From Foreign Waters

The recent meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and UAE 's Minister of State Khalifa Shaheen Al Marar marks an important step in strengthening bilateral ties between the two nations. During this meeting, the Iranian foreign minister highlighted President Raeisi's neighborhood policy, which aims to develop relations with neighboring countries. The UAE was recognized as a trustworthy business partner, setting the stage for enhanced economic collaboration and regional stability. Promoting Trust and Economic Partnerships: The trust between Iran and the UAE has laid a strong foundation for expanding bilateral cooperation. Both nations acknowledge the importance of developing relations at both the government and private sector levels. This recognition opens doors to increased trade, investment, and joint ventures, benefiting both countries' economies and fostering shared prosperity. Mutual Interests and Regional Stability: Iran's foreign ministe...

  In the midst of a reorientation of Gulf governments' relations with Iran, Iran announced on Tuesday that it had appointed an ambassador to the United Arab Emirates for the first time since 2016. The action comes after the U.A.E . upgraded relations and announced it was sending its ambassador back to Iran in August. Following Saudi Arabia's severing of ties with Iran in January 2016 as a result of Iranian demonstrators storming the Saudi embassy in Tehran following Riyadh's death of a prominent Shi'ite cleric, the United Arab Emirates lowered relations with Iran. Riyadh announced last month that it would reestablish relations with Tehran in a deal brokered by China, marking a significant change from years of hostility between Iran and Saudi Arabia that had threatened stability and security in the Gulf and fueled conflicts in the Middle East from Yemen to Syria. After strikes in Gulf waters and on Saudi oil sites, the United Arab Emirates, which has had economic and t...

  Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi will not be fined or suspended after competing without a headscarf in South Korea, the country's Olympic Committee President Mahmoud Khosravi Vafa said on Thursday. Rekabi, 33, competed in the International Sport Climbing Federation in Asia without a headscarf. Championships on Sunday in Seoul. She said her hijab accidentally fell off. Rekabi's supporters remain concerned for her as other athletes have been harassed by the government for supporting the Week protests in Iran. Activists say security forces have already killed more than 200 people and arrested thousands while cracking down on dissidents. Mr Khosravi Vafa told there was no reason to take disciplinary action against Rekabi as not wearing her headscarf on an Instagram account linked to Rekabi also described the incident as "unintentional". After returning to Tehran early Wednesday, he doubled down on the statement, blaming a sense of rush to begin his climb. However...

  “Iran’s continued violent crackdown on peaceful protesters is an affront to human rights,” US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman tweeted on Wednesday. “I spoke with major US tech firms and urged them to utilise general licence D-2 to provide the Iranian people with additional services and communications tools.”   The aim is to provide help to Iranian protesters “in resisting repressive internet censorship and surveillance tools deployed by the Iranian regime”, the Treasury said. The tech support will include social media platforms, video conferencing as well as cloud-based services in support of such services, and tools that incorporate communication functions such as online maps, e-gaming, e-learning platforms and automated translation, it said.

  Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra has come out in support of Iranian women who have been protesting over the death of an Iranian Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini. Chopra expressed solidarity with Iranian women. She wrote on Instagram, "Women in Iran and around the world are standing up and raising their voices, publicly cutting their hair and protesting for Mahsa Amini, whose young life was taken away brutally by the Iranian Morality Police for wearing her hijab 'improperly'. The voices that speak after ages of forced silence, will rightfully burst like a volcano! They will not and MUST not be stemmed.” The Bollywood actress urged the authorities and people in power to help protesters and understand their issues. She further said, “These voices can no longer be forced to stay silent. I stand with you. Jin, jiyan , azaadi... Women, life, freedom.” The protests in Iran erupted after the death of Amini. She was arrested on September 13 while leaving a Tehran metro station with he...

    Mahsa Amini, 22, from the Iranian -Kurdish town of Saqez, was arrested this month in Tehran due to her “unsuitable attire” by the morality police, which enforces the country's strict dress code for women. Her death has sparked the first big show of opposition on Iran's streets since authorities crushed protests against a rise in petrol prices in 2019.  “At least 83 people including children are confirmed to have been killed in [the] #IranProtests,” Iran Human Rights , a Norway-based group, said on Twitter. Despite the growing death toll and a fierce crackdown by authorities, videos posted on Twitter showed demonstrators calling for the fall of the clerical establishment in Tehran, Qom, Rasht, Sanandaj, Masjed-i-Suleiman and other cities.

Yemen is going through the worst humanitarian crisis in the history of mankind and it is desperately dependent on the help that other countries can offer it. The United Arab Emirates has been leading the mission to help Yemenis and save them from the crisis by providing them necessary help. On Monday, the UAE again came forward to help the starving Yeminies community who otherwise would have fell ill due to days of hunger. The nation extended its humanitarian operation to save people from starvation in Yemen's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah. The move came into highlight when a government official revealed that UAE’s operations are catering to the thousands of poverty stricken families in the war-torn country. The official, who asked for anonymity in exchange of information, further added that the help is also being provided to the internally displaced people in many different war-ravaged areas in Hodeidah. He also stressed on the various campaigns carried out by the Emirates R...

According to detailed formal report by the United Nations, Houthi rebels weren’t actually responsible for firing missiles over Saudi Arabian oil facilities. This finding now confirms the original assertion by the US that Iran was actually behind the attacks in the first place. In September, in the ongoing investigations, the Houthi rebels had actually come clean and admitted to the US officials that they were no behind the attacks and in fact wanted to be pulled out of this political blame game, that could have been detrimental for their survival. A certain suspicion over whether the Yemen based Houthis could own such advanced military technology has always been there.  Also, UN officials were in suspicion if the drones and land attack cruise missiles used in September 14 attack “had a sufficient range to have been launched from Yemeni territory under the control of the Houthis.” The report by the independent U.N. experts to the Security Council Yemen sanctions commit...

After over two weeks of violence clashes over gasoline price hike in Iran, the President Hassan Rouhani has asked for the release of innocent unarmed civilians. Iran has been reeling under dissatisfaction over bad governance.   On November 15, Iran government increased the prices of gasoline by 300 percent sending waves of fears over almost 100 cities. Most of Iran is a poor country, where people are finding it difficult to make ends meet.   Most youth do not have jobs and there is virtually no self sustained economy. Civilians have been asking for the clerical leaders to step down. However, the Iranian clerical rules have comfortably pinned the blame of the outburst on “thugs” linked to its opponents in exile (Qatar for example) and the country’s main foreign foes like the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia to name a few. Speaking through its own channels, chief commander of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Hossein Salami spoke out words of wisdom. He has be...

US President Donald Trump on Sunday during a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, discussed the “threat from Iran,” as well as other regional issues.  This is stated in a widely spread statement by White House Deputy Spokeswoman Judd Deere.  "On Sunday, President Donald Trump spoke over the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The leaders discussed the threat from Iran, as well as other critical bilateral and regional issues," the document says.