Latest news with #WestAsia
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Iran seeks to help rebuild Lebanon, potentially strengthen Hezbollah
This is an important meeting because it shows Iran is seeking to redouble efforts to involve itself in Lebanon after it saw setbacks last year in Israel's war on Hezbollah and the fall of Assad. Iran's Foreign MinisterAbbas Araghchi met with his Lebanese counterpart Youssef Rajji in Beirut this week. This is an important meeting because it shows Iran is seeking to redouble efforts to involve itself in Lebanon after it saw setbacks last year in Israel's war on Hezbollah and the fall of the Assad regime. Iran's state media noted 'upon his arrival at Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport on Tuesday morning, he told reporters that in its foreign policy, the Islamic Republic of Iran prioritizes its relations with neighboring states, West Asian nations, and friendly countries.' The Iranian minister flew into Beirut after his meetings in Cairo. It should be clear that Iran is seeking to surround Israel on this trip, going to countries that border Israel. Egypt has ties to Israel. Lebanon does not. However, Israel has been carrying out strikes on Hezbollah since a ceasefire in November 2024. Iran's Foreign Minister said 'that Iranian companies are ready to assist in Lebanon's reconstruction, reaffirming Iran's support for Lebanon's sovereignty and unity against occupation.' IRNA noted that Iran is ready to take part in reconstruction efforts and to improve economic ties with Lebanon. This comes after Lebanon's president was in Iraq and after Lebanon's prime minister has made comments about having arms in Lebanon be in the hands of the state. Lebanon appears to be trying to confront Hezbollah, slowly, bit-by-bit. Iran doesn't want that to happen. 'During a press conference in Beirut on Tuesday, Araghchi reiterated Iran's strong backing for Lebanon's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, highlighting Iran's commitment to fostering relations built on mutual respect, common interests, non-interference in domestic affairs, and regional stability,' IRNA noted. Iran also slammed Israel for 'occupation' of part of Lebanon. Iran says it gives 'support for all efforts by Lebanon's government and people to end the occupation through diplomatic or other means.' Iran's foreign minister said that "Iranian companies are ready to engage in this reconstruction effort, and if the Lebanese administration wishes, it will be conducted through its government." Iran's top diplomat also met with Lebanese president Joseph Aoun. 'The Foreign Minister said that the final victory will belong to the Lebanese people and the resistance front, and that the defeat of the Israeli regime is certain and inevitable,' IRNA noted. The Iranian also paid tribute to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike. 'He pointed out that the martyrdom of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah will not only not disrupt the path of resistance, but will also further strengthen its power and determination,' the report said. He also said that Iran's late leader Ayatollah Khomeini had 'taught us that blood triumphs over the sword.' He went on to say "accordingly, I believe that the final victory will belong to the Lebanese people and the resistance front, and the defeat of the Zionist regime is certain and inevitable.'
LBCI
a day ago
- General
- LBCI
Iran's Araghchi visits Beirut reaffirms support for Lebanon's sovereignty
Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, arrived in Beirut from Egypt on Tuesday for an official visit, during which he will hold talks with senior Lebanese officials. 'I'm very pleased to have the opportunity to visit Lebanon again and meet with its leaders and people,' Araghchi said upon arriving. In remarks, Araghchi emphasized that 'the Islamic Republic of Iran places top priority on neighboring countries, West Asia, and our friends in the region' in its foreign policy. He described Iran's relationship with Lebanon as 'historic and deeply rooted,' noting it has 'always been friendly and based on mutual respect.' He said Tehran is committed to maintaining and strengthening those ties 'based on mutual respect and shared interests.' Araghchi also underlined Iran's support for Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity, saying, 'We have always supported Lebanon's independence, and we continue to do so during these difficult times.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Iranian Army, IRGC Threaten Decisive Response to Any Aggression
The Iranian Army and the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) separately warned on Saturday adversaries of Iran that they would receive a decisive response in case of any act of aggression against their country. The warning came in two separate statements to mark the anniversary of the Iranian army's liberation of Khorramshahr, a southern city captured during the 1980-88 war with Iraq. It also came amid reports that Israel is drawing up plans for a rapid military strike against Iranian nuclear sites. IRGC said it works in synergy with the other Iranian armed forces to give a decisive response to any hostile action. It warned that its reaction to the acts of aggression will be beyond the enemy's imagination. The Revolutionary Guards statement also said that any aggression would provoke a retaliatory strike powerful enough to shift the strategic balance of power in west Asia. In the meantime, a statement by Iran's Army said that alongside other armed forces, it is prepared to defend the territorial integrity, independence, and security of the country and will never allow the evil dreams of the sworn enemies of this land to come true. 