by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Hassan Rouhani
Vienna : Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who’s on a visit here on Wednesday, said that no one will get benefits from US withdrawal from the nuclear deal.
“Not the US, not any other country would benefit from this decision to withdraw from the accord,” he said.
He told a press conference that Tehran would prefer to stay in the deal and continue to cooperate and meet its obligations, if the remaining signatories respect its interests, Xinhua reported.
Rouhani was in Vienna on Wednesday on his second leg of his European tour, which also brought him to Switzerland.
As the United States is reinstating sanctions on Iran, Rouhani is trying to seek supports from EU countries to secure Tehran’s interests under the nuclear deal.
Iran signed the landmark nuclear deal (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) with the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China plus Germany in 2015 to halt its nuclear weapons program in exchange for sanctions relief.
However, US President Donald Trump decided on May 8 to quit the deal and vowed to re-impose sanctions, including oil embargo, on Tehran, on grounds that the deal had failed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons or supporting terrorism in the region.
The US withdrawal from the landmark nuclear deal has been widely criticized, as some of its major European allies have been working to prevent the 2015 deal from falling apart.
Rouhani also discussed other issues in the Middle East region with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Hassan Rouhani
Tehran : Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said here on Monday that Iran attaches high importance to ties with Europe after the US exit from the landmark 2015 Iranian nuclear deal in May.
“Now that the Americans have exited the JCPOA (the nuclear deal) in breach of international rules and their multi-lateral commitments, communication and negotiation with Europe enjoy a special position,” Rouhani told reporters in the capital Tehran before heading to Switzerland on Monday, Xinhua reported.
Rouhani is visiting the European country at the official invitation of his Swiss counterpart.
During his trip, the Iranian president will discuss a host of topics of mutual interest and is expected to discuss the future of nuclear agreement and Iran’s interests therewith, Press TV reported.
One of the key subjects on the agenda is a package which the Europeans are expected to offer to Iran in order to keep Tehran in the nuclear deal, also known as JCPOA.
From Switzerland, the Iranian president will travel to Austria where he will meet President Alexander Van der Bellen and Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
Rouhani said “Europe’s current situation is to some extent different from the past. Europe is opposing unilateralism with a louder voice, and expressing readiness to cooperate with Iran and other important and influential countries on regional and international issues.”
“We will negotiate with Austria (over the JCPOA) as the president of the EU,” he said.
Rouhani is also expected to discuss other issues, including the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.
“The oppression which has been imposed on Syria and the crimes being committed against the Yemeni people, as well as the entire world’s responsibility vis-a-vis these issues, and the role which Iran can play in strengthening stability in the Middle East” will also be discussed, said Rouhani.
Iran will also sign documents for cooperation in the industrial, commercial, healthcare, education, and water resources management fields with Switzerland and Austria, he added.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Tehran : Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday warned his US counterpart Donald Trump that abandoning a nuclear deal that the Tehran government signed with world powers in 2015 would lead to “serious consequences”.
Speaking live on television, Rouhani said his government had kept its end of the deal and warned Trump not to tear up the agreement, which had also been signed by Russia, China, Germany, the UK and France.
“I am telling those in the White House that if they do not live up to their commitments, the Iranian government will react firmly,” Rouhani said.
“If anyone betrays the deal, they should know that they would face severe consequences,” he added.
Trump has said that unless the US’ European allies put right what he has described as “terrible flaws” in the deal by May 12, his government would re-establish economic sanctions on Iran, dealing the pact a major blow, Xinhua news agency reported.
Rouhani stressed that Iran was complying with the deal, as has been confirmed a dozen times by the International Atomic Energy Agency, whose Director General Yukiya Amano said in March that a possible failure of the agreement would be a great loss.
French President Emmanuel Macron was in Washington in an attempt to try and persuade Trump not to walk away from the accord.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday he had agreed with his Chinese counterpart that Moscow and Beijing would try to block any US attempt to wreck the nuclear deal.
