Diplomatic Cross

Prime Minister Imran Khan is expected to make his first official visit to Saudi Arabia next week. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in contact with Saudi officials for the prime minister's visit. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have shared close ties. On August 12, Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz congratulated PM Imran on his victory. The Saudi king also extended goodwill for the development and welfare of the people of Pakistan. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has expressed the Kingdom's interest in investing heavily in a bid to strengthen its trade ties with Pakistan. In the recent past, Prime Minister Imran said that bilateral ties between the two countries would be further strengthened, adding that the leaders of both countries would also visit each other’s country soon in this regard. Can PM Khan Visit will meltdown the relation between IRAN and KSA? Iran is attempting to reset its relationship with its eastern neighbor. Iran was one of the first countries to congratula...

Iran’s supreme leader said Monday there would be neither war nor negotiations with the United States, and that the country’s problems were the result of government mismanagement more than renewed sanctions. Tehran-Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s comments add to the pressure on President Hassan Rouhani following a collapse in the currency and widespread protests over high prices and corruption. They also appeared to rule out any hope of fresh talks with Washington, which US President Donald Trump had proposed after walking out of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal and reimposing sanctions. “Beside sanctions, they are talking about war and negotiations… let me say a few words to the people: THERE WILL BE NO WAR, NOR WILL WE NEGOTIATE WITH THE U.S.,” Khamenei said via his official Twitter account in English. There was also a show of military resolve as Defence Minister Amir Hatami unveiled a next-generation short-range ballistic missile and vowed to further boost the country’s ...

China has rejected a US demand to cut Iranian oil imports despite Washington’s attempts to bring down the Islamic Republic's oil sales to zero, Bloomberg reports. Bejing-The financial news provider quoted informed officials on Friday as saying that the US had been unable to persuade China to cut Iranian oil imports and that Beijing's purchases from Tehran last month remained unchanged.  This is a blow to US President Donald Trump’s efforts to isolate Iran after his withdrawal from a 2015 nuclear deal with the country, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), they said.  Beijing, however, agreed not to increase purchases of Iranian crude, said the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the multilateral deal with Iran in May and announced plans to reimpose sanctions on the Islamic Republic, that would eliminate Tehran's oil revenues.  China - the world’s top crude buyer...

‘The US can’t decide for the world:’ Rouhani rejects Pompeo’s Iran demands DC-Web Desk-Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has rejected demands made of Tehran by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, vowing to continue “our path,” insisting that the era when the US could “decide for the world” is over. The US government has regressed 15 years, back to “Bush Jr.’s era” and is once again trying to dictate its will on the entire world, Rouhani said as he rejected Washington's Monday ultimatum. Who are you to decide for Iran and the world? The world today does not accept America to decide for the world, as countries are independent ... that era is over ... We will continue our path with the support of our nation,” Rouhani said, as quoted by ILNA news agency. Pompeo’s speech signaled a huge step back for the whole foreign policy of the US, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said on his Twitter page. “US diplomacy sham is merely a regression to old habits: imprisoned by delusio...

 Raheb Homavandi / Reuters Tehran will struggle to “keep its economy alive” if it does not comply with a list of 12 US demands, including Iranian withdrawal from Syria, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed on Monday. Speaking at the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing Washington think tank, Pompeo laid out a list of 12 “basic requirements” for Iran. The demands call on Iran to withdraw from Syria, "release all US citizens," end support for Houthi rebels in Yemen, stop “enrichment" of uranium, and promise never to process plutonium. Iran must also allow "unqualified access to all nuclear sites throughout the country," Pompeo said. He promised that the US would impose the "strongest sanctions in history" if Iran failed to comply with these demands. Demands from #Iran , Pompeo: •Close heavy water reactors •Allow IAEA inspectors everywhere •End ballistic missile  •Release US citizens  •End support to Hezbollah, Hamas, IJ...

 Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have reaffirmed their commitment to preserving a 2015 landmark nuclear agreement despite the US move to pull out of it, the Kremlin says. Web Desk | The Russian and German leaders held a telephone conversation on Friday, few days after US President Donald Trump defied protests and last-minute lobbying by his European partners and unilaterally decided to withdraw from the historic nuclear accord, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and impose new sanctions on Tehran. "I am announcing today that the United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal," Trump said Tuesday in a televised address from the White House. “This was a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made.” Kremlin quoted a statement issued following the call as saying that Putin and Merkel discussed the situation around the nuclear deal "following the unilateral withdrawal...

Turkey's trade minister rejects the impression of reducing Iran's trade and said that the withdrawal of the US from Iran nuclear deal is an "opportunity" for Turkey. Trump announced the separation of the agreement and said that new sanctions will be imposed on Iran. Turkish Minister Netanyahu Zebakzai said, "I am seeing it as an opportunity for Turkey and I will continue to trade with Iran." He said that if the UN comes with a decision on nuclear activities and other matters relating to Iran, then trade will be continued with them. On the other hand, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke to the Russian President Vladimir Putin on the matter on the phone and both the leaders declared this decision as an American mistake. Neighborhood Zejakzai criticized the United States's unanimous decision and said, "I do not see a big problem at this time," as the countries of the European Union, besides the United States, are not with t...