'The army will defend this land to the last drop of blood and will spare no effort in the path of the pride and honor of Islamic Iran,' it said. Position of Strength 'If we want (nuclear) talks to end in our favor, we must confront the Americans from a position of strength and have the finger of our armed forces on the trigger during negotiations,' former head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Fereydoun Abbasi, told ISNA on Saturday. 'Today, nuclear weapons aim to achieve a balance of power' rather than a military purpose. 'The Muslim world must have its own strength to confront the arrogant West,' Abbasi said. Last Thursday, Tehran's Revolutionary Guards said Israel will receive a 'devastating and decisive response' if it attacks Iran, days after CNN reported US intelligence suggesting Israel was making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities. Israeli Preparations The reports were confirmed by two Israeli sources who told Axios that Tel Aviv is making preparations to swiftly strike Iran's nuclear facilities if negotiations between the US and Iran collapse. 'Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a highly sensitive meeting earlier this week with a group of top ministers and security and intelligence officials regarding the status of the nuclear talks,' an Israeli official said. The two sources confirmed a CNN report that the Israeli army have been conducting exercises and other preparations for a possible strike in Iran. 'There was a lot of training and the US military sees everything and understands Israel is preparing,' one said. Key Points of Contention On Friday, Iran and the United States held a fifth round of Oman-mediated nuclear talks in Rome, but with no breakthrough reported. However, both sides still described the meeting as constructive and expressed a willingness to continue the discussions. AFP said that one of the main obstacles seen to be hampering progress is Iran's enrichment of uranium. The United States and Western countries suspect Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, but Iran denies having such ambitions. Iran remains the only non-nuclear state enriching uranium to 60%, well above the 3.67% limit set under its 2015 accord with Western powers, but below the 90% needed for weapons-grade material. The deal was torpedoed in 2018 during President Donald Trump's first term when he unilaterally withdrew the United States from the accord. On April 27, Netanyahu urged Washington to block not only Iran's enrichment of uranium but also its missile development under any possible deal. Before the negotiations began, some analysts suggested the US might seek a broader deal that also addressed Iran's ballistic missile program. They believed the talks might touch on Tehran's support for the 'axis of resistance,' the network of anti-Israel armed groups that includes Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and Yemen's Houthi militias. Tehran has criticised what it calls 'irrational' demands by Washington and inconsistent signals from US officials. Iran opposes non-nuclear issues being discussed in the talks, citing its sovereign rights and defence needs. Even with diplomacy under way, the United States has imposed new sanctions on Iran. Tehran denounces what it calls Washington's 'hostile approach,' noting that new sanctions were imposed just ahead of negotiations taking place.
The Herald
12-05-2025
- Business
- The Herald
Lessons from Armenia to engineer a better future for youth
Armenia is a West Asian country that is a bit like Lesotho. Like Lesotho, it is landlocked and not super-endowed with natural minerals. It has a population of 2.7-million people, while Lesotho has about 2.2-million. Like Lesotho's working people, most Armenians leave their home country to seek jobs elsewhere. Armenia has done something spectacular: it teaches its children mathematics. Before the collapse of communism 35 years ago, it was one of the mathematics hubs of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). It continued the traditions in the post-Soviet era and is known for 'exporting' mathematicians, engineers, scientists, programmers, coders and other tech boffins across the globe. Now, listen to this carefully: The BBC reported recently that, 11 years ago, Armenia launched a school programme, in partnership with the private sector, called 'Armath' (which means 'root' in English). It teaches children programming, robotics, coding, 3D modelling and other subjects. There are now 650 Armath laboratories in schools across Armenia, with more than 600 teachers and 17,000 students writing code and inventing apps and gadgets of all kinds. Armath started because the country wanted 'to see Armenia becoming a tech centre powerhouse that delivers utmost values to Armenia and to the world'. And in just 11 years it is headed there: Armenia, with just 2.7-million people, has 4,000 tech firms (SA has 650). 