to have watched the presser in its entirety.

Biden kicked off his midterm campaign

Next to the Russia gaffe, the most politically significant aspect of the briefing was Biden’s shift to a midterm election strategy.

He is not — yet — going full, scorched-earth negative. But he clearly wants to put a contrast between his party and the GOP in the front of voters’ minds

He claimed several times that Republicans were happy to position themselves against him but unwilling to state in plain terms what they favor.

“What would be the Republican platform right now?” he asked rhetorically, citing issues including taxation, the cost of prescription drugs and human rights. “I honestly don’t know what they’re for.”

An old political dictum holds that elections are either a referendum on the incumbent or a choice between two options. 

Biden is doing what he can to make the 2022 midterms a choice — surely seeing this approach as his party’s most realistic chance to cling onto its razor-thin congressional majorities.

Relatedly, Biden also promised to hit the road more, talking wistfully about how he has not been able do more of the old-school politicking he relishes because of the pandemic.

“I don’t get a chance to look people in the eye, to go out and do the things I’ve always been able to do,” he said at one point. “Connect with people; let them take the measure of my sincerity.”

A bite-sized approach to his goals

Biden bowed to the inevitable on his legislative agenda — sort of.

In effect, he accepted that his Build Back Better plan, which he had hoped would be the capstone of his legislative agenda, would not pass in its current form. He acknowledged the same of voting rights legislation, more or less.

But he emphasized the fight for those goals was not over. Instead, he said he would move on to trying to achieve the same big objectives in bite-sized chunks over time.

“It’s clear to me that we are going to have to probably break it up,” he said of Build Back Better, noting as one example that even Sen. Joe Manchin was in favor of some of the big bill's provisions on early childhood education. 

He made essentially the same argument on voting rights and asserted that change happens incrementally.

“I don’t know many things that have been done in one fell swoop,” he said.

Whether that approach is enough to satisfy a restive Democratic base remains to be seen.

Did it move the needle?

It’s tough for any single event these days to shift the political realities of a deeply polarized nation, Biden’s press conference was no exception.

The extent of the damage done by the Russia-related gaffe will only become clear after several days. 

Right now, it’s impossible to tell whether it will fade from relevance or instead come to be seen like other infamous verbal miscues — President Ford’s “there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe” debacle during a 1976 debate comes to mind.

On the flip side, Biden supporters can take heart from the vigor with which the president pressed the case against the GOP. They have wanted more of that from Biden for a while and he delivered in spades on Wednesday.

His remarks hitting Republicans were a reminder that the presidential bully pulpit still holds power. 

Whether that power will be enough to reverse Biden’s current low fortunes remains to be seen.

Biden hits one year mark in dire straits

Joe Biden, President of United States faces reporters for his first news conference of the year 2022 with serious questions about his agenda and the health of his presidency as he nears the first anniversary of taking office.

Biden has been unable to move members of his own party to back his most ambitious goals, with Senators. Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin were stiff-arming the president in ways that left the White House looking ineffectual.

Biden’s climate and social policy package, the top priority of the White House and Democrats in Congress, appears doomed — unless parts of it can be broken up and salvaged.

The president’s push for voting rights bills has similarly fizzled at the hands of Manchin and Sinema, who rejected Biden’s calls to make an exception to the filibuster.

“It started off really strong, but at some point they started hitting a brick wall, the problems started piling up, and they’re now looking for their footing as we start the second year,” said Jim Manley, a former aide to the late Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Biden’s first year.

The White House’s effort to quell the coronavirus pandemic has also been snarled, most recently by a ruling of the conservative Supreme Court that struck down Biden’s vaccine-or-test mandate for large businesses.

Inside the White House, there is a strong sentiment that a shift in strategy is needed. Sources close to the White House say Biden will find ways to speak directly to the people to more effectively communicate the work that is being done. Democrats also expect Biden to draw a sharper contrast with Republicans, which he has started to do in the New Year.

“I think there is a recognition that some things have to change and change quickly,” said one Democratic source who speaks directly with White House officials. “Some of the things they have done haven’t worked.”

A Democratic strategist who is also in contact with the White House said that much needs to change in terms of winning back public confidence and building a cohesive message to Americans.

“The problem is rooted in the fact that we’ve gone from one extreme to another,” the strategist said. “We went from Trump’s unique brand of style and communicating to Biden’s, and both leave something to be desired from the general public.”

“With Biden, it’s a sense of prioritization,” the strategist added. “Is it the pandemic? Is it Build Back Better? Is it the economy? And oh yeah, is it voting rights? ... No one knows what we’re supposed to be worked up about. What? Which?”