To talk about the future of Iran's nuclear deal, Frederick Mogerney will hold a meeting in Brussels on Tuesday, EU Foreign Minister, UK, France and Germany. This statement has been issued by the European Union Foreign Affairs Department, which has been said that Iran's Foreign Minister Jawad Zafar will meet all three foreign ministers and senior officials of the European Union. Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Bruno Ley Meyer has said that Europe did not consider America as "the economic policeman of the world," and emphasized that the next step in Iran's agreement was to develop the French interests Be considered In an interview to 'Europe One Radio' on Friday, Leir Meyer said European countries should defend their "economic power". German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday that the separation of the United States from the nuclear deal will cause a sense of confidence in global thinking. However, he said that there is no need ...

ANDREW HARRER/BLOOMBERG/FILE 2016 Washington (Diplomatic Cross) Former Secretary of State John Kerry has been engaging in shadow diplomacy to try to preserve the Iran nuclear deal, a major diplomatic achievement of his, according to a new report. Over recent months, Kerry has been holding meetings and speaking with big players in the Iran nuclear agreement, who, like Kerry, do not want President Donald Trump to withdraw the US from the deal,  The Boston Globe  reported. Citing a person briefed on the meetings, the Globe reported that Kerry had met with Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif at the United Nations in New York two weeks ago, their second meeting in about two months, to discuss ways of keeping the deal limiting Iran's nuclear weapons program intact. e former secretary of state also met last month with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, separately sat down with French President Emmanuel Macron in both Paris and New York, and spoke on the phone with...

ما نیٹرنگ ڈسک - امریکہ کے وزیر خارجہ مائیک پومپیو مشرق وسطیٰ کے دورے کے لیے ہفتے کو سعودی عرب پہنچے تھے۔ اس دورے کا مقصد امریکہ کی طرف سے ایران پر نئی تعزیرات عائد کرنے کے لیے حمایت حاصل کرنا ہے۔ پومپیو کے بطور وزیر خارجہ حلف اٹھانے کے دو دن کے بعد ریاض، یروشلم اور عمان کا ان کا یہ دورہ ایک ایسے وقت ہورہا ہے جب صدر ڈونلڈ ٹرمپ اس بات کو فیصلہ کرنے والے ہیں کہ 2015 ء کے ایران جوہری معاہدے میں امریکہ کو شامل رہنا ہے یا اس سے الگ ہو جانا ہے۔ واضح رہے کہ امریکہ کے یورپی اتحادی فرانس، برطانیہ اور جرمنی اب بھی اس معاہدے کے حق میں ہیں۔ خبر رساں ادارے روئٹرز کی رپورٹ کے مطابق پومپیو کے ساتھ سفر کرنے والے ایک سینئر پالیسی مشیر برائن ہک نے نامہ نگاروں کو بتایا کہ  "ہم دنیا بھر کے ملکوں پر زور دے رہے ہیں کہ وہ ہر اس فرد اور ادارے پر تعزیرات عائد کریں جو ایران کے میزائل پروگرام کے ساتھ منسلک ہیں یورپی ملکوں کے ساتھ ہونے والی بات چیت کا زیادہ تر محور یہ معاملہ رہا ہے۔" ہک نے کہا کہ ایران کے حمایت یافتہ حوثی باغیوں کے طرف سے سعودی عرب میں داغے جانے والے متعدد بیلسٹک میزائل...

فرانسیسی صدر کا کہنا تھا کہ مغرب، قوم پرستی پر مشتمل جذبات کو اس لبرل نظام پر حاوی ہونے کی اجازت نہیں دے سکتا جو مغربی ملکوں نے دوسری جنگِ عظیم کے بعد طے کیا تھا واشنگٹن ڈی سی —  فرانس کے صدر ایمانوئیل میخواں نے امریکی کانگریس کے ارکان پر زور دیا ہے کہ وہ اس بات کو یقینی بنائیں کہ امریکہ ایران کے ساتھ عالمی طاقتوں کے جوہری معاہدے سے وابستہ رہے۔ بدھ کو واشنگٹن ڈی سی میں کانگریس کے دونوں ایوانوں کے مشترکہ اجلاس سے خطاب کرتے ہوئے  اور اس کے لیے ضروری ہے کہ موجودہ معاہدے کو برقرار رکھا جائے۔ اپنے 49 منٹ طویل خطاب میں فرانسیسی صدر نے اپنے امریکی ہم منصب ڈونلڈ ٹرمپ کی جانب سے ایران معاہدے کی سخت مخالفت کا براہِ راست حوالہ تو نہیں دیا لیکن انہوں نے کانگریس کے ارکان پر زور دیا کہ وہ امریکہ کے اس معاہدے سے جڑے رہنے کے لیے اپنا کردار کریں۔ صدر ڈونلڈ ٹرمپ اپنے پیش رو براک اوباما کے دورِ صدارت میں طے پانے والے اس معاہدے کے کڑے ناقد ہیں اور بارہا اس معاہدے کو "وحشیانہ" اور "مضحکہ خیز" قرار دیتے ہوئے اس سے الگ ہونے کا عندیہ دے چکے ہیں۔ امریکی حکام کا کہنا...