
Malaysia proposes expansion of OIC-TPS
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has proposed expanding the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Trade Preferential System and the reduction of trade barriers to strengthen economic ties among its member states.
The proposal was presented by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan during Malaysia's national statement at the 51st Session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting in Istanbul, Turkiye, on Saturday.
Mohamad said OIC, as the second-largest intergovernmental organisation in the world, holds vast potential for strategic partnership.
He cited the inaugural ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council-China Summit led by Malaysia in May, which witnessed a new historic economic partnership being forged, as a milestone in regional cooperation.
'Malaysia believes that this can support developing States to circumvent the impacts of the US-China trade war,' he said.
Held under the themed 'The OIC In A Transforming World', the meeting was attended by more than 40 foreign ministers from OIC's 57 member states.
The meeting also saw high-level participation from nearly 30 international organisations including UN, Arab League, Developing Eight (D-8), International Organisation for Migration and World Trade Organisation, reflecting the urgency of the current regional situation.
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The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
US, Israel crossed ‘big red line', Iran FM says heads to Moscow
ISTANBUL: The United States and Israel crossed a major red line in attacking Iran's nuclear facilities, Iran's top diplomat warned Sunday, saying he was heading to Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin. 'They crossed a very big red line by attacking (Iran's) nuclear facilities,' Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul. He was speaking just hours after President Donald Trump said US warplanes struck three Iranian nuclear sites, nine days into an Israeli bombing campaign targeting its nuclear facilities. 'The most dangerous one happened only last night,' Araghchi said, while acknowledging he did not know the full extent of the damage done in the strikes, including one at the underground uranium enrichment facility at Fordo. 'I still do not have exact information about the level of damages, but I don't think it matters... Last night's attack was a grave crime,' he said. 'Through this action, the United States has dealt a serious blow to international peace and security,' he said, vowing that Iran would defend itself 'by all means necessary against... US military aggression'. Araghchi said he would head to Moscow on Sunday and hold talks with Putin on Monday morning. 'I'm going to Moscow this afternoon' to hold 'serious consultations with the Russian president tomorrow', he said. After the strikes, Trump said Iran 'must now agree to end this war'. But Araghchi said any demand to return to negotiations was 'irrelevant'. 'The world must not forget that it was the United States which -- in the midst of a process to forge a diplomatic outcome -- betrayed diplomacy by supporting the genocidal Israeli regime's launch of an illegal war of aggression on the Iranian nation,' he said. 'So we were in diplomacy, but we were attacked... They have proved that they are not men of diplomacy, and they only understand the language of threat and force.' Turkey, which was hosting the weekend OIC summit, warned that the strikes risked escalating the Iran-Israel conflict to a global level that could have 'catastrophic' consequences. 'The ongoing developments could cause the regional conflict to escalate to a global level. We do not want this catastrophic scenario to come to life,' the foreign ministry said in a statement.


New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Despite clashes with US presidents, Netanyahu usually gets his way
A little over a month ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to have been shunted to the shadows by US President Donald Trump, who hopscotched the Middle East without visiting Israel, traditionally Washington's closest regional ally. Worse still, from Netanyahu's perspective, Trump lifted sanctions on neighbouring Syria - something Israel opposed - and talked up the prospects of securing a nuclear deal with Iran, something the prime minister has always cautioned against. Fast forward five weeks and the United States has bombed Iran's main nuclear installations, fulfilling a decades-old dream of Netanyahu to convince Washington to bring its full military might to thwart Teheran's atomic ambitions. The US attack underscores a broader truth that has defined Netanyahu's career: no matter how fraught his relationships with successive presidents, he normally ends up getting what he wants. For over three decades, Netanyahu has clashed - often spectacularly - with American leaders. He has lectured them, defied them, embarrassed them publicly and privately. And yet, across Democratic and Republican administrations, US military aid has flowed largely uninterrupted to Israel. Washington remains Israel's chief arms supplier and diplomatic shield. "He probably has concluded that he always gets away with it," said a senior United Nations official in Jerusalem who declined to be named. "It's hard to argue otherwise." Just one month ago, opposition leader Yair Lapid accused Netanyahu of destroying Israel's relations with the United States. This weekend's action represents the closest US-Israeli military alignment yet against a common adversary. Netanyahu's belief in his ability to advance his agenda, and withstand American pressure when needed, has deep roots. Barely a month after