To be sure, Biden has had some wins, and some Democrats don’t believe he’s getting enough credit. On the legislative front, he ushered through a US$1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package in his first two months in office and beat expectations by signing into law a bipartisan infrastructure bill.

“Compared to where we were a year ago, I think it’s an A,” Navin Nayak, president and executive director of the liberal Center for American Progress Action Fund, said of Biden’s first year, citing the job creation, wage gains and COVID-19 vaccinations that occurred under the president’s watch.

“There’s a lot of work left to do,” Nayak said. “I don’t think anyone came into this thinking that the agenda he laid out on Jan. 20 would be completed within a year.”

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, in a nod to the looming one-year mark since Biden’s inauguration, opened Tuesday’s briefing with statistics she argued underscored the strength of the president’s first year in office.

She cited the “dramatic” improvement of the US economy, driven by strong job growth and declining unemployment. And she noted 74 percent of adults in the US are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 after the shots were just being rolled out a year ago.

“The job is not done yet, but we have a plan to address the challenges we are facing,” Psaki said.

But those accomplishments have done little to lift Biden’s deflated poll numbers, which show the president increasingly unpopular, including among those in his own party. Many have blamed Biden’s dip in the polls on the public’s fatigue with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as well as frustrations about higher costs of goods.

Nayak said there is a path for Biden to rebound in the polls once the pandemic begins to recede, given the positive news on the economic recovery and Biden’s likeability compared to former President Trump.

“People really disliked [Trump], and I don’t think there was really any path for him to win over those people he had lost,” Nayak said. “People still like Joe Biden. This is not a personal thing.”

Democrats are bracing for losses in the midterm elections unless Biden can turn things around. There is a sense among some Democrats that the party has thus far failed to deliver on key promises from the 2020 campaign on health care, climate change and getting the pandemic under control.

Some have also questioned Democrats’ strategy on pushing forward on voting rights bills, even as it was guaranteed to fail in the Senate because of the filibuster.

“I guess I don’t blame him for trying, but the reality is unless you have Sinema and Manchin — and you don’t — it’s not going to happen,” said Manley, who argued Democrats should have focused on negotiating a bipartisan compromise on voting rights legislation early on.

There is chatter among lawmakers that Democrats should pass whatever pieces of Biden’s Build Back Better package can get enough support in the Senate in order to have some kind of legislative win to point to in the New Year. But in the absence of a breakthrough, strategists believe Biden must tailor his message around what his administration has managed to get done.

“Inflation is a serious problem, and no Democrat should ever minimize it. But it’s also true that many other economic indicators are extraordinarily good,” said Matt Bennett, co-founder of the centrist think tank Third Way.

“If Trump had this economy, he’d be calling it the greatest ever. There’s high inflation, but low unemployment and a booming stock market,” Bennett said. “So I think they need to be a little more aggressive about addressing the things people really care about and making sure people know what Biden has achieved.”

While Biden’s poll numbers remain low and even some Democrats worry that his legislative agenda is all but dead, others say it’s too early to make any judgments.

David Litt, a bestselling author who served as a speechwriter in the Obama White House, said he knows what it feels like to be counted out.

“In the Obama administration, there were a lot of moments when people counted us out before all the innings had been played,” Litt said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen. A lot can change in a couple of months.

“There’s not a huge indication that it’s the bottom of the ninth with any of these things,” he said. “If the last two years have taught us anything it’s that the future is hard to predict.”

Russian Gazprom has no plan to export gas to Europe in February

Russian state energy giant Gazprom said it has not booked any capacity to pump gas to Europe through the Yamal pipeline in February, underscoring a sharp drop-off in Russian exports to the region so far this year.

Gazprom said pipeline exports of Russian gas have tumbled 41% from a year ago so far in January, underlining the impact of a reversal in the Yamal-Europe pipeline, which usually pumps Russian gas into Europe, from Germany to Poland. Data from German network operator Gascade showed that this was occurring for a 28th consecutive day on Monday.

Although, the Kremlin-controlled group has not booked any capacity through the pipeline for February, this could change as it is able to take part in daily auctions.

The link has been operating in reverse mode since December 2021, helping drive up gas prices, although these dropped on Monday thanks to robust liquefied natural gas (LNG) volumes and higher wind power output.

Exports of Russian commodities have been under the spotlight in recent months amid a broader standoff with the West over Ukraine. Moscow has initiated the talks with the United States and NATO in an effort to stop Ukraine from joining the bloc.

