عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Khamenei Orders Settlement Project in Occupied Emirati Islands

Aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower during training at a site in the Gulf last Sunday. US Navy handout
Aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower during training at a site in the Gulf last Sunday. US Navy handout
TT
20
TT

Khamenei Orders Settlement Project in Occupied Emirati Islands

Aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower during training at a site in the Gulf last Sunday. US Navy handout
Aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower during training at a site in the Gulf last Sunday. US Navy handout

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Naval Force Commander Alireza Tangsiri revealed that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has tasked the IRGC with making Arab Gulf islands "habitable."

This includes the occupied Emirati islands. Meanwhile, the IRGC is trying to justify its retaliation against US forces in the Arab Gulf amid a raging war of words between Washington and Tehran. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had accused the US of conspiring daily against Iran.

Tangsiri warned that the IRGC would not allow "the presence of foreign warships in this region."

Revealing Khamenei's plans to develop the islands in a radio interview, Tangsiri did not elaborate on why and when he issued the order.
Tangsiri, however, revealed that settlements were a part of the plan.

Tangsiri called the US military presence in the region illegitimate, mindless of the fact that it was Iran's aggressive moves including attacks on civilian navigation in international waters in 2019 that prompted US allies in the region to call for the presence of European and US fleets.

He said when Khamenei wants to make the islands habitable, "this means that we want to make the region secure."

Tangsiri added that the IRGC has built international airports in Abu Musa and the Greater Tunb Islands and another island has been constructed in the Lesser Tunb.

"They must understand the situation by that name and by the coastal nation that has protected this waterway for thousands of years," AFP quoted Rouhani as saying in a televised address during a cabinet meeting.

"They should not plot against the Iranian nation every day,” he added.

“The soldiers of our armed forces in the guardians of the Revolution, the army, Basij (paramilitary organization) and the police have always been and will be the guardians of the Gulf,” Rouhani said.

Tehran and Washington have traded barbs over a spate of incidents in the past year involving their forces in the sensitive waters of the Gulf.

Their latest high-seas confrontation came on April 15, when the United States said 11 Iranian boats harassed its navy ships in what it described as the international waters of the Arabian Gulf.

President Donald Trump then tweeted that he had ordered the US Navy to "shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea".

Most Viewed

 
World

China's Xi Ready to Work with EU to Expand Ties, Handle Friction

File photo: 14 February 2023, China, Beijing: President of China Xi Jinping meets with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (not pictured). (Iranian Presidency/dpa)
File photo: 14 February 2023, China, Beijing: President of China Xi Jinping meets with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (not pictured). (Iranian Presidency/dpa)
TT
20
TT

China's Xi Ready to Work with EU to Expand Ties, Handle Friction

File photo: 14 February 2023, China, Beijing: President of China Xi Jinping meets with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (not pictured). (Iranian Presidency/dpa)
File photo: 14 February 2023, China, Beijing: President of China Xi Jinping meets with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (not pictured). (Iranian Presidency/dpa)

President Xi Jinping said China was ready to work with European Union leaders to expand mutual openness and properly handle frictions and differences, the official news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday.

The remarks come on the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and the European Union as they work to thaw ties amid global trade uncertainty fueled by sweeping US tariffs, Reuters said.

Xi did not mention the United States in his remarks, but Beijing has been keen to forge closer economic and political links with Europe to limit the damage from President Donald Trump's tariffs on most of its exports to the United States.

"Healthy, stable China-EU ties not only promote mutual achievements, but also illuminate the world," he said.

Xi also called on the EU to jointly safeguard fairness and justice, and oppose unilateral bullying, describing their relations as one of the world's most influential, Xinhua added.

China said it would welcome visits by European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at an appropriate time to jointly hold a new round of meeting of leaders of both sides.

China and the EU will hold high-level dialogues on strategy, economy and trade, green development and digitalisation among a series of events this year, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a press conference on Tuesday.

The ministry also confirmed that China and the European Parliament had decided to free up mutual exchanges.

Last week, the EU said China would lift sanctions on members of the European Parliament and its subcommittee on human rights. The sanctions were imposed in 2021 over Western measures against Chinese officials accused of the mass detention of Muslim Uyghurs in the far western region of Xinjiang.

"Under the current circumstances, both sides believe it is very important for China and Europe to strengthen dialogue and cooperation," Lin, the ministry spokesperson, told reporters.

He expressed confidence that renewed talks would "inject new impetus" in the development of China-EU relations.