Kremlin Says No Date Yet for Iranian President’s Visit to Russia

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian attends a press conference in Tehran, Iran, September 16, 2024. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Majid Asgaripour via Reuters
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian attends a press conference in Tehran, Iran, September 16, 2024. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Majid Asgaripour via Reuters
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Kremlin Says No Date Yet for Iranian President’s Visit to Russia

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian attends a press conference in Tehran, Iran, September 16, 2024. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Majid Asgaripour via Reuters
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian attends a press conference in Tehran, Iran, September 16, 2024. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Majid Asgaripour via Reuters

A visit to Russia by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is being prepared, but there is no clarity yet on when it will take place, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

Peskov said it was unclear whether the visit would happen this year, but that a date for the trip could be agreed very quickly if necessary.

"Such a visit is being prepared, preparations are underway," Peskov told reporters at a daily briefing when asked about the matter.

Moscow is preparing to sign a new bilateral treaty with Tehran that will include closer defense cooperation, the kind of treaty that Russian President Vladimir Putin often signs in person with his foreign counterparts.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told state television in late October the treaty would be signed "in the near future".

Moscow signed a similar "comprehensive" treaty with North Korea, which includes a mutual defense clause, in June.

Military ties between Moscow and Tehran are a source of concern to the West as Russia prosecutes its war in Ukraine and turns to allies like Tehran for support.

President Vladimir Putin and Pezeshkian discussed the escalating situation in Syria by phone on Monday, with the latter vowing cooperation with Moscow to help resolve the crisis.



Germany Arrests a Lebanese Man Accused of Being a Member of Hezbollah

Mourners gather during the funeral of five Hezbollah fighters, who were killed during hostilities with Israeli forces, in the village Al-Sawana, southern Lebanon 03 December 2024. (EPA)
Mourners gather during the funeral of five Hezbollah fighters, who were killed during hostilities with Israeli forces, in the village Al-Sawana, southern Lebanon 03 December 2024. (EPA)
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Germany Arrests a Lebanese Man Accused of Being a Member of Hezbollah

Mourners gather during the funeral of five Hezbollah fighters, who were killed during hostilities with Israeli forces, in the village Al-Sawana, southern Lebanon 03 December 2024. (EPA)
Mourners gather during the funeral of five Hezbollah fighters, who were killed during hostilities with Israeli forces, in the village Al-Sawana, southern Lebanon 03 December 2024. (EPA)

German authorities have arrested a Lebanese man accused of being a member of Hezbollah and working for groups controlled by the organization in Germany.

Federal prosecutors said the suspect, identified only as Fadel R. in line with German privacy rules, was arrested in the Hannover region on Tuesday. The man is suspected of membership in a foreign terrorist organization and is not accused of direct involvement in any violence.

Prosecutors said he joined Hezbollah in the summer of 2008 or earlier and took part in leadership training courses in Lebanon. From 2009, he allegedly had leadership duties in two groups controlled by Hezbollah in the Hannover area, organizing appearances by preachers close to the party.

According to prosecutors, he was briefly a correspondent for a Hezbollah media outlet in 2017 and was tasked with coordinating building work at a mosque.

Germany is a staunch ally of Israel. It is also home to a Lebanese immigrant community of more than 100,000.