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Tehran Slams Western Countries for Voter Abuse

Kanaani slammed some Western governments, which claim to “champion democracy” but fail to take legal and preventative actions against those who “violate the legal rights of Iranian citizens…reports Asian Lite News

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani has censured certain Western governments for letting some “disruptors” intimidate and insult overseas Iranian voters during the country’s 14th presidential election.

He made the remarks in a post on social media platform X after several anti-Iran individuals harassed Iranian voters at polling stations in some states, such as Britain and Australia, to prevent them from casting their ballots on Friday (Tehran time).

“The disruptors, who identify themselves as the opponents of the Islamic establishment (of Iran), attempted to, through intimidation, insult, and the most vulgar behaviour and offensive language, prevent Iranian expatriates from participating in a democratic process,” said the spokesman as reported by Xinhua news agency.

Kanaani slammed some Western governments, which claim to “champion democracy” but fail to take legal and preventative actions against those who “violate the legal rights of Iranian citizens”.

He urged those Western authorities to give explanations and take appropriate actions in response to such “barbaric, uncivilised, and illegal” behaviours.

Iran’s 14th presidential election, initially set for 2025, was rescheduled following the unexpected death of former President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on May 19.

After the first round of voting which started early on Friday and ended at midnight, no candidate obtained more than 50 per cent of the total votes needed to call a winner.

The country was thus sent into a run-off scheduled for July 5 between two top contenders — reformist Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s former Health Minister, who received more than 42 per cent of the votes in the first round, and principlist Saeed Jalili, the former chief negotiator in the nuclear talks between Tehran and world powers, who garnered more than 38 per cent of the total.

ALSO READ: Iran voices concerns regarding Afghanistan in Doha meeting

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Iran voices concerns regarding Afghanistan in Doha meeting

Qomi expressed hope that the upcoming talks would alleviate the suffering of Afghanistan’s people and bring about peace…reports Asian Lite News

Iranian Ambassador to Afghanistan Hassan Kazemi Qomi, during the Doha meeting, stressed concerns regarding Afghanistan and conveyed Tehran’s position on it, reported Khaama Press.

Special Representative for Afghanistan Kazemi Qomi said that he participated in the third Doha meeting to clarify Tehran’s concerns regarding Afghanistan.

Qomi took to X on Sunday and said that he aimed to articulate Tehran’s positions, convey concerns about Afghanistan, and explain Iran’s humanitarian policies toward country residents to UN officials and participating nations.

According to Iran’s ambassador and special representative for Afghanistan, the complex and critical conditions in Afghanistan and the region necessitate comprehensive negotiations involving all parties, Khaama Press reported.

Qomi further expressed hope that the upcoming talks would alleviate the suffering of Afghanistan’s people and bring about peace, stability, security, sustainable development, and a government based on the people’s free will without foreign interference or domination.

Meanwhile, the first day of the Doha meeting on Afghanistan was held on Sunday, in Qatar’s capital.

Zaher Jalali, the head of the Third Political Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Taliban, stated that discussions on the second day of the Doha meeting will focus on financial and banking sanctions, the private sector, drug trafficking, and the preservation of progress.

However, the representatives from Afghan civil society and women were absent from this meeting, according to Khaama Press.

Representatives from over 20 countries and delegates from several international organisations are participating in the second session of Doha, and a delegation from the Taliban will also be present at this conference.

Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, said that the delegation from the Taliban-led government will engage in talks with special representatives from various countries and institutions on Sunday and Monday, Tolo News reported.

Civil society and women representatives of Afghanistan, who have been key players in other international conferences on Afghanistan, have not been invited to the third Doha meeting, sparking widespread domestic and international criticism, Khaama Press reported.

The Taliban has not been internationally recognised since seizing power in August 2021 as US-led forces withdrew after 20 years of war. Since the Taliban returned to power, most girls have been barred from high school and women from universities. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Indian envoy explores economic ties with Iran-India Biz Chamber

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Indian envoy explores economic ties with Iran-India Biz Chamber

A key highlight of the discussion was the recently signed agreement concerning the Chahbahar Port…reports Asian Lite News

Indian Ambassador to Iran, Rudra Gaurav Shresth, met members of the Iran-India Business Chamber on Friday to discuss opportunities for collaboration between the businesses of the two countries.

