Tehran Defends Deal with Beijing amid Rising Concerns

The Iranian and Chinese Foreign Ministers in Tehran, AP
The Iranian and Chinese Foreign Ministers in Tehran, AP
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Tehran Defends Deal with Beijing amid Rising Concerns

The Iranian and Chinese Foreign Ministers in Tehran, AP
The Iranian and Chinese Foreign Ministers in Tehran, AP

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has thrown his full weight behind the recently signed 25-year partnership deal between Beijing and Tehran, reaffirming in statements on social media that the agreement does not require parliamentary approval.

Iranian officials have been applying multiple titles in reference to the signed document, details of which remain undisclosed to the Iranian public. The secrecy has only fueled concerns and triggered unending speculation that the Iranian government is offering too much in exchange for too little.

“The document imposes no obligation on either side,” Zarif stressed in a separate post on his Instagram page.

It is worth noting that while the Iranian Foreign Ministry is by law in charge of handling the China deal, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has also appointed one of his senior advisers, Ali Larijani, who is also Iran’s longest-serving parliament speaker, as a key negotiator.

The Iranian supreme leader’s choice appeared as an assurance to Beijing that the Iranian approach toward the deal is nonpartisan and could not be overruled by changing administrations in Tehran.

Kamal Kharrazi, a former foreign minister and a Khamenei aide himself, has confirmed that the Chinese side “demanded that someone representative of the Nezam be involved as well.” Nezam is the umbrella term Iranian officials use to refer to the Islamic Republic in its entirety under Khamenei’s leadership.

More so, Zarif made an unannounced appearance in a virtual conversation on the audio-chat app Clubhouse on Wednesday where he addressed a range of topics, including the recent agreement with China.

Zarif joined the conversation along with other officials, including Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh, and addressed an audience of over 8,000 listeners, becoming the highest-ranking Iranian official yet to take part in a Clubhouse room.

In his speech at the event, he championed the deal with Beijing and said that it was natural for secrecy to engulf such deals as the releasing of any details requires consent from both parties.

He also said that since the agreement with China entailed no obligations, it wasn’t constitutionally mandated to gain consent from parliament first.

Zarif’s support for the contentious deal was also coupled with foreign-based Iranian opposition activists and exiled journalists getting effectively silenced during the entire Clubhouse meeting.

Zarif’s moderators had banned them from raising any questions.



7 more Turkish Soldiers Die from Methane Gas in Iraqi Cave, Raising Deaths to 12

FILE PHOTO: A Turkish flag flies on a passenger ferry with the Bosphorus in the background in Istanbul, Türkiye, January 27, 2020. REUTERS/Murad Sezer
FILE PHOTO: A Turkish flag flies on a passenger ferry with the Bosphorus in the background in Istanbul, Türkiye, January 27, 2020. REUTERS/Murad Sezer
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7 more Turkish Soldiers Die from Methane Gas in Iraqi Cave, Raising Deaths to 12

FILE PHOTO: A Turkish flag flies on a passenger ferry with the Bosphorus in the background in Istanbul, Türkiye, January 27, 2020. REUTERS/Murad Sezer
FILE PHOTO: A Turkish flag flies on a passenger ferry with the Bosphorus in the background in Istanbul, Türkiye, January 27, 2020. REUTERS/Murad Sezer

Seven more Turkish soldiers have died from methane gas poisoning following a cave search operation in northern Iraq, Türkiye's Defense Ministry said Monday, bringing the death toll to 12. The soldiers had been searching for the remains of a fellow soldier previously killed by Kurdish militants.

The troops were searching a mountain cave when 19 of them were exposed to the gas, according to the ministry. Five of the soldiers died Sunday from the colorless, odorless, flammable gas that can cause asphyxiation in sufficient concentration, and seven more succumbed on Monday, Reuters reported.

“We pray for God’s mercy upon our heroic martyrs who lost their lives in this tragic event,” the ministry said Monday, also expressing hope for a rapid recovery for other troops that were affected.

It said Defense Minister Yasar Guler and armed forces' commanders were traveling to the region to carry out “inspections and evaluations” and attend a ceremony as the soldiers were flown to their hometowns for burial.

Speaking at the ceremony, Guler commended the troops' “great courage and sacrifice,” adding: “Our grief is immense and our feelings are beyond words.”

The ministry said the incident took place in the “Claw-Lock Operation region” — a reference to an operation launched against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq in April 2022.

There was no immediate information on the condition of the seven other soldiers who were affected by the gas.

Türkiye and the PKK have waged a 40-year conflict that has often spilled over into Iraq and Syria. Türkiye has set up a series of bases in northern Iraq, where the PKK has been established for decades.

The PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by Türkiye and most of the West, announced in May that it would disband and renounce armed conflict as part of a new peace initiative with Türkiye.

Its fighters are expected to begin handing over their weapons over the next few days in the first concrete move toward disarmament.

According to the ministry, the Turkish unit overcome by methane gas had been searching for the remains of an infantry officer killed by “terrorist gunfire” during a search-and-clear mission in May 2022. Recovery teams have been scouring the area for the past three years.

The cave where the incident occurred sits at an altitude of 852 meters (2,795 feet) and had previously been used by the PKK as a field hospital.