Iran started military drills in the Strait of Hormuz last Saturday. The training will continue until January 2, Iranian channel Press TV reports.
Iranian military forces are to demonstrate new weapons, equipment and innovations of defense industry at the main route for export of gas and oil from states of the Gulf. Rumours on an Iranian naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz caused rising world prices for oil. At the same time, Tehran signed a deal with Afghanistan on annual exports of million tons of oil, including gasoline and jet fuel. It is also holding negotiations with Azerbaijan to fill Lake Urmia with water from the River Araz and negotiating the purchase of new civil aircraft with Russia. It seems that Iran’s only concern is the Arab Spring its neighbors have experienced. Hossein Amir Abdollahiyan, deputy head of the Iranian Foreign Ministry supervising the Middle East Department, visited Moscow to discuss the topic.
Amir Abdollakhiyan, Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, after the meeting with his Russian counterpart Bogdanov, at which they discussed the present situation in the greater Middle East, said: «Our talks were very detailed and specific, and, of course, they were held in a friendly fashion. We have similar or even identical positions on many questions, and such talks help us understand each other even better. Our partnership is developing, and its main goal for now is to ensure stable development of our countries and of the whole region».
In 2011 riots and popular unrest took place in the region of North Africa and the Middle East. The authorities were changed in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. In Bahrain, Yemen and some other countries of the region popular unrest took place. Amir Abdollakhiyan said: «We monitor all developments closely and try to ensure general wellbeing and prosperity. Our relations with our neighbors are based on non-intervention in their affairs and on the principle of peaceful coexistence». He also added that the changes in the region triggered a whole series of global changes
According to the Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, Iran’s political options for resolving the existing problems are the following. Firstly, it is «attention towards the actual needs of the common people. Of course, a wide range of economic reforms is required for that». He also emphasized that actual steps towards meeting the people's demands are to be undertaken immediately
Secondly, the governments need to win back the trust of their peoples, and thirdly all exterior pressure should be lifted at once.
The official emphasized that the Iranian authorities believe that military intervention on the part of Saudi Arabia to Bahrain was a crude mistake. However, he noticed that on the other hand, the common decision of the Arab States of the Persian Gulf on the situation in Bahrain is a step forward.
Amir Abdollakhiyan said : "We believe that recent tragic events in Damascus and Baghdad are the results of foreign propaganda and instigations. It only aggravates the situation. But I believe Syrian and Iraqi democracy will survive this tragic period." Among other measures, efficient for easing tension, the official named constructive talks, adding that they are most efficient when they are not pre-conditioned.
"A correspondent asked me the same question in Kuwait last week. He suggested that the ‘Arab spring’ will come to Iran right after it’s done with Syria. I told him that the so-called ‘Arab spring’ got to Iran 32 years ago, so it’s their countries that are 30 years late. New people are coming to power in our region – young men and women - and the USA lost its closest allies after the fall of the old rulers in Tunisia and Egypt. So the US tried to prevent this fall for as long as possible but failed to do so. And now a whole new political picture is being formed in the Middle East. The US failed to choose a correct strategy in these new political circumstances and now it will have to face total rejection by the Middle Eastern nations, along with its Israeli allies. Now Israel and the US want to change this situation by intervening in the developments in Syria. They pronounce democratic slogans, but at the same time they bring terrorists to this country. They chose Syria as a platform for future intervention in our region. However, all Zionist and US projects are doomed to fail, as these powers know nothing about the real state of affairs in Syria.
The US tries to impose its leadership by deploying missile defense systems in different counties, but they still fail. The whole situation in the region shows that a new era has begun there, and history isn’t repeating itself. We believe that the Syrian people are able to overcome this hard situation, but the interference of certain foreign powers makes it much harder for them.
The US tries to impose its leadership by deploying missile defense systems in different counties, but they still fail. The whole situation in the region shows that a new era has begun there, and history isn’t repeating itself. We believe that the Syrian people are able to overcome this hard situation, but the interference of certain foreign powers makes it much harder for them".
Answering a question concerning the imposition of new sanctions against Iran, the official said that Iran has always been subjected to various sanctions since the Islamic revolution took place. "So we are not taken by surprise. Of course, the current sanctions have some insignificant effect on certain branches of our economy, but we will be able to overcome all these difficulties, as we have a great deal of experience in this field. And the US isn’t at the peak of its power right now too; this state in fact is now weaker than ever".
Commenting on relations with Armenia (it became known yesterday that Iran is going to build a new gas pipeline in exchange for Armenian electric energy and an Iranian private sector consortium will invest $571 million in two projects in Armenia for commissioning the third power transmission line from Armenia to Iran and boosting the Aras River hydroelectric power plant capacity to 1.7 giga watts per year), Amir Abdollakhiyan noticed that Iran has peaceful and constructive relations with all its neighbors, including Armenia. He also said: "We have certain political, economic and cultural ties to all the neighboring states and we intend to maintain all these ties. We are not ready for dialogue only with the Zionist regime, as this is an occupying regime".
