US, Saudi Arabia Discuss Iran’s Regional Threats
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken highlighted the threats posed by Iran for the security of the region during his trip to Saudi Arabia.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken highlighted the threats posed by Iran for the security of the region during his trip to Saudi Arabia.
During a joint presser with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on his last day his visit on Thursday, Blinken said Washington and Riyadh, together with the GCC, are “focused on Iran’s destabilizing influence in the region, including its support for terrorism and violent militia groups, the seizure of tankers transiting international waters, and nuclear escalation.”
While the United States and Iran both denied reports that they were nearing an interim deal Thursday, Blinken added that “the United States continues to believe that diplomacy, backed by economic pressure, by deterrence, and by strong defense cooperation, is the best way to avoid and counter these dangerous actions.”
He noted that the US supports efforts by Saudi Arabia to de-escalate tension and stabilize relations, without elaborating on details.
Among the main points on agenda in Blinken’s trip was pushing Riyadh for normalize ties with Israel, about which his Saudi counterpart said that “it’s quite clear that we believe that normalization is in the interest of the region, that it would bring significant benefits to all.”
However, he added “without finding a pathway to peace for the Palestinian people, without addressing that challenge, any normalization will have limited benefits.”
Referring to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's recent speech in which he said, "The enemy has started to prepare its artillery against the upcoming elections in Iran," conservative commentator Mohammad Mohajeri quipped in a column in the reformist Etemad newspaper: "What can the enemy do to harm the elections?" and explained that "downplaying the importance of voter turnout, manipulating the election process, rigging the elections, and helping unqualified people to win the elections are among the things the enemy can do to that end."
The commentator was referring to the interference of the Guardian Council, an undemocratic body inserted into the constitution, that rejected hundreds of candidates in the parliamentary election in 2020, and again rejected qualified contenders in the 2021 presidential vote.
Mohajeri pointed out that the enemy cannot interfere with the process of elections. Those who interfere are Islamic Republic officials. executives, supervisory bodies, and security organizations. The enemies will begin their attacks and propaganda only after state officials and institutions make big mistakes by intervening in the election process with the aim of changing the results, he said.
Mohajeri added: "The Guardian Council is where most of such mistakes are made. It is involved from the beginning to the end of the elections and its behavior has always been controversial. The council vets the candidates and appoints the inspectors and supervisors."
He further pointed out that many of those who have been disqualified by the Guardian Council in previous years are well-known political figures who would have been more useful than the current members of the parliament.
Meanwhile, reformist commentator Abbas Abdi accused current officials of making the government useless by bringing it into constant confrontation with the people and their demands. This approach, he said, “will tire everyone including yourselves and I can see the signs of this fatigue in your behavior.”
"The government's interventionist approach and its insistence on excessive and often unnecessary control and punishment, as well as its confrontational approach and its refusal to hold any dialogue have a destructive impact on many economic, political, social and cultural processes including the country's foreign policy," Abdi said.
"When we follow the news, we see many examples of that confrontational behavior for instance in trying to control prices through issuing orders. Everyone, except the government, knows that this does not work. Not only it does not work, it also leads to corruption. The government uses the same wrong methods to fix interest rates, foreign exchange rates and the price of eggs, utilities, fuel, rent and so on.
The government intervenes in everything, including dress code and childbirth, which are issues that cannot be regulated through confrontation, penalties and imprisonment," Abdi added.
The prominent commentator stressed that such methods can only widen the gap between the people and the government.
Meanwhile, shedding light on the bigger picture, former government spokesman and moderate politician Ali Rabiei wrote in article in Etemad that "All revolutions in the Middle East have given governments in the region a license to violate citizenship and human rights as well as democratic rules."
He suggested that governments that rule in the name of revolutions need to find a way to reconcile revolutionary values and citizens' rights by giving the people the right to complain to the judiciary system if government officials undermine their essential rights.
“The release of water in February of last year caused the wetland to become wet by six or seven percent, but because this water flow did not continue and we faced the hot season, it was ineffective,” Hossein Akbari, Deputy of Environmental Protection of Esfahan (Isfahan) Province told Thursday.
Akbari further pointed out that a total of about 15 million cubic meters of water and sewage reached the wetland last year (ending on March 21) which was ineffective for Gavkhouni's regeneration.
A salt marsh with a salinity of 31.5% and an average depth of about one meter, the wetland is home to a variety of migratory birds including flamingos, ducks, geese, gulls, pelicans, and grebes.
Since 1900, nearly 64% of the world's wetlands have disappeared, and 35% have vanished since 1970, according to the Global Wetland Outlook 2021.
Many of Iran's wetlands are already on the verge of extinction. The country is known to have 141 wetlands spread across three million hectares.
As a result of the fast-disappearing wetlands, the country has suffered a growing water crisis, which has fueled anger and discontent. The annual rainfall has plummeted to almost one-third of the global average, with the majority of provinces increasingly arid.
