Khamenei Urges Iranian Officials to Unite, Cooperate

Iran's Supreme Leader with a group of Iranian officials and representatives of Islamic diplomatic missions in Tehran (Khamenei's website)
Iran's Supreme Leader with a group of Iranian officials and representatives of Islamic diplomatic missions in Tehran (Khamenei's website)
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Khamenei Urges Iranian Officials to Unite, Cooperate

Iran's Supreme Leader with a group of Iranian officials and representatives of Islamic diplomatic missions in Tehran (Khamenei's website)
Iran's Supreme Leader with a group of Iranian officials and representatives of Islamic diplomatic missions in Tehran (Khamenei's website)

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei urged senior Iranian officials in the three authorities to unite, cooperate, collaborate, and distance themselves from marginal issues to devote themselves to solving the country's major problems.

During Eid el-Fitr prayer sermon, Khamenei asserted that cooperation and solidarity are the essential and basic strategies for solving problems and advancing the country.

He said if the government, parliament, and the judiciary cooperate fully, the country's issues won't be complicated, asserting that cooperation is the overall strategy.

Last Wednesday, Khamenei criticized economic sessions held by the presidencies of the Judiciary, Executive, and Legislative authorities, saying they were temporary and did not reach their intended purpose.

He asserted that the solution is to hold such sessions until the work is done and completed.

During the Eid sermon, Khamenei called for focusing on resolving issues and refraining from "marginal issues," warning that the enemies want to divide the nation.

Khamenei accused the enemies of aiming for conflict between Iranians because of different beliefs and sects, asserting the need to maintain unity to overcome challenges.

"The enemy is against the unity of the Iranian people," he said, adding that the different sects and beliefs can coexist and work together in the country.

Khamenei implicitly ruled out repeating the war tactics against Afghanistan and Iraq, noting that the US saw that military action could not yield results, prompting it to change its strategy.

He noted that the US tactics are now based on deception, distortion, lies, and concealing other nations' capabilities, recalling: "We must update our knowledge of the enemy's movements, tactics, and methods."

Last Sunday, Khamenei stressed during a meeting with senior armed forces commanders that Iran was the "ultimate goal" of the US invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Khamenei added: "Therefore, the enemy can be defeated despite its seemingly solid calculations and military power."

The Supreme Leader announced his opposition to calls for a referendum on state policy after he rejected calls to change the Iranian constitution last month.

Referring to the comments of one of the students, he said: "The various issues of the country cannot be put to a referendum because each referendum preoccupies the entire country for six months. Besides, where in the world do they hold referendums for all issues?"

Earlier, former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called for a referendum on the country's issues, including differences over the headscarf. Rouhani's call came about two months after former President Mohammad Khatami called for a return to the current constitution to carry out reforms in the country.

Reformist Mir Hossein Mousavi, who is under house arrest, called for a new draft constitution, which would be submitted for referendum.

Reform activist Ahmed Zeidabadi called to remove Friday imams representing Khamenei in Iranian cities.

In an implicit reference to Khamenei's speech, Zeidabadi tweeted that the work of many Friday imams went beyond raising marginal issues, creating crises, and fueling psychological warfare against people.

He indicated that warning them is not the solution, instead dismissing them. Otherwise, the situation will remain unchanged because of their presence and people like them in military ranks.



Türkiye Insists on Two States for Ethnically Divided Cyprus as the UN Looks to Restart Peace Talks

UN Secretary General's Special Representative in Cyprus Colin Stewart, center, Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar talk as they attend the UN's end of year reception at Ledras Palace inside the UNbuffer zone in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
UN Secretary General's Special Representative in Cyprus Colin Stewart, center, Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar talk as they attend the UN's end of year reception at Ledras Palace inside the UNbuffer zone in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
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Türkiye Insists on Two States for Ethnically Divided Cyprus as the UN Looks to Restart Peace Talks

UN Secretary General's Special Representative in Cyprus Colin Stewart, center, Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar talk as they attend the UN's end of year reception at Ledras Palace inside the UNbuffer zone in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
UN Secretary General's Special Representative in Cyprus Colin Stewart, center, Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar talk as they attend the UN's end of year reception at Ledras Palace inside the UNbuffer zone in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Türkiye on Wednesday again insisted on a two-state peace accord in ethnically divided Cyprus as the United Nations prepares to meet with all sides in early spring in hopes of restarting formal talks to resolve one of the world’s most intractable conflicts.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Cyprus “must continue on the path of a two-state solution” and that expending efforts on other arrangements ending Cyprus’ half-century divide would be “a waste of time.”
Fidan spoke to reporters after talks with Ersin Tatar, leader of the breakaway Turkish Cypriots whose declaration of independence in 1983 in Cyprus’ northern third is recognized only by Türkiye.
Cyprus’ ethnic division occurred in 1974 when Türkiye invaded in the wake of a coup, sponsored by the junta then ruling Greece, that aimed to unite the island in the eastern Mediterranean with the Greek state.
The most recent major push for a peace deal collapsed in 2017.
Since then, Türkiye has advocated for a two-state arrangement in which the numerically fewer Turkish Cypriots would never be the minority in any power-sharing arrangement.
But Greek Cypriots do not support a two-state deal that they see as formalizing the island’s partition and perpetuating what they see as a threat of a permanent Turkish military presence on the island.
Greek Cypriot officials have maintained that the 2017 talks collapsed primarily on Türkiye’s insistence on permanently keeping at least some of its estimated 35,000 troops currently in the island's breakaway north, and on enshrining military intervention rights in any new peace deal.
The UN the European Union and others have rejected a two-state deal for Cyprus, saying the only way forward is a federation agreement with Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot zones.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is preparing to host an informal meeting in Switzerland in March to hear what each side envisions for a peace deal. Last year, an envoy Guterres dispatched to Cyprus reportedly concluded that there's no common ground for a return to talks.
The island’s Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides says he’s ready to resume formal talks immediately but has ruled out any discussion on a two-state arrangement.
Tatar, leader of the breakaway Turkish Cypriots, said the meeting will bring together the two sides in Cyprus, the foreign ministers of “guarantor powers” Greece and Türkiye and a senior British official to chart “the next steps” regarding Cyprus’ future.
A peace deal would not only remove a source of instability in the eastern Mediterranean, but could also expedite the development of natural gas deposits inside Cyprus' offshore economic zone that Türkiye disputes.