Iran Says Willing to Improve Ties with Neighboring Countries

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (Tasnim)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (Tasnim)
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Iran Says Willing to Improve Ties with Neighboring Countries

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (Tasnim)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (Tasnim)

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Tehran is willing to improve relations with neighboring countries, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported on Monday.

In a speech during the third Tehran Dialogue Forum 2022, Amir-Abdollahian said Tehran welcomes rebuilding trust and constructive cooperation with its neighbors, especially the Gulf countries.

He expressed Iran’s readiness to hold a meeting at the level of defense and foreign ministers of neighboring countries and countries bordering the Arabian Gulf to establish regional security in cooperation with these countries and enjoy a world where peace prevails.

The FM congratulated Qatar’s deputy foreign minister on the success of organizing the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and Doha’s cooperation with the Iranian football team.

In remarks about Ukraine, Amir-Abdollahian said Tehran’s fundamental policy is against the use of force and supports resolving the conflict through political means.

“Europe is paying the price for the policies of the United States towards Ukraine,” the FM stated.

He deemed as “baseless” the accusations against Tehran of providing drones to Russia and stressed that the West seeks to justify its support for the war through these accusations.

The forum kicked off its activities on Monday, with the participation of political officials, directors of think tanks and research institutes, intellectuals and researchers.

The event was held under the title: “The Neighborhood Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran... An Approach to Friendship and Trust-Building,” Germany’s news agency DPA reported.

Amir-Abdollahian said the summit Jordan will host this week could help move forward the talks on reviving the nuclear deal with world powers that have been stalled for months.

Jordan will host the second session of the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership on Tuesday.

The event will bring together Iraq and its neighboring countries, as well as France. The European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and his assistant, Enrique Mora, the nuclear talks coordinator, will also attend.

Amir-Abdollahian said the event represents a good opportunity for Tehran to complete these talks.

The minister, who will represent his country at the summit, reiterated Iran's position, which holds the other party, especially the United States, responsible for not completing the talks that would revive the 2015 nuclear agreement.

He expressed hope to see “a change in the US approach” and for the US side to act in a realistic manner.

He urged Americans to choose between hypocrisy and the return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.



Vatican: Convalescing Pope Francis’s Condition Improving

 Postcards of Pope Francis are sold outside St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP)
Postcards of Pope Francis are sold outside St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP)
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Vatican: Convalescing Pope Francis’s Condition Improving

 Postcards of Pope Francis are sold outside St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP)
Postcards of Pope Francis are sold outside St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP)

A chest X-ray has confirmed a "slight improvement" in Pope Francis's lungs as he recovers from five weeks in hospital with life-threatening pneumonia, the Vatican said on Tuesday.

The 88-year-old Catholic leader left Rome's Gemelli hospital on March 23 after a stay in which doctors said he had almost died twice, returning to the Vatican for a convalescence of at least two months.

The Vatican press office said a chest X-ray carried out in recent days confirmed a "slight improvement" in his pulmonary infection.

Improvements were also reported in his motor skills, voice and breathing. Although he continues to use oxygen through a cannula, the Argentine pontiff can remove it for short periods.

His doctors previously said that with double pneumonia the lungs are damaged and the respiratory muscles are strained, so it can take time for the voice to return to normal.

Francis remains in the Santa Marta guesthouse, taking part in mass every morning in the chapel on the second floor where he has lived since becoming head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics in March 2013.

He has had no visits beyond his doctors and closest associates, the Vatican said, adding that his morale remained "good".

The Argentine pope missed his seventh successive Angelus prayer on Sunday and there is no word on whether he will make an appearance this weekend, although another briefing is due on Friday.

The Vatican has also declined to say how the pope will participate in upcoming events for Easter, the holiest period in the Christian calendar, although it has included on its schedule the traditional "Urbi et Orbi" blessing on Easter Sunday -- which only a pope can deliver.

Francis has been largely out of the public eye since he was admitted to hospital on February 14.

On the day he left the Gemelli, he appeared in a wheelchair on a hospital balcony, waving his hands from his lap to the hundreds of pilgrims gathered below to greet him.

He spoke a few words in a weak voice, saying through a microphone: "Thank you, everyone."

He then noted a woman below with yellow flowers, and added: "Well done."

Francis then was spotted being driven away from the hospital, a cannula in his nose.