Middle East & North Africa

Iran denies reports of secret talks with US in Oman

29 Sep 2020; MEMO: Iran yesterday denied media reports claiming Tehran was holding secret talks with the United States in the Sultanate of Oman, Fars news agency reported.

Spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said: “There have not been and there will not be negotiations between Tehran and Washington.”

Iran, Qatar discuss joining power grids through sea

29 Sep 2020; MEMO: Iranian and Qatari energy ministers yesterday discussed connecting the two countries’ electricity networks via a submarine cable.

In a virtual meeting, the Qatari minister, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, said that the project was “possible”, adding that a “proposal should be worked on”.

“In my opinion, this idea is practical and it is possible to implement it,” Al-Kaabi added.

Saudi forces businessmen to end their investments in Turkey

29 Sep 2020; MEMO: Saudi traders who import goods from Turkey to the kingdom have recently signed pledges for the Saudi Trade Ministry not to import goods from there again, the Twitter account Mujtahidd revealed on Sunday.

The Saudi traders were summoned to the ministry and their commercial activities were investigated; they were then asked to stop importing goods from Turkey.

Iraqi FM Visits Iran To Discuss Bilateral Ties, Regional Development

BAGHDAD, Sept 29 (NNN-NINA) – Iraqi Foreign Minister, Fuad Hussein, paid an official visit to neighbouring Iran, during the past two days for discussions over the situation in the Middle East region and bilateral relations.

A statement by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, issued on Monday, said Hussein conveyed a verbal message from Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, to Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, which “focused on developments in the region and reviewed the most important expected possibilities.”

Lebanon's problem is a lack of confidence not assets, Carlos Ghosn says

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon’s economic challenge is restoring confidence not a lack of financial assets, Carlos Ghosn, the former head of Renault and Nissan, told a news conference in Beirut to launch a management training programme at a Lebanese university.

“On paper, the assets are here,” he said, saying the challenge facing the nation which is facing an economic crisis that has paralysed its banking industry was “the restoration of confidence.”

Iran rejects Saudi accusation it trained a terrorist cell

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran rejected on Tuesday an accusation by Saudi Arabia that it had trained a terrorist cell, which Riyadh said it had taken down.

Saudi Arabia said on Monday it had arrested 10 people earlier this month and seized weapons and explosives from a terrorist cell that had received training from Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards.

Iran's new coronavirus cases exceed 450,000: Health Ministry

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran’s confirmed COVID-19 cases crossed the 450,000 threshold on Tuesday with 3,677 infections identified in the last 24 hours, a health ministry spokeswoman told state TV, as the Islamic Republic’s death toll spiked to 25,986.

Sima Sadat Lari said 207 people had died in the past 24 hours and the total number of infection cases reached 453,637.

Tunisian president meets with visiting Algerian FM, cooperation discussed

TUNIS, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Tunisian President Kais Saied received on Monday visiting Algerian Foreign Minister Sabri Boukadoum, said a statement released by the presidency.

"During the meeting, the head of state pledged to further develop the relations between the two countries to reach the expected level," said the statement.

Saied also insisted on the need to identify new mechanisms in order to boost cooperation in the service of the "two brotherly peoples."

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