The meeting focused on leveraging synergies and complementarities to foster economic growth and development in both nations.

A key highlight of the discussion was the recently signed agreement concerning the Chahbahar Port.

The Chahbahar Port agreement is expected to facilitate smoother trade routes between India, Iran, and other countries in the region, thereby boosting economic activities and creating new avenues for investment.

“Amb. Rudra Gaurav Shresth met with members of Iran-India Business Chamber and spoke about the potential to leverage complementarities in Indian and Iranian businesses. Also highlighted the recently signed agreement on Chahbahar Port & it’s potential to transform the region,” the Embassy of India in Iran said in a post on X.

The Chabahar Port is an India-Iran flagship project that serves as an important transit port for trade with Afghanistan. India has been a key player in the development and operation of Chabahar Port.

India and Iran recently solidified their collaboration by signing a significant long-term agreement to operate the Shahid-Beheshti Port Terminal. This landmark deal, witnessed by ministers from both countries, underscores the strategic importance of the Chabahar port pact. By enhancing regional connectivity, the agreement is poised to streamline trade routes between India, Iran, and Afghanistan, offering an alternative to traditional routes that pass through Pakistan.

The Long-Term Bilateral Contract on Chabahar Port Operation was signed between Indian Ports Global Limited (IPGL) of India and the Port & Maritime Organisation (PMO) of Iran, enabling the operation of Shahid-Behesti in the Chabahar Port Development Project for a period of 10 years.

India and Iran share a millennia-long history of interactions. The contemporary relations between the two countries are marked by high-level exchanges, commercial cooperation, connectivity paradigm and cultural and people-to-people ties. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Pradhan slams Congress amid NEET-UG row

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Iran’s Constitutional Council Approves Presidential Results

Iran’s 14th presidential election, initially set for 2025, was rescheduled following the unexpected death of former President Ebrahim Raisi…reports Asian Lite News

Iran’s Constitutional Council has validated the first round’s results of the country’s 14th presidential election, meaning candidates could now begin electoral campaigns for the run-off.

The announcement was made by Hadi Tahan Nazif, spokesman for the council, an institution that oversees the process and results of elections, in a televised interview with the state-run IRIB TV on Sunday.

He said the institution confirms the results following investigation and reviews, Xinhua news agency reported.

None of the four candidates vying in the first round had made any objection to the election results during the legal time frame for voicing complaints, he said, adding that the election campaigns could continue until Thursday morning, or 24 hours before the run-off.

In the first round of voting for the snap presidential race that started early on Friday and ended at midnight after being extended three times, no candidate obtained more than 50 per cent of the total votes needed to call a winner.

The country was thus sent into a run-off scheduled for July 5 between top contenders — reformist Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s former Health Minister, who received more than 42 per cent of the votes in the first round, and principlist Saeed Jalili, the former chief negotiator in the nuclear talks between Tehran and world powers, who garnered more than 38 per cent of the total.

Iran’s 14th presidential election, initially set for 2025, was rescheduled following the unexpected death of former President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on May 19.

ALSO READ: Iran Heads to Presidential Run-Off

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Iran Heads to Presidential Run-Off

Voting for Iran’s 14th presidential election took place on Friday, after President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash last month…reports Asian Lite News

Iran’s 14th presidential election on Saturday entered a run-off vote, with former Health Minister Masoud Pezeshkian and former chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili leading in the first round, but no one gets the minimum threshold of 50 per cent of votes, Iran’s Election Headquarters Spokesperson Mohsen Eslami said.

The spokesperson said that the turnout of the voting stands at 40 per cent, reports Xinhua news agency.

Voting for Iran’s 14th presidential election took place on Friday, after President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash last month.

The voting was held at close to 59,000 polling stations in more than 95 states, and over 61 million people are eligible to vote in the election, according to authorities.

