Iran, Pakistan Inaugurate Joint Projects in Conflict Area

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi shakes hand with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif during an inauguration of the Mand-Pishin border in Pishin, border of Pakistan-Iran, Thursday, May 18, 2023 (Iranian Presidency)
Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi shakes hand with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif during an inauguration of the Mand-Pishin border in Pishin, border of Pakistan-Iran, Thursday, May 18, 2023 (Iranian Presidency)
TT

Iran, Pakistan Inaugurate Joint Projects in Conflict Area

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi shakes hand with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif during an inauguration of the Mand-Pishin border in Pishin, border of Pakistan-Iran, Thursday, May 18, 2023 (Iranian Presidency)
Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi shakes hand with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif during an inauguration of the Mand-Pishin border in Pishin, border of Pakistan-Iran, Thursday, May 18, 2023 (Iranian Presidency)

Leaders of Iran and Pakistan jointly inaugurated the first marketplace and a power transmission line along their shared border in a significant move aimed at boosting regional trade and energy cooperation as relations warm between the two countries.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday announced that Iran will supply 100 megawatts of electricity daily to Balochistan’s Gwadar.

For years, Iran has shown interest in the port of Gwadar, which is a Beijing-funded infrastructure and part of China’s $65 billion Belt and Road Initiative.

The Pakistani prime minister made the announcement at a media briefing after he and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi inaugurated the transmission line project and the marketplace at the Mand-Pishin border crossing point.

Located in the remote village of Pashin in Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province, the marketplace is the first of six to be constructed along the Pakistan-Iran border under a 2012 agreement signed by the two sides.

In a televised meeting, Sharif, sitting next to Raisi, assured him Pakistan would do its best to improve security along the Iranian border. He added that both sides agreed to enhance trade and economic ties, and extended an invitation to Raisi to visit the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, according to AP.

For his part, Raisi described the relations between the two nations as “exemplary.”

He said the cooperation between Iran and Pakistan can establish stable security in the region and the cooperation between the two countries in the economic, commercial, and scientific and technology fields can contribute to the development of the two countries.

The Border Sustenance Marketplace is located in the village of Pashin in the Baluchistan province, southwest of Pakistan.

Iran-Pakistan relations have been contentious because of cross-border attacks by Pakistani militants along their shared border.

Small separatist groups have been behind a long-running insurgency calling for Baluchistan’s independence from the central government in Islamabad. Pakistani anti-Iran militants have also targeted the Iranian border in recent years, increasing the friction between the two countries.

This is the first visit of its kind since 2013, when the two nations signed an agreement allowing Pakistan to import Iranian gas despite American opposition. Tehran at the time said that “the West has no right to block the project.” The agreement could not be implemented because of US sanctions on Iran.

“Today, the two countries see the border as an opportunity and not a threat, and consider any insecurity on the other side as insecurity for themselves,” Raisi said.

 



Iran: Partnership Pact with Russia Doesn’t Include Defense Clause

Tehran and Moscow have boosted their military and political cooperation in recent years. Maxim Shemetov / POOL/AFP
Tehran and Moscow have boosted their military and political cooperation in recent years. Maxim Shemetov / POOL/AFP
TT

Iran: Partnership Pact with Russia Doesn’t Include Defense Clause

Tehran and Moscow have boosted their military and political cooperation in recent years. Maxim Shemetov / POOL/AFP
Tehran and Moscow have boosted their military and political cooperation in recent years. Maxim Shemetov / POOL/AFP

Russia and Iran will sign a "comprehensive strategic partnership" treaty on Friday during a visit to Moscow by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, cementing ties between two of the world's most heavily sanctioned countries.
The agreement comes just three days before Iran-hawk Donald Trump enters the White House and as Moscow and Tehran seek to formalize their close relationship after years of deepening cooperation, said AFP.
Iran has supplied Russia with self-detonating "Shahed" drones that Moscow fires on Ukraine in nightly barrages, according to Ukrainian and Western officials, while both nations have ramped up trade amid Western sanctions.
The new treaty will strengthen Tehran and Moscow's "military-political and trade-economic" relations, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, without providing further detail.
Tehran has given little information about Friday's pact, but ruled out a mutual defense clause like the one included in Russia's treaty with North Korea last year, Russian state media reported, citing Tehran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi.
The two sides had been working on a new treaty for years, with their current relationship governed by a 2001 agreement that they have renewed periodically.
'Global hegemony'
Russia says its upcoming pact with Iran and the already-signed treaty with Pyongyang are "not directed against any country".
"The treaty ... is constructive in nature and is aimed at strengthening the capabilities of Russia, Iran, and our friends in various parts of the world," Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday.
It is set to be valid for 20 years, Russia's TASS news agency reported on Tuesday, citing the Iranian ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has made building ties with Iran, China and North Korea a cornerstone of his foreign policy as he seeks to challenge what he calls as US-led "global hegemony".
Both Russia and Iran are under heavy Western sanctions that include restrictions on their vital energy industries.
At a summit of the BRICS group in Kazan last year, Putin told Pezeshkian he valued "truly friendly and constructive ties" between Russia and Iran.
Pezeshkian's visit to Russia comes just days before Trump returns to power.
The US president-elect, who has made repeated military threats against Iran, is seeking a rapid end to the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
The agreement comes a month after a rebel offensive overthrew Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad -- who was heavily supported by both Moscow and Tehran -- and as Israel and Iran's ally Hamas gear up for a ceasefire in Gaza.