Iran has said it would ramp up its nuclear programme if the deal collapses.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, Corporate Governance, News, Politics
New Delhi : India and Iran on Saturday pledged to stop the forces of terrorism and extremism, delinking it from religion and agreed that there should be an end to terror sanctuaries even as the two countries broad-based their relationship by signing nine agreements, including one on connectivity relating to the strategic Chabahar port.
Reflecting the deepening of ties between the two countries, visiting Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who held one-on-one and delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said energy and transportation were two great potentials for building strategic cooperation between Iran and India.
In his remarks at a joint press conference with his guest, Modi spoke of the Sufi links between the two countries and the determination to tackle terror.
“People of both India and Iran believe in peace and tolerance drawing from the values of Sufi philosophy. Taking into account our mutual benefits, we are both committed to stop the forces of terrorism, extremism, illegal drug trafficking, cyber crime and other international crimes,” Modi said.
Rouhani described terrorism as a problem not only for the entire region but for the whole world saying: “We must fight the roots of terrorism which are mainly intellectual and cultural stemming from promoting extremist, violent ideas and we are ready to cooperate with friendly countries, including India, in this field.”
He said relations between India and Iran were “not detrimental to any country and there are vast opportunities and potentials to deepen ties between the two countries that must be taken the best advantage of to contribute to a better future for the two nations and the region”.
A joint statement issued after the talks said the two leaders welcomed the growing interaction between their National Security Councils and agreed to enhance regular and institutionalised consultations between them and others concerned on terrorism, security and related issues such as organised crime, money-laundering, drug trafficking and cyber crime.
According to Deepak Mittal, Joint Secretary (Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran), the two sides shared their concern over terrorism and agreed that this global menace cannot be linked to any religion.
“The two sides discussed both the regional and international situation,” Mittal said while briefing the media after the talks.
“There was a unanimity between both sides that terrorism needs to be condemned and there should be an end to sanctuaries for terrorism,” he said.
Modi congratulated Rouhani for his leadership in the development of the “golden gateway” of Chabahar port in Iran that has boosted connectivity to landlocked Afghanistan and Central Asian countries.
Rouhani said Chabahar port, as a bridge connecting India to Afghanistan, Central Asia and Eastern Europe can further strengthen historical ties between the two countries and the entire region.
“Transit ties between the two countries will create multilateral and regional potentials with the countries of the region and we are ready to have trilateral and multilateral agreements to turn the transit route from Chabahar into a strategic route for regional relations,” he said.
Stressing that Iran can supply India’s energy needs within the framework of long-term strategic contracts, the Iranian President said: “These long-term contracts in the fields of energy and transportation will make the two countries strategic and trustful partners.”
During Modi’s visit to Tehran in 2016, India, Iran and Afghanistan signed a trilateral agreement to jointly develop the Chabahar port. The first phase of the port became operational in December last when the first consignment of wheat from India to Afghanistan was sent through it, bypassing Pakistan.
Among the agreements signed on Saturday, one was a lease contract between Port and Maritime Organisation (PMO), Iran and India Ports Global Limited (IPGL) which envisages IPGL taking over the operations of a part of the area of the multipurpose and container terminal for a period of 18 months.
Modi assured India’s support for the development of the Chabahar-Zahedan railway line to harness the full potential of the Chabahar port.
Apart from the one on connectivity, the other agreements signed included double taxation avoidance, an instrument of ratification that that brings into effect the extradition agreement that the two sides had signed in 2008 and cooperation in the areas of health, traditional systems of medicine and agriculture and allied sectors and establishment of an expert group on trade remedy measures.
In his address, Modi said that both India and Iran want to see their close neighbour Afghanistan as a “peaceful, secure, stable, prosperous and pluralistic country”.
“We want to see our region and the world free of terrorism,” he said.
He also said that both sides wanted to increase cooperation in the areas of economy, connectivity and energy while strengthening the age old cultural ties.