Russia has also been accused by some politicians and experts of deliberately withholding gas exports in order to obtain clearance from Germany and the European Union for its Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, built to bypass Ukraine.

Russia denies any plans to attack Ukraine and says it meets all contractual obligations on gas exports.

It is not clear when the Yanal-Europe pipeline will revert to normal. A source close to Gazprom said the Kremlin-controlled company is expected to switch flows at some point this month, as Gazprom has paid for westbound volumes for January.

High gas prices present a major problem for European governments, utilities and consumers, with some firms forced out of business by last year's rapid rise in costs.

The Yamal-Europe pipeline usually accounts for about a sixth of Russia's annual gas exports to Europe and Turkey.

Gazprom has not booked any gas transit capacity for February via the route, according to a monthly auction results. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak on Saturday repeated that Russia was ready to supply more gas to Europe, but only if there are new long-term contracts.

Capacity nominations for Russian gas flows from Ukraine to Slovakia via the Velke Kapusany border point, another major route to Europe, were 286,970 megawatt hours (MWh) on Monday.

That was steady compared to nominations seen so far in 2022 but well below levels of more than 900,000 MWh recorded in early December last year, data from Slovak pipeline operator Eustream showed.

Gazprom has not booked gas transit capacity for exports for February via two other crossing points into Ukraine, although some 11.14 mcm/day of capacity via Velke Kapusany were booked for Russian gas for the next month.

Russia could launch attack in Ukraine any time

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday, the United States believes that Russia could carry out an attack on Ukraine at any point underscoring the immediacy of the threat should Moscow decide to take action. Psaki added later that her language was starker than we have been.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken plans to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday as the US seeks to ward off an invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which has amassed 100,000 troops on the border with Ukraine and recently moved forces to Belarus for joint military drills.

The meeting follows high-level diplomatic talks between the US and Russian officials and NATO in Europe last week. Blinken and Lavrov spoke by phone on Tuesday and agreed to meet.

Blinken plans to urge the Russians to deescalate the situation and take the diplomatic path offered by the US and its allies, Psaki said, reiterating that there would be significant economic consequences should Russia choose to invade Ukraine.

“It is up to the Russians to determine which path they are going to take, and the consequences are going to be severe if they don’t take the diplomatic path,” Psaki said.

President Joe Biden told Russian President Vladimir Putin on a video call in December that Russia would face sanctions if it invaded Ukraine and that the US would move to bolster NATO’s eastern flank and increase military aid to Ukraine in the event of an invasion.

Psaki on Tuesday disputed reports that cutting Russia off from the SWIFT global banking system was off the table. 

 “No option is off the table, in our view,” she said.  

As of last week, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the US intelligence community had not assessed whether Putin has made his mind up on invading Ukraine but nevertheless characterized the threat as high.  

US officials last week said they have evidence of Russia laying the groundwork for a false flag operation that could serve as a pretext for invading Ukraine.

 

bp and EnBW emerge successful in offshore wind project

bp and EnBW have been awarded a lease option off the east coast of Scotland to develop a major offshore wind project — to be known as Morven. The award was made in the highly competitive ScotWind leasing round; the results were announced by Crown Estate Scotland.

The approximately 860km2 lease is located around 60km off the coast of Aberdeen. The E1 lease is in an advantaged area, allowing the partners to develop it as a fixed-bottom offshore wind project with a total generating capacity of around 2.9 gigawatts (GW), sufficient to power more than three million homes.

“bp has a proud 100-year history in Scotland. We want to thank Crown Estate Scotland for the opportunity to now start a new chapter, helping Scotland continue as a global energy leader for the next 100 years.We have a fantastic partner in EnBW and now an even more competitive portfolio of nearly 6GW of combined offshore wind to develop together,” said Bernard Looney, chief executive officer.

The success of the bid is expected to unlock a number of investments across the country, as part of bp’s integrated energy company approach, leveraging its existing North Sea infrastructure, skills and relationships and EnBW’s experience in offshore wind. Along with the offshore wind development, these investments include significant expansion of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in Scotland and green hydrogen production. Together, these represent up to £10 billion of investment in support of offshore wind and Scotland’s energy transition. 

“Our plans go much further than just the turbines offshore. They see us investing in projects and in people — from EV charging to green hydrogen — aligned with Scotland’s energy transition plans.   “This is good business — making disciplined investments and demonstrating what an integrated energy company can do; we can’t wait to get to work.”