'One floated in New York in December 2024, and is now worth more than $10bn (R182.1bn),' the BBC article said. What does this tell us? A country needs a vision, a strategy and the political will to see that strategy through. Armenia had that will, hence the success of the programme. Last week, I came across a story that broke my heart. We come across so many of these heartbreaking stories in SA and the world these days that we tend to ignore them. They have become normalised. I came across one such story last Thursday, and it reminded me that we must not stop raging against such betrayal of SA's poorest and most vulnerable. The story is particularly cutting because it is an assault on our children, the people who will inherit this place. It showed how we are robbing them of a future. Depressingly, there is no outrage, no noise, no shock or horror at this story. The ministry of education announced last week that 464 public schools do not offer mathematics to their pupils. Yes, 464 schools do not offer maths to pupils. Of these schools, 135 are in KwaZulu-Natal, 84 in the Eastern Cape, 78 in Limpopo and 61 are in the Western Cape. The rest are in Gauteng and the North West (31 schools each), the Northern Cape with 19, the Free State with 14 and Mpumalanga with 11. It's not as if this is a new problem: the percentage of pupils opting for maths declined from 46% in 2011 to 34% in 2023. In 2024, only 255,762 pupils registered for the subject, down from 268,100 in 2023. The education ministry said 'schools may not have sufficient resources or demand to offer both mathematics and mathematical literacy'. Let us be perfectly clear and honest with each other here. This is not about lack of teachers. This is about leadership. Our political 'leaders' have for 31 years not cared about the education of our children and still do not care today. If they cared, then education, and maths education in particular, would have been top of their agenda. As these statistics show, they do not care. Over the past 30 years, our political leaders sent their children to 'formerly white' schools and abandoned township and rural schools. Local councillors, teachers, principals, packed their children into dangerous minibus taxis to schools in the formerly white suburbs. Township and rural schools were left to rot without teachers to lead pupils in maths or science. This lack of leadership, this lack of a plan to make every school in rural areas and in townships a centre of excellence, is where we failed. This is a spectacular failure of vision, strategy and leadership. Many of our politicians run around telling poor people to kick out foreigners who run shops in townships. What these politicians don't say is that we have stripped many of our own children of the ability to run their own spaza shops. They can't count, add, multiply or divide, let alone determine a profit margin on a packet of sweets. We tell our children to be entrepreneurs, yet we strip them of the ability to even start. That this is not a national emergency underlines just how awfully inadequate and ill-equipped for leadership our politicians are. We are faced with a disaster here. This is how countries collapse. This is why teeny-weeny countries like Armenia manage to wipe the floor with us in every way. We are led by people who have no clue what it takes to build a successful, prosperous and durable country.
Jordan Times
09-05-2025
- Health
- Jordan Times
Medical liability conference, medical tourism expo open in Amman
From right to left, Commercial Attache' at the Turkish Embassy in Amman Mehmet Oral, WACML CEO and Founder Nasser Abu Rumman and Deputy Director General of Jordan Tourism Board Wael Roussan listen to a representative of a company taking part in the Medical Tourism Expo held by WACML in Amman on Thursday (Photo courtesy WACML) AMMAN — Under the patronage of the Jordan Tourism Board and with the participation of 30 companies specializing in health and medical tourism, the International Medical Liability Conference and a medical tourism exhibition kicked off in Amman Thursday. Organized by West Asia Consultancy for Medical Liability (WACML) and also sponsored by the Turkish embassy in Amman, the dual event was inaugurated by Mr. Mehmet Oral, the Commercial Attaché at the Turkish Embassy. The conference, which uniquely combines the themes of medical liability and medical tourism, was presented as a milestone in a drive to enhance cooperation and integration among West Asian countries across sectors related to healthcare, medical tourism, and health insurance. In his opening remarks, the conference chairman and CEO of WACML, Dr. Nasser Abu Rumman, emphasized: 'Medical liability is the cornerstone of building trust between patients and healthcare institutions. Systems that guarantee transparency and accountability contribute to improving service quality, reducing medical errors, and protecting the rights of both patients and healthcare workers.' He added that this trust plays a vital role in attracting international patients seeking safe medical environments and institutions committed to ethical and legal standards, in addition to competent medical teams and quality services. He concluded: 'This conference is designed to serve as a professional and academic platform to address key challenges and opportunities in the realm of medical liability—particularly legislative and regulatory aspects—while showcasing international experiences and fostering collaboration across the medical, insurance, tourism, and economic sectors.' Alongside the conference sessions, the specialized medical tourism exhibition provides a 'valuable opportunity' for medical institutions, insurance companies, treatment centers, and tourism agencies to present their services and achievements. The exhibition aims to facilitate strategic partnerships, expand business networks, and encourage innovation in the services offered. The conference and exhibition will run over two days, with panellists participating in the conference scheduled to address a wide range of issues and challenges related to medical liability and medical tourism.
