Iran's President to Visit Iraq on First Foreign Trip

Masoud Pezeshkian was sworn in as Iran's new president on July 30 - AFP
Masoud Pezeshkian was sworn in as Iran's new president on July 30 - AFP
TT

Iran's President to Visit Iraq on First Foreign Trip

Masoud Pezeshkian was sworn in as Iran's new president on July 30 - AFP
Masoud Pezeshkian was sworn in as Iran's new president on July 30 - AFP

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian will visit Iraq on Wednesday, state media reported Sunday, in what will be his first trip abroad since he took office in July, AFP reported.

Pezeshkian will head a high-ranking Iranians delegation to Baghdad to meet senior Iraqi officials.

The visit comes at the invitation of Iraq's premier, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, the official IRNA news agency quoted Iran's ambassador to Baghdad Mohammad Kazem Al-Sadegh as saying.

The two countries will sign memoranda of understanding on cooperation and security, Sadegh said, without elaborating.

He said the agreements were to have been signed during a planned visit to Iraq by Iran's late president, Ebrahim Raisi.

But Raisi was killed in May along with the then foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, when their helicopter crashed on a fog-shrouded mountainside in northern Iran.

Since taking office, Pezeshkian has vowed to "prioritize" strengthening ties with the Iran's neighbours.

Tehran is one of Iraq's leading trade partners, and wields considerable political influence in Baghdad where its Iraqi allies dominate parliament and the current government.

In March 2023 the two countries signed a security agreement covering their common border, months after Tehran struck Kurdish opposition groups in Iraq's north.



North Korean Leader Emphasizes Importance of Strengthening Naval Power

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a naval base construction site at an undisclosed location in North Korea, in this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on September 8, 2024. (KCNA via Reuters)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a naval base construction site at an undisclosed location in North Korea, in this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on September 8, 2024. (KCNA via Reuters)
TT

North Korean Leader Emphasizes Importance of Strengthening Naval Power

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a naval base construction site at an undisclosed location in North Korea, in this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on September 8, 2024. (KCNA via Reuters)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a naval base construction site at an undisclosed location in North Korea, in this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on September 8, 2024. (KCNA via Reuters)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un underscored the importance of strengthening naval power as he toured a naval base construction site, state media KCNA reported on Sunday.

"Now that we are soon to possess large surface warships and submarines which cannot be anchored by the existing facilities for mooring warships, the construction of a naval base for running the latest large warships has become a pressing task," Kim was quoted saying.

During the tour, Kim stressed the need to build a naval port capable of operating weapons systems of the warships and revealed military measures to deploy anti-aircraft and coastal-defense systems for defending the port, according to the report.

Kim cited geopolitical advantages of the site for the country, bordered by the sea on both the east and west sides. The location of the site was not specified in the report.

A recent satellite imagery analysis by 38 North indicated that North Korea's newest ballistic missile class submarine (SSB), the "Sinpo-C" class, was undergoing an extensive fitting-out period at the Sinpo South Shipyard.

In a separate visit to a shipyard, Kim ordered to increase national investments in shipbuilding projects so that immediate tasks and long-term plans for laying the foundation for the development of the shipbuilding industry are pushed forward as scheduled.

KCNA also reported on Sunday Kim's visit to a defense industrial enterprise, where he stressed the need to make munitions production more scientific and modernized to guarantee the performance of newly-developed military hardware, and an inspection of an artillery academy.

Separately, North Korea condemned a recent consultation meeting and simulation drill on extended deterrence conducted by the United States and South Korea, according to a Sunday statement carried by KCNA.

The foreign ministry described the activities as "reckless moves of the hostile forces disturbing the regional strategic stability and increasing the possibility of a nuclear clash".

"The DPRK will continue to take practical measures to cope with the long-term nuclear confrontation with the US," the ministry said, using North Korea's official name.

Meanwhile, North Korea continued its campaign of launching trash balloons towards South Korea for the fifth consecutive day on Sunday, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff.