The Thursday visit by Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to Tehran had a message for regional countries that the Persian Gulf littoral states should place their trust in “powerful” Iran as it is the Islamic Republic that will come to their rescue in times of hardship, not the United States, Britain and Israel.
The remarks were made by Tehran’s interim Friday prayer leader, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, in an address to worshipers in Tehran, IRNA reported.
He added in tough times, the United States, Britain and the “executioner” Zionist regime “not only did not help you, but also imposed sanctions on you”.
Thus, Ayatollah Khatami stressed, it is Iran that is reliable and not them.
The cleric said although the Qatari emir’s Tehran trip was important in terms of expanding bilateral economic relations, but what was of greater significance in this visit and his meeting with Leader of the Islamic Revolution were the remarks by Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei that “the Zionists cause corruption wherever they set foot in and they cannot give any power or concession to other countries”.
The Leader’s meeting with the Qatari emir was an anti-Zionism maneuver, he emphasized, saying Ayatollah Khamenei called on the Arab world to rise and stand in the face of the Israeli crimes.
Turning to the recent visit by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to Tehran and his meetings with the Leader and Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi, he said the “strategic” trip was a rejection of all baseless rumors spread by the enemies that Assad had visited some “reactionary” regional countries and that relations between Tehran and Damascus had been damaged.
On the contrary, the visit was in line with efforts to strengthen the resistance front, and the Syria is at the forefront of the fight against the Zionist regime, according to him.  
Assad took a one-day trip to Iran, in which he met Ayatollah Khamenei, President Raeisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

An Iranian official slammed the United States for “daring to lecture others” on human rights, pointing to the oppression and abuse of the Native Americans in the country up until the past decades.
Kazem Gharibabadi, the Iranian Judiciary chief’s deputy for international affairs and secretary of the country’s High Council for Human Rights, made the remark in a late Thursday tweet in reaction to a federal study of Native American boarding schools that has identified more than 500 student deaths at the institutions so far.
Gharibabadi’s tweet reads: “Poor Native American children were separated from their families, prohibited from speaking their languages, abused, raped and finally dumped in mass graves. The U.S. yet still dares to lecture others on human rights.”
The report released on Wednesday by the U.S. Interior Department expands the number of schools that were known to have operated for 150 years, starting in the early 19th century and coinciding with the removal of tribes from ancestral lands, according to theguardian.com.
The dark history of the boarding schools – children were taken from their families, prohibited from speaking their Native American languages and often abused – has been felt deeply through generations of families.
Many children never returned home. The department’s work focused on burial sites and trying to identify the children and their tribal affiliations is far from complete.
 

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“If this approach taken by Arab countries is out of fear of the Zionist regime or having hopes in it, they must know that today, the occupying regime is in conditions that nobody can have hopes in or be afraid of it,” he said.
The Qatari Emir, for his part, said Israeli crimes in Palestine are horrible and must be confronted by all regional countries.
Expressing regret over the Israeli killing of a Palestinian journalist on Wednesday, he said, “Zionists committed this crime in cold blood.”
Foreigners undermine regional security
Earlier in the day, Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi and Sheikh Tamim held a joint press conference after their meeting. Raeisi negated all forms of foreign presence in the West Asia region, especially by Western countries.
“Such [foreign] presence does not bring security to the region, but on the contrary, undermines it,” the Iranian president said.
“During our talks, we discussed major regional issues, especially the issue of Yemen,” Iran’s president said, adding, “We emphasized that the blockade of Yemen [by the Saudi-led military coalition] must end and Yemenis must be allowed to decide the fate of their country.”
The two leaders, Raeisi said, also laid emphasis on the need for the liberation of the occupied Al-Quds, an end to the siege of Gaza, and termination of Israel’s crimes against Palestinians.
Iran’s president said the two sides emphasized the expansion of relations in all sectors, including politics, economy, trade, culture, tourism, and energy.
Joint investment between Tehran and Doha and the implementation of mutual agreements reached during Raeisi’s recent visit to Qatar were other highlights of his discussions with the emir of Qatar.
Iran’s president noted that the Qatari emir’s visit will be a turning point in the two countries’ relations and will play a very important role in boosting mutual cooperation at regional and international levels.
Sheikh Tamim said the two sides agreed that resolution of the current problems facing the region is only possible through dialogue and negotiations.
“The existing problems in the region must be settled through constructive dialogue,” he said, adding that the two sides also discussed the ongoing situation in Palestine, Syria, Yemen and Iraq.
The Qatari emir added that the cause of Palestine is the main issue of the region, noting that this issue must be resolved in a comprehensive manner, addressing all its aspects.
 

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“These kinds of things cannot be solved overnight. Let’s say things were blocked and they have been de-blocked,” Borrell said.
Swift conclusion
Germany said on Friday it expected a swift conclusion to the Vienna talks.
“There is a proposal on the table that is very fair for all sides,” the German Foreign Ministry spokesperson told a regular news conference in Berlin.
“We expect… there will be an early conclusion to these talks,” the spokesperson added. Mora was in Tehran last week in a last-ditch effort to salvage the JCPOA, from which former US president Donald Trump withdrew in 2018. Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia are also parties to the accord.

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They hope to get more concessions from Iran as time goes by.  At the end of the eighth round of talks, the Americans said that they needed to think to reach a conclusion, but did not set deadline for their possible conclusion. Iran cannot give up its rights because if it does so, even the current deal would be undermined. The positions of Iran and the West on the nuclear issue do not appear to be converging.
The situation in Palestine seemed to be an important issue to be discussed during the Qatari emir’s trip to Iran, given that the Zionists put tremendous pressure on the Palestinian people in the last two months, arresting over 1,000 of them. On the other hand, the Palestinian people came out in protest and fierce clashes took place. Given the warm relations that resistance groups and the Palestinian people have with Iran, the Qatari emir also held consultations in Tehran to assess the situation in Palestine.
Sheikh Tamim expressed hope that he could find a middle ground. Of course, Iran is not the decision-maker in the Palestinian issue, rather the Palestinians themselves determine what policies to adopt and how to fight. Iran merely supports the choice of the Palestinians.
In addition to the Vienna talks and the situation in Palestine, the issue of boosting trade was also important and was discussed during the visit. In a meeting with Sheikh Tamim, Iran’s Leader stressed the importance of dialogue with Qatar to develop bilateral relations, saying that trade volume between the two countries was not satisfactory. Tehran’s financial relations with Doha have not yet reached $1 billion, while in previous negotiations it was agreed to raise the trade ceiling to $5 billion, which has not yet been implemented. The two countries can increase their trade by taking advantage of their capacities and opportunities.
 

The Iranian Army’s Navy on Friday thwarted a pirate attack against a ‎country’s trade ship in the Gulf of Aden, ISNA reported. ‎
The report said upon being informed of an attack by unknown pirates on an Iranian trade vessel in the Gulf of ‎Aden, the navy’s squadron No. 80 rushed to the rescue and got engaged in armed clashes with the ‎brigands.
The pirates ‎escaped after the arrival of the navy’s escort team and exchange of fire between the two sides, it added. ‎
According to the report, the Iranian vessel is currently safe and heading toward its destination.
Since 2008, Iran’s Navy squadrons have constantly been patrolling the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea and the Indian ‎Ocean due to an increase in piracy in these regions, ensuring security for Iranian and foreign vessels.
The Iranian Navy’s 80th squadron comprises the Alborz destroyer and the Bushehr logistic warship.