becoming prime minister for the first time in 1996, he met President Bill Clinton in Washington and immediately rubbed him up the wrong way. "Who the f–- does he think he is? Who's the f–-ing superpower here?" Clinton asked his aides afterwards, according to US diplomat Aaron David Miller, who was present. But vital US aid to Israel continued to flow - something that would remain a constant over the years. Netanyahu was voted out of office in a 1999 election and did not return to power until a decade later, by which time Barack Obama, a Democrat like Clinton, was in the White House. Relations between the two turned openly hostile, initially over Israeli settlement building in occupied territory that Palestinians claim for a future stake - a constant thorn in US-Israeli relations. Matters deteriorated further as Obama entered negotiations with Iran to curb its nuclear drive - a project that Israel said is aimed at creating atomic bombs and that Teheran has said is for purely civilian purposes. Netanyahu spoke to Congress in 2015 at the invitation of Republicans to denounce the prospective deal, without informing the White House. "(The accord) doesn't block Iran's path to the bomb; it paves Iran's path to the bomb," he said. Obama was widely reported to have been furious, but still, the following year Washington delivered the largest military aid package to Israel in US history - US$38 billion over 10 years. Political analysts say Netanyahu takes US support as a given, confident that backing from evangelical Christians and the small Jewish-American community will guarantee that Israel remains well-armed, however much he antagonises the White House. When Hamas fighters launched a surprise attack on Israel in October 2023, then-President Joe Biden flew to Israel to show his support, authorising a huge flow of weapons to help with the conflict unleashed in Gaza. But relations between Netanyahu, a right-winger, and Biden, a Democrat, deteriorated rapidly, as Washington grew alarmed by the spiralling number of civilian deaths and the burgeoning humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave. Biden held back on some heavy munitions deliveries and imposed sanctions on a number of violent Israeli settlers, so his defeat at the hands of Trump in last November's presidential election was celebrated by Netanyahu. Finally, he had a Republican in office at a crucial moment for Israel. However, things did not go smoothly, at least to start with. Like Biden before him, Trump was unhappy at the protracted conflict in Gaza and then he blindsided Netanyahu during a meeting on April 7, when he revealed that he was launching direct talks with Teheran aimed at finding a diplomatic solution to the protracted nuclear stand-off with Iran. But while Trump publicly positioned himself as a peacemaker, Netanyahu consistently pushed for military intervention. Although it is unclear if Netanyahu ever got him to say "yes" to Israel's war plans, it was at least not a "no", according to two senior US officials and a senior Israeli source. As soon as Israel launched its aerial war on Iran in the early hours of June 13, Israel pushed the United States to join in, urging Trump to be on the winning side of history, two Israeli officials said last week. The sense of relief when the US bombers struck Iran's most protected nuclear sites on Sunday was palpable. "Congratulations, President Trump. Your bold decision to target Iran's nuclear facilities with the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history," Netanyahu said in a brief video address.

Barnama
an hour ago
- Barnama
Iran Condemns US Attack On Nuclear Sites, Calls On Un Security Council To Act
WORLD Satellite image over Fordow, before the U.S. struck the underground nuclear facility, near Qom, Iran, June 2, 2025. 2025 Planet Labs PBC via REUTERS ANKARA, June 22 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- Iran condemned on Sunday United States (US) airstrikes on three nuclear sites and called on the United Nations Security Council to act, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported. In a statement, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said Iran reserves the right to resist 'US aggression and the crimes committed by this rogue regime' in defence of its national security following the US attacks. It called on the UN member states to condemn the US attack and urged restraint to avoid further escalation, warning that the situation could have far-reaching impacts on regional and global stability. 'The United States, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has committed a grave violation of the UN Charter, international law and the NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty) by attacking Iran's peaceful nuclear installations,' Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a statement. 'The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences. Each and every member of the UN must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behaviour,' he said. Highlighting Iran's right to respond, Araghchi emphasised, 'In accordance with the UN Charter and its provisions allowing a legitimate response in self-defence, Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interests, and people.' Iran's delegation to the United Nations also formally called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Sunday to discuss the US strikes. In a letter submitted to the Council carried by Fars News Agency, the Iranian delegation urged 'immediate action and the adoption of necessary measures under the framework of the United Nations Charter.' The letter emphasised the need to hold 'the perpetrators of these heinous crimes fully accountable' to ensure that such acts do not go unpunished.