https://www.middleeastmonitor.com Latest news from the Middle East and North Africa Tue, 08 Aug 2023 13:42:37 +0000 en-GB Middle East Monitor 30 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2 https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/favicon.png?fit=32%2C32&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com 32 32 116394717 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230714-irans-diplomatic-drive-raisis-focus-on-the-global-south/ Fri, 14 Jul 2023 07:55:35 +0000 , Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=652188 It's been quite a busy year for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in terms of diplomatic engagement. In February he made an official state visit to China, where 20 agreements were signed, in addition to receiving pledges from President Xi Jinping to strengthen security and economic cooperation – more on that later. Beijing was also the venue where Raisi's administration agreed to resume diplomatic relations with regional rival Saudi Arabia the following month. In May, Raisi visited close regional ally Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and signed long-term cooperation agreements. During his visit, Raisi also symbolically prayed at the historic Umayyad Mosque, achieving a gesture that Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan once famously vowed to do in 2014 at the height of […]]]> 652188 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230624-weighing-expansion-brics-increasingly-draws-membership-requests/ Sat, 24 Jun 2023 15:36:09 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=646894 The BRICS group, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, continues to attract applications from numerous countries as it explores expansion opportunities, Anadolu Agency reports. Anadolu compiled the developments regarding the enlargement process of BRICS. Amid the search for a multipolar world, Brazil, Russia, India and China laid the foundations in 2009, with South Africa joining in 2010. BRICS, while criticising the unequal structures and resolutions of the Group of Seven (G-7) and the UN Security Council, calls for reforms in international structures and norms to establish a multipolar order. With a combined population representing nearly 42 per cent of the world's population, the BRICS countries control 18 per cent of global exports. The collective gross domestic product (GDP) of […]]]> 646894 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230609-iran-president-to-visit-3-us-sanctioned-latin-american-countries-to-bolster-ties/ Fri, 09 Jun 2023 14:11:42 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=643879 Iran's President, Ebrahim Raisi, will lead a high-ranking government delegation on a maiden three-nation tour of Latin America on Sunday as his administration seeks expansion of ties with "friendly countries", Anadolu Agency reports. Accompanied by ministers of foreign affairs, defence, oil, and health, Raisi will visit Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, the three nations that shared close ties with Iran and also are at odds with the US. Hassan Rouhani was the last Iranian president to visit Venezuela and Cuba in 2016, while his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, had visited Nicaragua in 2007. According to Iran's state media, the three-nation Latin American tour, the first since Raisi came to power in 2021, seeks expansion of Iran's "economic, political and scientific cooperation" with […]]]> 643879 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230608-iran-president-to-visit-three-latin-american-countries-next-week/ Thu, 08 Jun 2023 13:20:19 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=643450 Iranian President, Ebrahim Raisi, will visit Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela next week, Iran's state news agency, IRNA, announced on Wednesday, adding that the upcoming tour stemmed from invites from the presidents of each of the Latin American nations, Reuters reports. IRNA said documents to expand bilateral cooperation will be signed between Iran and the three countries during Raisi's visit, mentioning economic, political and scientific issues, but without going into further detail. The state news agency said Raisi will leave Tehran on 11 June. The three-country tour will give Raisi face time with three regional allies, each of whom lead leftist governments that have been accused by critics of human rights violations. Iran and Venezuela are both members of the Organisation […]]]> 643450 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230503-the-palestinian-cause-and-argentinas-equidistant-policy/ Wed, 03 May 2023 14:07:00 +0000 , Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=632759 Although geographically distant, Argentina has a history of solidarity with Palestine. Before the approval of the UN Partition Plan for Palestine in 1947, the South American country was a contender as a possible location for a "national home for the Jews". This idea appeared in Theodor Herzl's The Jewish State published in 1896. Argentina was identified as one of the options for the Zionist project, along with Palestine, due to the fertility of its lands and its small population at that time. According to the Zionist ideologue, Argentina was "one of the most fertile countries in the world, [that] extends over a vast area, has a sparse population, and a mild climate." Herzl believed that, "The Argentine Republic would derive […]]]> 632759 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220206-cuba-venezuela-and-nicaragua-the-us-russia-conflict-enters-a-new-phase/ Sun, 06 Feb 2022 10:47:06 +0000 , Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=532931 As soon as Moscow received an American response to its security demands in Ukraine, it answered indirectly by announcing greater military integration between it and three South American countries, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba. Washington's response, on 26 January, to Russia's demands of withdrawing NATO forces from Eastern Europe and ending talks about a possible Kyiv membership in the US-led alliance, was noncommittal. For its part, the US spoke of 'a diplomatic path', which will address Russian demands through 'confidence-building measures'. For Russia, such elusive language is clearly a non-starter. On that same day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced, in front of the Duma, Russia's parliament, that his country "has agreed with the leaders of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua to […]]]> 532931 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210429-syria-to-invite-friendly-states-to-observe-presidential-elections/ Thu, 29 Apr 2021 12:51:32 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=468547 The Syrian People's Assembly yesterday agreed to invite friendly Arab and foreign parliaments to observe the presidential elections scheduled in May, local media reported. SANA news agency said the parliaments of Russia, Algeria, Oman, Mauritania, Iran, Armenia, China, Venezuela, Cuba, Belarus, South Africa, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Bolivia will be invited to observe the elections. President Bashar Al-Assad recently met with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and briefed him on preparations for the elections. Both Iran and Russia have confirmed their support for holding presidential elections in Syria, in accordance with the country's constitution. READ: 14 candidates for Syria presidency in addition to Assad ]]> 468547 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200710-nicaragua-rejects-israels-annexation-plans-stands-with-palestine/ Fri, 10 Jul 2020 15:04:17 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=409776 Nicaragua rejected Israel's plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank warning there will be no peace and stability in the region until the Palestinian people establish an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital. An official statement delivered by the Nicaraguan government noted that it has been monitoring with concern Israel's recent actions and violations that are fueling potential instability in order to implement its illegal annexation plans. The Central American country affirmed the international consensus regarding the application of international law and the terms of reference of the peace process. It has therefore become necessary to redouble efforts towards achieving the two-state solution to prevent the conflict worsening to unprecedented levels, urged the Nicaraguan government. READ: Why did Netanyahu […]]]> 409776