Iran's Shamkhani Receives Iraqi Speaker, Asserts Response to Any Action that Harms National Security

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi with Iraqi Speaker Mohammad al-Halbousi in Tehran (EPA)
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi with Iraqi Speaker Mohammad al-Halbousi in Tehran (EPA)
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Iran's Shamkhani Receives Iraqi Speaker, Asserts Response to Any Action that Harms National Security

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi with Iraqi Speaker Mohammad al-Halbousi in Tehran (EPA)
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi with Iraqi Speaker Mohammad al-Halbousi in Tehran (EPA)

The Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, has warned that Tehran would react swiftly and decisively to any action to harm his country's security from Iraqi territory.

Shamkhani spoke during his reception of the Iraqi Speaker, Mohammad al-Halbousi, who arrived on his first visit to Tehran since he was elected for a second term in January.

The Speaker and the accompanying delegation met with senior officials in Tehran, including President Ebrahim Raisi.

Shamkhani addressed the "unacceptable" moves made from inside Iraqi soil against Iran's security, stressing that Tehran adopts a conscious approach to threats and "fully monitors meddlesome activities of the Zionist regime, the US, and their affiliated currents and will react swiftly and decisively to any action meant to harm the security of Iran and the region."

Halbousi announced that the Iraqi parliament is preparing a plan to criminalize cooperation and relations with Israel to prevent any possible steps from normalizing ties with the regime.

He described the ongoing dialogue and cooperation between the main religious and ethnic groups in Iraq as a condition for forming an effective and strong government in this country.

"Iran can play an important role in creating political cohesion in this country because of its moral influence among some religious and political groups in Iraq," said Halbousi.

Halbousi said, during a press conference that he held with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, that the parliaments represent the peoples and strive to strengthen everything that can be reflected on their people.

He referred to the relations between the two countries, saying they are intertwined and that the "stability of Iran reflects positively on Iraq" and vice versa.

He stressed the respect for the other countries' sovereignty and the development of the ties between the regional countries.

Halbousi stressed the importance of having common positions for regional countries in the international parliament because they face common challenges.

Iran faces economic problems and sanctions, said Halbousi, adding that Iraq has been under terrorist attacks and faced global crises and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

He continued that it is not acceptable to impose sanctions on people, nor should it be intimidated by empowering armed gangs aspiring better future and relations.

Halbousi hoped parliaments in both countries would take their role by pushing the government forward and removing the obstacles that faced previous governments.

The head of the State of Law coalition, led by Nouri al-Maliki, announced he objected to the delegation that accompanied the Speaker in his visit to Tehran.

In a statement, the head of the parliamentary bloc, Atwan al-Atwani, opposed the "discrimination" in choosing the delegation accompanying the Speaker on his visit, saying it was not based on professionalism and parliamentary benefits.

Atwani added that members of the parliament presidency were not aware of the visit, hoping it would not establish personal interests.

Observers expect the visit to focus on the stalled government for more than six months, given Tehran's influence with most political forces and close relations, namely the "Shiite Coordination Framework."

Meanwhile, the Iraqi Minister of Electricity, Adel Karim, met the Iranian Oil Minister, Javad Oji, in Tehran.

The meeting addressed the development and consolidation of relations in energy and equipping the Ministry of Electricity with the necessary gas to operate the power plants ahead of summer 2022, according to a statement issued by the Ministry.

The statement stated that the meeting was characterized by a positive atmosphere and the talks were productive to a large extent.

The statement indicated that "the two parties agreed to reach mutually satisfactory solutions regarding legal obligations and prices, and to pay the values of the supplied fuel, according to a mechanism that ensures the flow of processing during 2022."



