Category: Aggregated

A week-long forum in Tehran on the “Silk Road Economic Belt” indicated great enthusiasm for this project, which is quickly catching on in the Middle East.

The conference was opened by Ahmad Mohammadi, the  head of the Iran-China Friendship Association. Mohammadi said the interaction between the two countries has long existed, but has taken new dimensions with the initiative.

“The proposal has been well received in Iran, and the Islamic republic is preparing to accept the proposal,” Mohammadi said. In order to implement the project, he said, the first step is to establish a secretariat of the project in China, adding that this can be followed by sessions of the secretariat with the representatives from the participation states.

Mohammed Reza Dashiri, the head of the international department of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said the Belt and Road is aimed at creating a friendly environment for a better neighborhood in terms of political, economical and security dimensions.

“The Islamic republic is determined to actively participate in the project, and believes that joining the plan would help the regional and international economic development,” Dahshiri said.

The China-proposed initiative could promote interaction between the Iranians and Chinese and can be a turning point with win-win venture in bilateral ties, Mohammad H. Emadi, advisor to Iran’s Agricultural Ministry, told Xinhua in an interview. The Belt and Road Initiative is “a new paradigm and a turning point in the relationship between Iran and China and among all central Asian states,” Emadi said.

“Since some financial sanctions by the West against Iran are still in place, it would be a good idea to develop mechanisms for transactions between Iran on the one hand and China and other countries involved in the initiative on the other,” said Mohsen Shariati Nia, a professor at Tehran Shahid Beheshti University. “In addition, the private sectors of both countries should engage in strategic cooperation and investment projects, so that short-term trade ties could grow into comprehensive economic interactions.” He said Iran’s role in the “Silk Road Initiative” should be more than a mere link between East and West. “Iran should play a key role as a partner of China, which will result in the strategic cooperation,” Shariati Nia said.

Concurrently with the conference, Tehran is also hosting a cultural festival called “2016 Experiencing China in Iran,” showcasing northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and featuring a photo exhibition, music and dance performances, and other cultural activities. 

Wednesday afternoon, after meeting with US Vice President Joe Biden, Turkish President Reccept Tayyip Erdogan announced that Syrian rebels, backed by Turkish artillery and tanks, took the Syrian border town of Jarabulus, on the Euphrates River, from ISIS. According to a Reuters report, the operation began at 4 AM local time, with US and Turkish air strikes against ISIS targets. The air strikes were apparently followed by the insertion of Turkish special forces into Syria and Turkish artillery strikes across the border. Turkish tanks reportedly crossed the border some hours later.

“The aim of the operation is to ensure border security and Syria’s territorial integrity while supporting the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State,” one military source told Reuters. The military operation was aimed at clearing the Turkish border of “terrorist elements,” halting a new wave of refugee flows, and delivering humanitarian aid to civilians in the region, the last significant town held by the jihadist group on the border with Turkey, state-run Anadolu Agency reported, according to Hurriyet. It also aimed at “prioritizing and supporting Syria’s territorial integrity,” it added.

The Turkish assault began hours before Biden arrived in Ankara to meet with Erdogan and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim. While the main agenda item for Biden’s visit is the Turkish demand for the extradition of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen for his alleged involvement in the failed July 15 coup attempt, the US relationship with the Syrian Kurdish PYD and its armed wing, the YPG, is also high on the list of Turkish concerns. Biden therefore promised that the YPG, which played a key role in the recent liberation from ISIS of Manbij, Syria, would not be allowed to stay west of the Euphrates River.

“They cannot and will not — under no circumstances — get American support if they do not keep that commitment,” Biden said during a joint press conference with Yildirim, yesterday, reports Hurriyet.

Both the Kurds and the Syrian Foreign Ministry have denounced the Turkish incursion as an act of aggression. A source in the Foreign Ministry told SANA that Syria condemns the incursion as a blatant violation of Syrian sovereignty and affirms that fighting terrorism isn’t done by ousting ISIS and replacing it with other terrorist organizations backed directly by Turkey. PYD leader Salih Muslim, in a twitter posting this morning, declared that  “Turkey is in Syrian Quagmire. will be defeated as Daish.”