Iran’s 14th presidential election, initially set for 2025, was rescheduled following Raisi’s unexpected death.

Initially, six candidates — Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, the current Vice President; Alireza Zakani, the Mayor of Tehran; Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the Parliamentary Speaker; Saeed Jalili, the former top negotiator for nuclear talks; Mostafa Pourmohammadi, a former Interior Minister and Justice Minister; and Masoud Pezeshkian, a former Health Minister — were qualified to enter the race.

Later, Hashemi and Zakani, two principlist candidates, withdrew from the race in favour of Qalibaf and Jalili, who were also in the principlists’ camp.

ALSO READ: Iran Rebukes US Comments on Election

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Iran Rebukes US Comments on Election

Kanaani said Paley’s remarks were a “flagrant interference and absurd,” adding the US officials would achieve nothing by making such “worthless” statements…reports Asian Lite News

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani has condemned recent “meddlesome” remarks by a US official about Iran’s 14th presidential election.

Kanaani made the remarks on Friday on social media platform X, reacting to a series of posts by US Deputy Special Envoy for Iran Abram Paley on his X account on Wednesday.

Paley claimed that Iran’s elections were “not fair and free” or conducive to any “fundamental change in the country’s direction,” hurling a number of accusations against the Iranian government, Xinhua news agency reported.

Kanaani said Paley’s remarks were a “flagrant interference and absurd,” adding the US officials would achieve nothing by making such “worthless” statements.

He stressed that “the Iranian people in this election will respond firmly to such meddlesome remarks through their effective participation and spirited presence at the polling stations”.

Kanaani added that people worldwide had witnessed the impacts and results of the “American diplomacy” inside the US and in other parts of the world and have tasted its “bitter flavour”.

He said that the people’s “direct and genuine” role in deciding their political fate in Iran had always been proved in practice, stressing that the validity and health of the elections in Iran had been proved in the country’s previous voting processes.

Iran’s 14th presidential election, initially set for 2025, was rescheduled following the unexpected death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage in a helicopter crash on May 19.

Paley claimed the candidates in Iran’s election had been “hand-picked” by the country’s Constitutional Council and the Iranian people “lack access to even the most basic freedoms; necessary features of any democracy”.

The four candidates competing in the election are Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the parliamentary speaker; Saeed Jalili, the former top negotiator for nuclear talks; Mostafa Pourmohammadi, a former Interior Minister and Justice Minister; and Masoud Pezeshkian, a former Health Minister.

ALSO READ: Iran Votes for New Leader

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Iran Votes for New Leader

The voting will be held at close to 59,000 polling stations in more than 95 states…reports Asian Lite News

Voting for Iran’s 14th presidential election started on Friday, months after President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash last month.

“We start the elections” for the country’s 14th presidential elections, Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said in a televised address.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei cast the first ballot at a polling station and made a brief speech calling for the unity of the Iranian people during the election, reports Xinhua news agency.

The voting will be held at close to 59,000 polling stations in more than 95 states, and over 61 million people are eligible to vote in the election, according to authorities.

Iran’s 14th presidential election, initially set for 2025, was rescheduled following Raisi’s unexpected death.

Initially, six candidates — Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, the current Vice President; Alireza Zakani, the Mayor of Tehran; Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the Parliamentary Speaker; Saeed Jalili, the former top negotiator for nuclear talks; Mostafa Pourmohammadi, a former Interior Minister and Justice Minister; and Masoud Pezeshkian, a former Health Minister — were qualified to enter the race.

Later, Hashemi and Zakani, two principlist candidates, withdrew from the race in favour of Qalibaf and Jalili, who were also in the principlists’ camp.

ALSO READ: Canada Adds Iran’s IRGC to Terrorist List

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Canada Adds Iran’s IRGC to Terrorist List

Thousands of senior Iranian government officials, including top IRGC members, are now banned from entering Canada…reports Asian Lite News

Canada has declared Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a branch of the Iranian Armed Forces, as a “terrorist entity”.

Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced on Wednesday afternoon, saying that Canada will use all of the tools at its disposal “to combat the terrorist activity” of the IRGC.

Thousands of senior Iranian government officials, including top IRGC members, are now banned from entering Canada, and those already inside the country may be investigated and removed, LeBlanc said.

As an immediate consequence of the listing, Canadian financial institutions, such as banks and brokerages, are required to immediately freeze the property of a listed entity, and it is a criminal offence for anyone in Canada and Canadians abroad to knowingly deal with property owned or controlled by a terrorist group, according to a press statement issued by Public Safety Canada as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.

According to local media, charitable organisations can lose their status if they maintain their connections to terrorist groups, and people found to be associated with those groups can be denied entry into Canada.

The US designated the IRGC a “terrorist group” in 2019.

ALSO READ: India Calls Out Canada for Kanishka Bomber Tribute

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Iran, Saudi Agree to Bolster Ties

The Saudi Foreign Minister, for his part, said the two countries managed to resume ties and reach a stage of strong bilateral cooperation…reports Asian Lite News

Iran’s acting Foreign Minister, Ali Bagheri Kani, and Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, have reiterated their nations’ dedication to enhancing bilateral relations and collaboration.

In a meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, the two sides also highlighted the necessity to ensure sustainable stability and security in the region, according to a statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday.

Bagheri Kani said bilateral ties were reflecting a progressing trend, expressing confidence that Iran and Saudi Arabia were determined to strengthen all-out relations with each other, Xinhua news agency reported.

He stressed that the two countries’ determination to develop bilateral ties had impacted all areas of their relations.

He added that greater interaction and solidarity between Iran and Saudi Arabia would be in the two countries’ interests and help ensure sustainable stability and security in the region.

IRAN SAUDI ARABIA

The Iranian diplomat also condemned the intensification of Israeli attacks in Gaza, especially in Rafah, calling for “coordinated and consensus-based” actions by Muslim states to show their vigilance and sensitivity in that regard and about Gaza.

The Saudi Foreign Minister, for his part, said the two countries managed to resume ties and reach a stage of strong bilateral cooperation and interaction during the tenure of the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

He added his country remained committed to continuing talks and cooperation with Iran, pledging more efforts to strengthen the bilateral ties, which are inducive to regional security and stability, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

In April 2023, Iran and Saudi Arabia declared the resumption of diplomatic relations in Beijing after years of estrangement.

ALSO READ: BRICS Decries Gaza Violence

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Iran Clears 6 for Presidential Race

After the announcement, the final candidates can start their electoral campaigns which can last until June 27….reports Asian Lite News

Iran has announced the names of six qualified candidates for the country’s early presidential election scheduled for June 28.

The final nominees are Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Masoud Pezeshkian, Saeed Jalili, Alireza Zakani, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi.

Pourmohammadi, 64, used to serve as Iran’s Interior Minister and Justice Minister, Xinhua news agency reported.

Pezeshkian, 70, was Iran’s Health Minister during 2001-2005.

Jalili, 59, was a chief negotiator in the nuclear talks between Tehran and world powers and was a qualified candidate for the presidential race in 2013 and 2021. He withdrew his candidacy in 2021 in favour of the late President Ebrahim Raisi.

Zakani, 58, is the incumbent Mayor of the Iranian capital Tehran.

Qalibaf, 63, is the current Speaker of the Iranian Parliament and was among the qualified candidates in the presidential race in 2005, 2013 and 2017.

A former lawmaker, Ghazizadeh Hashemi, 53, is currently the country’s Vice-President.

After the announcement, the final candidates can start their electoral campaigns which can last until June 27.

A total of 80 candidates initially signed up from May 30 to June 3 to compete in the race for the country’s top executive position.

The 14th presidential election, originally scheduled for 2025, was brought forward due to the unexpected death of President Raisi in a helicopter crash on May 19 in the northwestern province of East Azerbaijan.

Mohammad Mokhber, the former first Vice-President, currently serves as the Acting President following Iran’s Constitution.

ALSO READ: Iran condemns Israel’s airstrikes in Gaza