EnBW CEO Frank Mastiaux added, “In this close partnership we succeeded in a highly competitive field of bidders. Since the construction of the first German offshore wind farm in 2010 by EnBW, we have become a major player in offshore technology, even beyond Germany's borders. We are therefore very pleased to be able to contribute our experience of developing and operating technically demanding offshore wind projects once again with our partner bp.

“This success marks so far the largest development project in offshore wind for our company. And we are proud to contribute significantly to a climate-friendly energy future in Scotland, being one of the world’s largest markets for offshore wind power. “For EnBW this investment will be a corner stone in our strategy to become CO2 neutral by 2035. The international and European targets to reduce the CO2-footprint can only be met by implementing large scale renewable generation capacity. Offshore Wind in Scotland provides a perfect setting for achieving this goal.”

As a result of the successful ScotWind bid, the partners will establish their operational centre in Scotland, and bp will make Aberdeen its global operations and maintenance centre of excellence for offshore wind, creating up to 120 new direct jobs.  It is expected to contribute up to £40 million per year to the economy.

The offshore wind development will include investments in infrastructure, ports, harbours and shipyards, including the construction of four ships to support EnBW and bp’s offshore wind projects across the UK, subject to technical and commercial due diligence. These new-builds will involve an investment of more than £100 million and would be expected to support 500 associated jobs. It also triggers additional investment in Forth Ports, who are creating Scotland’s largest renewable hub at the Port of Leith, supporting up to 3,000 direct and indirect jobs in the Forth Estuary net zero corridor.

bp also intends to apply its integrated business model to use the clean power generated offshore to supply and significantly accelerate the expansion of its EV charging network in Scotland, to around 4,000 public chargers, by 2030.

As part of bp’s commitment to support oil and gas workers through employment and opportunities for re-training and reskilling in renewables, bp and EnBW have already committed more than £1 million to X-Academy in Scotland in a five-year deal; supporting both reskilling experienced workers and the creation of entry-level energy transition roles.

Taken together, Morven will represent a significant contribution to the development of Scotland’s energy transition infrastructure, economy, and skills, creating new opportunities and long-term, high-quality jobs.

Iran expresses willingness to reopen embassy in Saudi Arabia

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh has expressed Iran’s readiness to reopen Tehran’s embassy in Riyadh, underlining that reopening embassies depends on a Saudi will. 

Speaking at a weekly press conference on Monday, Khatibzadeh said Iran is now focused on resumption of its diplomatic activities in the Jeddah-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). 

“The focus is on starting the Islamic Republic of Iran's mission to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah, and our diplomats obtained visas to conduct this feasibility study.”

Earlier, ISNA reported that the three Iranian diplomats had arrived in the Saudi city of Jeddah in recent days to represent Iran in the OIC.

It indicated in a report that the three Iranian diplomats left for Jeddah in recent days and are scheduled to resume their activities after 6 years of stopping Iran's representation to the 57—member organization.

The activities of the Iranian representative office in Jeddah stopped in early 2016, following the severing of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, after demonstrators attacked Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran and its consulate in the city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran.

In December 2021, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian announced that Saudi Arabia has agreed to issue visas to three of Iran’s diplomats who work as diplomats residing at the headquarters of the OIC.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said that Saudi Arabia issued visas to three Iranian diplomats, while the Kingdom confirmed the issuance of visas as part of the normal procedure for representatives of member states of the organization residing in Jeddah.

Khatibzadeh said that Iran stands ready to resume diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia in line with the foreign policy agenda of President Ayatollah Seyed Ebrahim Raisi. 

“As Raisi noted in an early election press conference, the Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to reopen its embassy in Saudi Arabia, depending on what practical steps Saudi Arabia takes,” he said. “We have already announced this readiness, and God willing, we will consider all the preparations in this direction so that this path will be implemented.”

The spokesman also addressed a range of regional issues. Responding to a question about the visit of the foreign ministers of the Persian Gulf countries to China and some analyses about the concern of these countries about China's influence and Iran-China relations, he said, “Iran-China relations are completely normal. East-East relations are based on the natural requirements of developments in the international system and bilateral relations. The presence of different countries in the region as independent countries is neither a threat nor a cause for concern. China already has relations with various countries in the region, including the countries of the Persian Gulf, and we welcomed balanced and independent relations between the countries.”

Khatibzadeh continued, "What is worrisome is the presence of some Western trans-regional countries in the Persian Gulf region, which try to change the geopolitics of the region by selling weapons and establishing a military base in the Persian Gulf region and changing governments and regimes and manipulating the results of political developments in these countries. A system of inclusive regional arrangements can help implement these stable relationships in the region.”