North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

21 November 2024, North Korea, Pyongyang: A photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on 22 November 2024 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) responding to cheers during a photo session with the North Korean Army's battalion commanders and political instructors. Photo: -/kcna/dpa
21 November 2024, North Korea, Pyongyang: A photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on 22 November 2024 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) responding to cheers during a photo session with the North Korean Army's battalion commanders and political instructors. Photo: -/kcna/dpa
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North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

21 November 2024, North Korea, Pyongyang: A photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on 22 November 2024 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) responding to cheers during a photo session with the North Korean Army's battalion commanders and political instructors. Photo: -/kcna/dpa
21 November 2024, North Korea, Pyongyang: A photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on 22 November 2024 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) responding to cheers during a photo session with the North Korean Army's battalion commanders and political instructors. Photo: -/kcna/dpa

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his past negotiations with the United States only confirmed Washington’s “unchangeable” hostility toward his country and described his nuclear buildup as the only way to counter external threats, state media said Friday.
Kim spoke Thursday at a defense exhibition where North Korea displayed some of its most powerful weapons, including intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to target the US mainland as well as artillery systems and drones, according to text and photos published by the North’s Korean Central News Agency. While meeting with army officers last week, he had pledged a “limitless” expansion of his military nuclear program.
Kim has yet to comment directly on Donald Trump's reelection as US president. During his first term, Trump held three highly orchestrated summits with the North Korean leader in 2018 and 2019, before the diplomacy collapsed over disagreements on exchanging a relaxation of US-led economic sanctions with North Korean steps to wind down its nuclear program.
During the speech at the exhibition, Kim touched on the failed summits without naming Trump.
“We have already gone as far as possible with the United States with negotiations, and what we ended up confirming was not a superpower’s will for coexistence, but a thorough position based on force and an unchangeable invasive and hostile policy” toward North Korea, Kim said.
Kim accused the United States of raising military pressure on North Korea by strengthening military cooperation with regional allies and increasing the deployment of “strategic strike means,” apparently a reference to major US assets such as long-range bombers, submarines and aircraft carriers. He called for accelerated efforts to advance the capabilities of his nuclear-armed military, saying the country’s only guarantee of security is to build up the “strongest defense power that can overwhelm the enemy.”
Kim's expanding nuclear weapons and missile programs include various weapons targeting South Korea and Japan and longer-range missiles that have demonstrated the range to reach the US mainland. Analysts say Kim’s nuclear push is aimed at eventually pressuring Washington into accepting North Korea as a nuclear power and to negotiate economic and security concessions from a position of strength.
In recent months, the focus of Kim’s foreign policy has been Russia as he tries to strengthen his international footing, embracing the idea of a “new Cold War” and aligning with President Vladimir Putin’s broader conflicts with the West.
Washington and its allies have accused North Korea of providing Russia with thousands of troops and large amounts of military equipment, including artillery systems and missiles, to help sustain its fighting in Ukraine. Kim in return could possibly receive badly needed economic aid and Russian technology transfers that would possibly enhance the threat posed by his nuclear-armed military, according to outside officials and experts.
North Korea also held a major arms exhibition in July last year and invited a Russian delegation led by then-Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who was given a personal tour by Kim that included a briefing on the North's expanding military capabilities, in what outside critics likened to a sales pitch. That event came weeks before Kim traveled to the Russia for a summit with Putin, which sped up military cooperation between the countries. North Korean state media photos of this year's exhibition showed various artillery systems, including what appeared to be 240mm multiple rocket launch systems that South Korea's spy agency believes were part of the North Korean weaponry recently sent to Russia. When asked whether North Korea was showcasing the systems it intends to export to Russia, Koo Byoungsam, a spokesperson for South Korea’s Unification Ministry, said he wouldn't make “premature judgments” but said the government was “monitoring related trends." “We stress once again that arms transfers between Russia and North Korea are a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions and an illegal act that undermines the norms of the international community,” he said.
Even with Trump returning to the White House, a quick resumption of diplomacy with North Korea could be unlikely, according to some experts. North Korea's deepening alliance with Russia and the weakening enforcement of sanctions against it are presenting further challenges in the push to resolve the nuclear standoff with Kim, who also has a greater perception of his bargaining power following the rapid expansion of his arsenal in recent years.