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Over the recent weeks, the disparaging remarks of the President of the French Football Federation, Noël Le Graët, against the former legendary player and current coach of the French football team, Zinedine Zidane aka Zizou, and his apology made headlines in many newspapers in France and around the globe. The palaver, which took the President of the French Football Federation to the point of resignation, displayed unfathomable social rifts in France which were swiftly divulged by an 80-year-old man momentarily and then lost in the brouhaha of state propaganda claiming to serve immigrants and their posterity. French social media showed a strong negative reaction to the remarks made by Le...
Origin of Dongji in Korea It is the day with the longest night and the shortest day of the year, like Shabe-Yalda in Iran, falling in November on the lunar calendar and around December 22 on the solar calendar. Beginning with summer, the nights begin to shorten and the nights begin to lengthen, reaching their climax on the day of the Dongji, and from the next day, the nights begin to shorten and the days begin to lengthen. Ancient people thought of this day as the day when the sun rose from the dead and held a festival to offer sacrifices to the sun god. In China, this day is regarded as the new year because it is regarded as a rebirth of vitality and light. In Korea, Dongji has been called...
It has been 60 years since Korea and Iran started to exchange on October 23, 1962. Korea and Iran started exchanges about 1,500 years ago, and this is mentioned in 'Kushname', an ancient Persian epic poem, that can estimate exchanges between Silla and Persia of the Sasanian dynasty in the 7th century. Today, the difficulties between Korea and Iran have worsened due to the US economic sanctions, but hopefully to find relief and relationship again, the following is the story of the first start of a relationship between Korea and Iran in history incited in Kushname. Due to the Arab invasion in the middle of the 7th century, Persia's Prince ‘Abtin’ exiled...
The developments and disputes over the past two years in the Caucasus culminated in the return of territories claimed by the Republic of Azerbaijan to this country from Armenia. But it seems that the recent activities in 2022 by Azerbaijan in Syunik Province have new objectives entailing new geopolitical developments. The IR of Iran is an active regional actor which is also affected by any developments in the area and pursues its particular policies and approaches based on the Supreme Leader's position on the northwestern borders of the Caucasus not changing. The policies of the IR of Iran on developments in the Caucasus have drawn a range of criticisms and reactions from the people,...
The deployment of Russian troops and military equipment on a large scale to the Ukrainian border, geopolitically, cannot be underestimated. The crisis that occurs, especially if it erupts into a war, is not only a matter between the two countries, because it must have serious implications and have wide ramifications. What is feared is that uncontrolled developments will have implications for international security, including in the Southeast Asian region. After the Cold War ended in 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union (US), the map of Eastern Europe has changed significantly. The position of ex-US countries and their satellites (Ukraine and Belarus) is very strategic for both Russia and the US and the...
Historical facts show that the Zionists are present and pervasive at the heart of the American decision-making nucleus and have systematically deceived the Americans and sacrificed their interests for Zionist interests. This is the reason why America's geopolitical weight and prestige over its rivals in the region is declining every day. Doubtless, this will be a wakeup call for the American people and elite one day. The conflict of the Israeli regime with the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) is an indisputable issue. It has carried out many direct and indirect acts of terrorism and sabotage against the country, some of the more significant of which are: 1) Pressurizing the US to withdraw from the...
HISTORICALLY, Pakistan and Iran share geographical contiguity, religious affinity, culture similarities and civilizational closeness. For centuries, the area now constituting Pakistan remained the hub of the Indo-Persian civilization that produced remarkable works of art, poetry, literature and great intellect. After the creation of Pakistan, the natural affinity and closeness shared by these two neighbours was enhanced further and mutual ties of both flourished to new heights. Traditionally Pakistani frontiers with Iran have always been peaceful, safe and secure. Iran was the first country which recognized Pakistan upon its emergence as an independent country in 1947. Indeed, there have been historical...
DESPITE geographical contiguity, availability of a well-defined communication network and Islamic brotherhood, the volume of bilateral trade between Pakistan and Iran is very low. This reduced volume of bilateral trade and commerce is being viewed in the complete disadvantage of both Islamabad and Tehran. Moreover, there are no serious reasons for not pursuing the bilateral trade activities. Critically analysing the potentials and prospects of bilateral trade, it reveals that there exists numerous areas where Pakistan and Iran can cooperate for the promotion of bilateral trade and commerce. For the past few years, Pakistan is facing serious shortages of energy especially the natural gas. Owing to this shortage,...
Iran and South Korea might improve their economic and financial relations if the Asian country will release frozen Iranian assets after having played a positive role in the recent nuclear talks in Vienna. On January 4th, 2021, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea declared that a senior South Korean diplomat would have held talks in Vienna with Iran and world powers to resolve the issue of frozen Iranian assets held in the Asian country. Consequently, the arrival in Vienna of the Vice Foreign Affairs Minister of South Korea, Choi Jong-kun, was interpreted as a positive signal for normalising the situation of the frozen Iranian assets (around 7 billion dollars).[1] The South Korean envoy’s visit...
How much is the loss of Western power to dominate global order, as well as the relative loss of power by the US and its exclusion from world leadership, due to the inefficiencies of the existing order? How will this affect the prevalence of unilateralism or multilateralism in the international order? Given the insignificant literature available on the two concepts of unilateralism and multilateralism, it may not be a bad idea to give an initial definition of these prior to launching into the experiences of recent years and explaining why the concepts were propelled into the epicenter of debates on international relations and international law. Unilateralism refers to a situation in which a country who disregards...
