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Iran Condemns the Killing of Embassy Staffer in Damascus

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei (Archive photo – MEHR)
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei (Archive photo – MEHR)
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Iran Condemns the Killing of Embassy Staffer in Damascus

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei (Archive photo – MEHR)
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei (Archive photo – MEHR)

Iran denounced on Sunday the killing of one of its embassy staffers in Damascus describing the act as a “terrorist attack”.
The spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmaeil Baqaei, condemned the killing of Seyed Davood Bitaraf, a local staff member at the Iranian Embassy in Damascus.
“Davood Bitaraf was martyred last Sunday in a terrorist attack by individuals who opened gunfire at his vehicle in Damascus”, Iran’s Mehr news agency quoted Baqaei.
He added that Bitaraf’s body was found and identified and then transported back to Iran in the past few days.
The spokesman emphasized that the Syrian transitional government must take responsibility for identifying the perpetrators of this crime, bringing them to justice, and ensuring they are held accountable.
He also confirmed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is closely monitoring the matter through appropriate diplomatic and international channels.
In earlier statements, Baqaei had said that the reopening of the Iranian embassy in Damascus is contingent upon ensuring the security of the embassy and its diplomatic personnel.
Following the overthrow of Bashar Assad's regime by Syrian armed factions on the 8th of December, the Iranian embassy, which had been stormed, was closed. Since 2011, Iran has supported Bashar Assad's government in its fight against armed groups.

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China Says Philippine Plan to Deploy Midrange Missiles Would Be 'Extremely Irresponsible'

A Chinese national flag flutters on a financial street in Beijing. (Reuters)
A Chinese national flag flutters on a financial street in Beijing. (Reuters)
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China Says Philippine Plan to Deploy Midrange Missiles Would Be 'Extremely Irresponsible'

A Chinese national flag flutters on a financial street in Beijing. (Reuters)
A Chinese national flag flutters on a financial street in Beijing. (Reuters)

China said a plan by the Philippines to deploy midrange missiles would be a provocative move that stokes regional tensions.
The Philippines top army official told reporters in Manila earlier on Monday that the military plans to acquire a midrange system to defend the country’s territory amid tensions with China in the South China Sea.
“Yes, there are plans, there are negotiations, because we see its feasibility and adaptability,” Lt. Gen. Roy Galido said.
The US deployed its Typhon midrange missile system in the northern Philippines in April and troops from both countries have been training jointly for the potential use of the heavy weaponry.
China opposes US military assistance to the Philippines and has been particularly alarmed by the deployment of the Typhon system. Under President Joe Biden, the US has strengthened an arc of military alliances in the Indo-Pacific to counter China, including in any confrontation over Taiwan.
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that deployment of the weapon by the Philippines would intensify geopolitical confrontation and an arms race.
“It is an extremely irresponsible choice for the history and people of itself and the whole of Southeast Asia, as well as for the security of the region,” she told a daily briefing.
The Philippines would not necessarily buy the Typhon system, Galido said.
The army is working not only with the United States but with other friendly countries on a long list of weapons platforms that it plans to acquire, he said.
The Philippines defense plan includes protecting its exclusive economic zone, which reaches 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers).
“It is paramount for the army to be able to project its force up to that extent, in coordination, of course, with the Philippine navy and the Philippine air force," Galido said.