Iran

Ali Bagheri Kani, Iranian deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, said that Iran has appointed the envoy and the process of dispatching him to Abu Dhabi is going through its final stages, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a report by IRNA. Kani made the remarks as Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani.

He made the remarks on Monday at a weekly press conference in a response to the US rejection of Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian's comments on the exchange of prisoners between the two sides on Sunday, official news agency IRNA reported. Iran is ready to swap prisoners with the US as a humanitarian issue, Kanaani noted, adding that negotiations are underway between Tehran and Washington through mediators with regard to the prisoner exchange issue, Xinhua news agency reported.

Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks on Sunday in a live televised interview, saying if everything goes on well on the side of the Americans, the prisoner swap will be done in the coming days, according to Iran's official news agency IRNA. He added Iran views the case as an entirely humanitarian issue, noting that the two sides indirectly signed a deal in March 2022 to this end.

Dubbed Yasin, the aircraft can also be tasked with close air support, said Iranian Defence Minister Mohammadreza Ashtiani at a ceremony held to launch an aircraft assembly line in Tehran, according to official news agency IRNA. Equipped with homegrown subsystems such as ejection seats, avionics, engines and landing gears, the final prototype is much upgraded and developed in tactical terms compared to the first one unveiled in October 2019.

"Following the end of the Iran-Iraq war in 1988, Iran asked a number of countries to consider the possibility of selling it fighter jets, and Russia said it was ready for the deal," the Iranian mission was quoted as telling Russia's Sputnik news agency, Xinhua news agency reported. The restrictions on Iran's purchase of conventional weapons were removed in October 2020.

"Saudi Arabia and Iran agree to respect state sovereignty and not interfere in internal matters," the statement said, adding that the two countries' foreign ministers will meet soon to arrange for the exchange of envoys and discuss means to enhance ties, Al Arabiya reported.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian made the remarks on Tuesday in an address to a commemoration ceremony, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the Iranian Foreign Ministry's website. He stressed that reaching an agreement in the talks on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal in line with the national interests is among the "inherent responsibilities" of the Iranian diplomatic apparatus.

The two sides on Monday exchanged views on economic cooperation and ways to expand it, particularly in the field of international transportation, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the website of the Iranian President's office. The two leaders also reviewed initiatives involving regional transportation development, according to Mohammad Jamshidi, deputy chief of staff for political affairs to the Iranian President.

Kowsar and Hodhod, built by an Iranian consortium of knowledge-based companies, are planned to be sent into an orbit 500 km above the Earth's surface by a foreign launch vehicle, said the report on Sunday. Kowsar is an observation satellite with an imaging resolution of 3.5 metre per pixel, which can be used for agricultural purposes, surveying and demarcation. The satellite has an orbital lifespan of two years, Xinhua news agency reported.

In an interview with IRNA published on Sunday, Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI), said the IAEA inspections of Iran's Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP) have now increased to 11 from eight, commenting on the reports of a 50-per cent rise in the IAEA's inspections of Iranian nuclear sites, Xinhua News Agency reported.