By Ali Karbalaei

BRICS on standby for new world order

TEHRAN - The new emerging global markets are to kick off their annual summit, and many countries are keen to join.

By Martin Love

Ruminations about the changes underway…

Any American voice may not count for much in most of Asia and especially in West Asia and that is quite understandable. Anyone in Iran or now in Iran’s neighboring Arab countries have an unquestionable right to question Americans and the government in Washington for countless misdeeds over the last 30 years around divide and conquer policies and actions that have created rampant chaos and misery that never, ever should have been meted out by Washington and its allies wherever.

Damascus wants Iran to be involved in political initiatives in Syria

TEHRAN – Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said on Sunday that it is necessary that Iran play a role in “any political initiative” in his country as he lauded Tehran’s constructive role in fighting terrorism in Syria and helping settle the crisis in the Arab country.

Putin envoy says Moscow ready to mediate between Iran, S. Arabia

TEHRAN – Russian Vladimir Putin Special Envoy for the Middle East and North Africa has said Moscow is ready to mediate between Iran and Saudi Arabia to resolve their disputes, IRNA reported on Tuesday.

Putin says work on major new Russia-Iran strategic treaty is nearly completed

Co-op among US-sanctioned states make them stronger, Raisi tells Putin

TEHRAN – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Thursday told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that the cooperation among countries sanctioned by the United States will make them “stronger”.

Russian leader says happy Iran joining SCO

Putin meets Raisi, say ‘our positions are close’ 

TEHRAN - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday met his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, and expressed his happiness about Tehran joining the eight-member bloc.

Sanctions have made Iran and Russia allies: commentary

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has turned the country into a heavily-ostracized state and opened new opportunities for Iran to build closer relations with the major global power.

Western parties have asked Iran to play role in Ukraine crisis: FM

TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has said that some Western parties have reached out to Iran asking it to play an active role in the Ukraine war.

‘Ceasefire in Yemen actually owes a lot to the Iranian-Saudi dialogue’

Not all Arabs want to line up against Iran: Johns Hopkins University professor

TEHRAN - A professor of Johns Hopkins University says all Arab states don’t like to align against Iran as the U.S. wishes.

Syrian FM on way to Tehran as Iran is set to host summit on Syria: report

TEHRAN – Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad to visit Iran on Tuesday as Tehran is set to host a conference Syria on the same day with the participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan within the Astana format, the Russian news agency Sputnik reported.

Russia’s Putin to meet Ayatollah Khamenei in Tehran: ambassador

TEHRAN - Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic Revolution, during his visit to Tehran later this week, the Russian ambassador to Iran has said.

Putin will surely visit Iran, but exact date not yet known: Kremlin spokesman

TEHRAN - Russian President Vladimir Putin will certainly visit Iran at some point, but the exact date of this visit is yet unknown, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told TASS.

Putin tells Guterres he still has hope for negotiated agreement with Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin told visiting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that he still hopes for negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine.

German Chancellor Scholz: "There cannot be a nuclear war"

In an interview with Der Spiegel, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz discusses arms deliveries to Ukraine and growing calls for Berlin to supply heavy weapons. He also talks about why he has been hesitant to act in this crisis and addresses critical questions about his party's policies toward Russia in the past.

UN chief to meet separately with Putin and Zelenskyy in peace effort

A spokesperson for Secretary-General António Guterres informed correspondents in a note that on Tuesday, 26 April, he will have a working meeting and lunch with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and will be received by President Putin in Moscow. 

Russia-Ukraine peace talks “to resume” as Biden seeks escalation 

A source has told Russian media that peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv are set to resume on Monday after the Russian president said the negotiations had effectively run into a “deadlock.”

Russia asks Europe to pay for gas export in rules or will make other decisions

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian central bank, the government, and Gazprom to present proposals by March 31 for gas payments in rubles from "unfriendly countries," including all European Union states.

Zelensky says Ukraine ready to discuss neutrality in peace talks with Russia

Ukraine is ready to declare neutrality, abandon its drive to join NATO and vow to not develop nuclear weapons if Russia withdraws troops and Kyiv receives security guarantees, President Volodymyr Zelensky said ahead of peace talks in Turkey on Monday.

Macron warns against 'escalation' after Biden calls Putin 'butcher'

French President Emmanuel Macron warned Sunday against a verbal "escalation" of Russia's invasion in Ukraine.

Russia warns Western arms convoys to Ukraine are ‘legitimate targets’

Russia has said its troops could target supplies of Western weapons in Ukraine, where the Russian army has been advancing since late February, Al Jazeera reported.

By Professor Mahmood Monshipouri

The choices that built and impaired the post-war order

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has occurred at a time when there is a global consensus regarding Ukraine’s sovereignty and that the freedom to choose its alliances must be unconditionally preserved. 

Iran urges all sides in the Ukraine conflict to show restraint

TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that the Islamic Republic is closely monitoring developments in Ukraine and asked all the conflicting sides to shows “restraint” and avoid any move that would intensify tensions.

Iran and Russia seek to topple the petrodollar’s dominance: National Interest 

TEHRAN - In a commentary on February 4, The National Interest said Iran and Russia, as two countries subject to U.S. sanctions, are seeking to undermine the petrodollar’s dominance in global finance and trade.

Russia, Iran prepare contacts at highest level, Kremlin says

TEHRAN - Moscow and Tehran are preparing contacts at the highest level, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists in St. Petersburg on Tuesday.

20-year cooperation agreement with Russia at final stage, Iran says

TEHRAN - The Foreign Ministry said late on Saturday that striking a 20-year cooperation agreement between Iran and Russia is at its final stage.

Russian tourists eager to visit Iran: expert

TEHRAN – Many Russian tourists are eager to travel to Iran, an Iranian travel expert said on Monday, recounting his Russian counterparts.

Putin, Erdogan discuss Nagorno-Karabakh, Syria, Libya

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed deep concern about the persisting conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh as well as the rising presence of foreign terrorists in the clashes in a phone conversation with his Turkish counterpart.