Introduction In recent years, the United States has intensified its unilateral policies to pursue its interests and impose its opinions and wishes on other countries. The failure to fulfill its international obligations, withdrawal from international treaties and organizations, neglecting previous commitments to human rights, environment, and trade, are some of these unilateral policies. Intensified unilateral sanctions in recent years is one of the most significant manifestations of unilateral US policies, aiming to exercise economic and social pressure on other countries and force them to abide by White House strategies. As one of America's rival countries with serious conflicts of interest with...
Introduction During his four years in office, Trump was able to inflict unprecedented damages on the Iranian economy with his special architecture of economic sanctions after nuking the JCPOA. The former US president designed the architecture of comprehensive unilateral sanctions, placing Iranian economy under pressure without international coordination. But by doing so, he demonstrated that his main goal was not simply to sign a better deal. Trump manipulated the sanctions in such a way as to bolster the effect of the fifth column on the political, economic, and social system of Iran for his long-term political and strategic plans. Despite his efforts, however, the mechanism he had planned for the sanctions...
Introduction Sanctions became one of the most important foreign policy tools in the US at the end of the Cold War. In the post-Cold War era, sanctions were initially considered effective and morally acceptable as an alternative to military operations. Nevertheless, it was proved from the start that they affected societies in target countries far more adversely than military wars. In recent years, the unwanted outcomes of economic sanctions have been a subject of study in policymaking and academic circles. But such outcomes on the environment have been less discussed. Economic sanctions force the hand of target states to adopt aggressive, unsustainable development policies at the cost of swift environmental...
Introduction The IR of Iran has optimal manpower, natural resources, geographical environment, and geographical location (geostrategic & transit) potentials which can serve to generate power and strengthen the domestic structure of the establishment. Achieving a strong position and a more effective role in West Asia has always been a foreign policy goal for the IR of Iran. In the meantime, the US is using its unilateral policies and coercive diplomacy to compel Iran to accept its norms within the framework of international organizations, weaken the foundations of its establishment, and prevent the country from attaining regional hegemony. One effective way of strengthening national power and countering US...
Introduction The IR of Iran has faced an array of sanctions since the victory of the Islamic Revolution to date at different times. These foreign pressures and restrictions have taken their toll on the country’s economy. In other words, the sanctions are part of the process to threaten the infrastructure of strategic power in the IR of Iran with the aim of regime change. In addition, the US has also used its maximum pressure approach, pursuing unilateral sanctions to attain its desired objectives in West Asia; unilateral sanctions which lack global legitimacy and consensus, and most governments and businesses are unwilling to be tied to them. In this environment, the security and political requirements of...
I) Introduction Last year, Palestinian stance deteriorated in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, mainly because of Donald Trump’s pro-Israeli actions. The European Union opposed US administration’s peace plan that favored Israel. To some extent, the EU’s opposition contributed to the failure of Trump’s peace plan. The EU’s threats also dissuaded Israelis to annex 30% of West Bank. Overall, despite these two recent victories, the EU remained passive in the face of the constant deterioration of the economic, political and social conditions of the Palestinian people. The EU appears to be unable to do more for the Palestinian cause because of its strategic paralysis regarding...
The findings of an opinion poll carried out by Tehran International Studies & Research Institute (TISRI) show that nearly 70% of Iranian academic elites believe that the strategy of look to the East and the signing of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with China is in line with the requirements of modern-day Iran. TISRI has recently conducted an opinion poll on what the Iranian academic elites think about the IR of Iran’s policy of look to the East and the Iran-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Participants included 200 professors from the University of Tehran, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tarbiat Modares University, Shiraz University, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Shahid...
The explosion of a bomb near the embassy of the Zionist regime in New Delhi on 29 January 2020 led to numerous speculations about its perpetrators and their motives. Given that the explosion happened on the 29th anniversary of diplomatic ties between India and the Zionist regime, it was interpreted as an act of terrorism by many, including the Zionist authorities. Previously, on 13 February 2012, the car carrying the spouse of an Israeli diplomat had also been blown up in New Delhi. Ambassador of the Zionist regime in India, Ron Malka, asserted that the two explosions may be linked. The Zionist occupying force pointed the finger at Iran, but Iran explicitly denied all the allegations while calling the...
In his election campaign, Joe Biden always described Trump’s maximum pressure campaign against Iran and his withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal as the wrong step to take, reiterating that Trump never achieved any of the objectives the deal was meant to accomplish. Therefore, the US must pursue its goals and policies in countering Iran by returning to the JCPOA. Although Biden considers Trump’s policy a failure, he still aims to preserve parts of his maximum pressure campaign and lift only part of the sanctions imposed on Iran. He has postponed the lifting of all sanctions until the start of talks on Iran’s missile program and regional affairs. On this side,...
The European belief in a hierarchical world order is an “unnecessary evil” of our time. Although Europe considers the superiority of the US over itself and the superiority of Europe over Iran as a prerequisite for all talks and ties, this short-sighted view by a collection of small countries that consider themselves inferior is not becoming against a country like Iran who can have a say in the age of conflicting ideas due to its demography, surface area, natural resources, and most importantly its elements of hard power, soft power norms, and its noble values and ideals. How can just this one line in the statement issued by the EU three who are participants in the Joint Comprehensive Plan...
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