Iranian Official Says Saudi Trade Delegation to Visit Tehran Soon

Mehdi Safari. (Fars News Agency)
Mehdi Safari. (Fars News Agency)
TT

Iranian Official Says Saudi Trade Delegation to Visit Tehran Soon

Mehdi Safari. (Fars News Agency)
Mehdi Safari. (Fars News Agency)

A Saudi trade delegation will visit Iran soon to attend a business exhibition, said Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Mehdi Safari on Wednesday.

Running from May 7-10, Iran Expo 2023 is an exhibition focused on Iranian export potential and sponsored by the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran and the Ministry of Industry, Mining, and Trade.

"In the next few days, a trade delegation from Saudi Arabia will come to Iran accompanied by a deputy minister to attend the Iran Expo exhibition," Reuters quoted Safari as telling Iranian media.

In a mediated agreement brokered by China, Saudi Arabia and Iran announced on March 10 their decision to restore diplomatic ties and reopen their respective embassies and consulates within two months at most.

This development was broadly welcomed by the Arab world and the international community.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani announced that Iranian missions in Saudi Arabia have taken their first steps to resume diplomatic activity in the Kingdom.



Iran Says Swiss National Who Died in Prison Had Photographed Military Sites 

An Iranian woman walks past a mural of Iran's national flag in Tehran, Iran, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
An Iranian woman walks past a mural of Iran's national flag in Tehran, Iran, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
TT

Iran Says Swiss National Who Died in Prison Had Photographed Military Sites 

An Iranian woman walks past a mural of Iran's national flag in Tehran, Iran, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
An Iranian woman walks past a mural of Iran's national flag in Tehran, Iran, 15 January 2025. (EPA)

A Swiss national who Iranian authorities said took his own life while in an Iranian jail after being arrested on suspicion of espionage had taken pictures of military sites, Iran's judiciary spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Switzerland had demanded detailed information on the reasons for the arrest of the 64-year-old man, who had been travelling in Iran as a tourist, and a full investigation into the circumstances of his death earlier this month.

"The person had entered the country from Dogharoun (bordering Afghanistan) in October as a tourist in a car fitted with various technical equipment meant for different purposes," the judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir said.

The spokesperson said the detainee had hanged himself with a piece of cloth after turning off his cell's light and placing himself out of the view of security cameras.

"After passing through several provinces, he entered Semnan province and was arrested while being in a military-restricted zone," Jahangir said. "He was arrested on charges of taking pictures of the military zone and collaborating with hostile states."

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards have in recent years arrested dozens of dual nationals and foreigners, mostly on charges related to espionage and security.

Rights groups accuse Iran of trying to extract concessions from other countries through such arrests. Iran denies this.