Responding to a question about Amir Abdollahian’s visit to Oman and Qatar and Iran's readiness for regional arrangements, the spokesman said, “Good neighborliness and the issue of neighborhood as a definite policy in the past few months has been pursued in various forms and consultations have been held in the Persian Gulf. Announced and unannounced trips between the capitals and the visit of some Persian Gulf officials to Iran and the visit of the Iraqi foreign minister to Iran are all measures to establish comprehensive arrangements in the region in a multilateral manner.”

He pointed out, “Of course, these comprehensive arrangements in the Persian Gulf are the first step and targeting of eight countries in the Persian Gulf and is a serious issue.”

He added, “Friends in Iraq had suggestions, and we supported any endogenous arrangements by the countries of the region. The principles of these regional arrangements have been discussed in the meetings, including respect for the sovereignty of countries and the prevention of processes that lead to interference, non-aggression and recognition of red lines, etc. But for these to become organizational arrangements, we must create distance among them.”

Khatibzadeh also pointed to relationship between Iran and Syria, describing it as strategic and multi-layered. 

Regarding the Israeli aggression on Syria and some claims that it targets resistance bases, and the statements of US officials about their presence on Syrian soil, Khatibzadeh said, “Iran-Syria relations are multi-layered and multi-dimensional and with their own strategic depth, and it is better for countries to think about ending their wrong policies that led to the killing of innocent Syrians and the occupation of Syrian territory and the cowardly siege and inhumane acts.”

He continued, “The Islamic Republic of Iran knows its own interests well and also knows how to defend its own lives and interests. To date, no party has allowed some parties to strike in areas where Iran has acted as an advisor and where Iran has helped the national sovereignty of countries, and they know full well that the Islamic Republic of Iran will respond on the spot.”

Khatibzadeh referred to Amir Abdollahian’s visit to Oman and Qatar and said, “In Oman, he had a meeting with Mohammad Abdul Salam about the latest situation in Yemen, and in Qatar, in addition to meeting with the Emir and Foreign Minister of Qatar, he also met with Ismail Haniyeh.”

During the meeting with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir Abdollahian examined the latest developments in bilateral ties in areas of politics, security, trade, and economy. Iran’s top diplomat referred to the existing capacities for expanding economic relations between Iran and Qatar, underlining the need for forging cooperation in economic areas given the existing advantages of Iran.

Amir Abdollahian further outlined the Iranian administration’s approach to relations with neighboring countries, emphasizing exchange of delegations at high levels for consultations between Iran and Qatar.

He also pointed to Iran’s views toward the region and declared Tehran’s readiness to develop interaction with regional nations bilaterally and multilaterally.

The top Iranian diplomat then spoke about the Vienna talks over removing the illegal sanctions against Iran as well as the issues related to Afghanistan and Yemen. 

The Qatari emir, for his part, outlined his views regarding these matters.

Sheikh Al Thani also stressed the importance of ties between Iran and Qatar and cooperation on regional issues. He underlined that Qatar is interested in expanding cooperation with Iran.

Amir Abdollahian also met with a high-profile delegation from Hamas, headed by its political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh.

The Hamas delegation addressed the developments related to the Palestinian cause, particularly with regard to the situation in Occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank, Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, and the 15-year Israeli siege on Gaza, according to the Palestinian Information Center. 

The delegation hailed the Islamic republic's position in support of the Palestinian cause and resistance. 

The Iranian minister, meanwhile, discussed the developments concerning a number of matters, including regional alliances and the Vienna talks, reiterating his country's stance in support of the Palestinian people and resistance.      

The Hamas delegation welcomed the endeavors being made to achieve unity among Arab and Muslim nations, especially the efforts being exerted by Iran and Saudi Arabia. 

Besides the Hamas chief, the meeting was attended by members of Hamas political bureau Khalil al-Hayya and Mousa Abu Marzouq, in addition to Majdi Abu Amsheh, head of Haniyeh's office.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that during the meeting, Amir Abdollahian outlined the Islamic republic’s principled policy toward the issue of Palestine as a plight in the heart of the Islamic ummah created by the child-killing Zionist regime which enjoys support from the West.

He also condemned the brutal crimes of the Zionist occupiers against al-Quds, al-Aqsa Mosque, Gaza and occupied Palestinian territories as well as the regime’s aggression and atrocities against the Palestinian people.