Tehran: No Limit on Promotion of Ties with Neighbors

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani meets with Qatar’s Assistant Foreign Minister for Regional Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi (Nour News)
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani meets with Qatar’s Assistant Foreign Minister for Regional Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi (Nour News)
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Tehran: No Limit on Promotion of Ties with Neighbors

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani meets with Qatar’s Assistant Foreign Minister for Regional Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi (Nour News)
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani meets with Qatar’s Assistant Foreign Minister for Regional Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi (Nour News)

The Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani said the country sees no limits to the enhancement of cooperation with the neighboring states.

Shamkhani made the remarks in a meeting with Qatar’s Assistant Foreign Minister for Regional Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi on Monday.

“Within the framework of neighborhood diplomacy pursued by the administration of (Iranian President Ebrahim) Raisi, development of all-out cooperation with neighboring countries is Iran's top priority in foreign relations and we set no limits in this regard,” Shamkhani stated.

According to the semi-official news agency Mehr, Shamkhani hailed the effective efforts made by Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and his government to help with regional and international issues in cooperation with Iran.

“Fraternal and constructive relations between Tehran and Doha can serve as a general model for (promotion of) ties with other regional countries,” said the top Iranian security official.

In his meeting with al-Khulaifi, Shamkhani underlined the necessity of removing obstacles to improve cooperation between Tehran and Doha in the fields of trade and commerce, proportional to the two countries’ political relations.

The top Iranian security official noted that some extra-regional countries seek to create misunderstandings in the relations between Iran and Qatar by abusing suspicious events, and it is necessary for the two countries to deal with this process with full vigilance.

The Qatari minister, for his part, expressed satisfaction with the agreement reached between Iran and Saudi Arabia to normalize relations. He stressed that the move was vital for boosting regional security and stability.

Earlier on Monday and before his meeting with Shamkhani, the Qatari official held a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed important regional and international issues.



Mexico President Chides Trump: Mexican America ‘Sounds Nice’

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum shows a 1661 world map showing the Americas and the Gulf of Mexico in response to US President-elect Donald Trump's comments about renaming the body of water, during a press conference at National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, in this photo distributed on January 8, 2025. (Presidencia de Mexico/Handout via Reuters)
Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum shows a 1661 world map showing the Americas and the Gulf of Mexico in response to US President-elect Donald Trump's comments about renaming the body of water, during a press conference at National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, in this photo distributed on January 8, 2025. (Presidencia de Mexico/Handout via Reuters)
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Mexico President Chides Trump: Mexican America ‘Sounds Nice’

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum shows a 1661 world map showing the Americas and the Gulf of Mexico in response to US President-elect Donald Trump's comments about renaming the body of water, during a press conference at National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, in this photo distributed on January 8, 2025. (Presidencia de Mexico/Handout via Reuters)
Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum shows a 1661 world map showing the Americas and the Gulf of Mexico in response to US President-elect Donald Trump's comments about renaming the body of water, during a press conference at National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, in this photo distributed on January 8, 2025. (Presidencia de Mexico/Handout via Reuters)

Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday suggested North America including the United States could be renamed "Mexican America" - an historic name used on an early map of the region - in response to US President-elect Donald Trump's pledge to rename the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America."

"Mexican America, that sounds nice," Sheinbaum joked, pointing at the map from 1607 showing an early portrayal of North America.

The president, who has jousted with Trump in recent weeks, used her daily press conference to give a history lesson, flanked by old maps and former culture minister Jose Alfonso Suarez del Real.

"The fact is that Mexican America is recognized since the 17th century... as the name for the whole northern part of the (American) continent," Suarez del Real said, demonstrating the area on the map.

On the Gulf of Mexico, Suarez del Real said the name was internationally recognized and used as a maritime navigational reference going back hundreds of years.

Trump floated the renaming of the body of water which stretches from Florida to Mexico's Cancun in a Tuesday press conference in which he presented a broad expansionist agenda including the possibility of taking control of the Panama Canal and Greenland.

Sheinbaum also said it was not true that Mexico was "run by the cartels" as Trump said. "In Mexico, the people are in charge," she said, adding "we are addressing the security problem."

Despite the back and forth, Sheinbaum reiterated that she expected the two countries to have a positive relationship.

"I think there will be a good relationship," she said. "President Trump has his way of communicating."