According to Mittal, the two sides discussed taking energy cooperation beyond the buyer-seller relationship.
Stating that a number of issues in this connection were discussed and some decisions taken, the Prime Minister said: “Whether it be tax or investment, effective banking channels or cooperation between trade bodies, we have taken several significant steps for the future.”
The agreement on avoidance of double taxation aims at promoting flow of investment and services between the two countries.
Modi said that the talks also focused on people-to-people exchange, while noting that this continues between the students and intellectuals of the two countries.
“We also discussed solutions to the problems faced by fishermen and seafarers,” he said
“We discussed cooperation in new areas like infrastructure, health, traditional medicine, agriculture, labour, entrepreneurship and communication.”
Modi and Rouhani also released a joint postage stamp depicting the Kandla port in India and the Chabahar port.
Rouhani, who arrived here on Friday evening from Hyderabad, was a accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. This is the first presidential visit from Iran to India in 10 years.
Later, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also called on the visiting dignitary.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Iran President Hassan Rouhani arrives at the historical Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad on Friday. (Image – The Hindu)
Hyderabad : With a call for unity among Muslims across the world and the announcement of his readiness to simplify visa procedure for Indians, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Friday wound up the first leg of his India visit.
In a rare gesture, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who is a senior Shia cleric too, visited the historic Makkah Masjid, a Sunni mosque, to offer Friday prayers and called for unity among Muslims across the world.
Addressing the congregation after the prayers, he said unity among Shias, Sunnis and other Islamic denominations was only solution to the problems faced by the Muslim world.
Rouhani urged Muslims to treat all human beings with love and affection in the true spirit of Islam.
On the second day of his three-day visit to India, he joined common worshippers in offering prayers at the 17th century mosque, noting that Friday prayers symbolize the unity among Muslims as they come together to pray.
“If Islam is presented before the world in true sense, then the whole world will love this religion,” he said.
He underlined the need for tolerance and for recognizing all Islamic denominations and respecting them. “They all can be compared to streams which come from a single spring and all these streams eventually into one ocean,” he said.
Alleging that enemies of Islam were creating rift among Muslims, he said the message of Iran was peace and unity.
His visit to the mosque and call for unity is significant as Tehran is locked in a bitter proxy conflict with Saudi Arabia and its allies in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
The Iranian leader said the massacres in schools and university campuses in the US show that materialistic civilization is no guarantee for human welfare and development.
He condemned the travel ban imposed by the US on some Islamic countries by branding Muslims as terrorists. He said Islam is based on kindness and affection.
He quoted Quran to say that the light of Allah can never be extinguished. “Despite all hostilities towards Islam the future belongs to Islam and future belongs to Asia,” he added.
Rouhani announced that Tehran is ready to simplify visa procedures and hoped India will reciprocate to facilitate easy movement of people between the two countries.
Stating that India and Iran share many commonalities, he called for further strengthening bilateral ties.
He said Iran with its rich resources of oil and gas was ready to help India to meet its requirements.
He announced that Iran was ready to allow India access to Chabahar Port to facilitate transit to Afghanistan, Central Asia and Europe.
Rouhani said Iran and India can cooperate in areas like industry, agriculture and advanced technology and take steps to contribute to the interests of both the countries and the region.
Earlier, the Iranian delegation led by the President visited Qutub Shahi tombs here. They went around the Qutub Shahi tombs complex, housing mausoleums of rulers of the Qutub Shahi Dynasty (1518-1687) who had Iranian lineage.
Rouhani had addressed Muslim leaders and religious scholars after landing here on Thursday on a three-day visit to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He addressed a meeting of Iranians settled in Hyderabad on Friday evening before leaving for New Delhi.
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Governor E. S. L. Narasimhan, Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mohammad Mahmood Ali and senior officials saw him off at Begumpet Airport in the city.
In Delhi, Rouhani will hold bilateral talks with Modi on Saturday. He will also call on President Ram Nath Kovind.
—IANS
