Flood danger rises as Spain and Portugal face another storm
Rivers and reservoirs across Spain and Portugal were on the verge of overflowing on Wednesday as a new weather front pounded the Iberian peninsula, co...
Iran’s deputy foreign minister for Legal affairs Kazem Gharibabadi has said that plans are underway for the repatriation of Iranian prisoners and enhancing border security and controls.
He said that these matters were discussed during his visit to Afghanistan on Sunday, where renewing border demarcation signs and implementing Afghanistan’s obligation to provide Iran’s water share.
Iran and Afghanistan have longstanding tensions over Helmand River water rights, the management of shared borders, and the issue of Afghan nationals illegally residing in Iran.
“It was decided to take the Iranian nationals imprisoned in Afghanistan into the custody of our embassy in Kabul and facilitate their immediate transfer to Iran,” Gharibabadi said in a post on X.
He expressed satisfaction over outcome of the meetings with the Afghan officials including Minister of Borders and Tribes, Deputy Minister of Water and Energy (Water Commissioner), and the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.
During the visit, he added, bilateral issues on border, water, legal and judicial cooperation were reviewed, and “Both sides stressed the need to strengthen border controls to prevent drug smuggling, human trafficking, and curb terrorist elements”.
“It was also agreed to resume the project to renovate border demarcation signs which has been suspended for seven years,” he said.
The Iranian official also said that a meeting of the water commissioners of the two countries would be held in Iran in the near future within the framework of implementing Afghanistan’s commitments to provide Iran’s water share.
Gharibabadi, who arrived in Kabul on Sunday, visited Herat Province on the second leg of his visit on Wednesday and met its governor Noor Mohammad Islamjar.
“Negotiations between Iran and Afghanistan on the water rights of the Helmand River, protecting the Hamoun wetlands, and determining the legal regime of Harirud River are ongoing as special issues,” he told reporters after returning to Iran.
Iran has been demanding the complete implementation of the 1972 Helmand Treaty and securing it water rights under the treaty.
Cuba’s Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío has denied that Havana and Washington have entered formal negotiations, countering recent assertions by U.S. President Donald Trump, while saying the island is open to dialogue under certain conditions.
Talks with the U.S. should be pursued to secure national interests as long as "threats and unreasonable expectations" are avoided, President Masoud Pezeshkian posted on X on Tuesday (3 February).
Mexico said it will stop sending oil to Cuba as U.S. President Donald Trump ramped up pressure on the Caribbean nation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia on Tuesday (3 February) of exploiting a U.S.-backed energy ceasefire to stockpile weapons and launch large-scale drone and missile attacks on Ukraine ahead of peace talks.
Paris prosecutors have summoned X chairman Elon Musk and former chief executive Linda Yaccarino for questioning in April as part of their probe into the X social media network, they said on Tuesday.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei “should be very worried”, as efforts to establish a diplomatic path between Washington and Tehran appear to be breaking down.
Another shipment of grain was sent to Armenia via transit through Azerbaijani territory on 4 February. The latest delivery consisted of eight wagons carrying 560 tonnes of grain dispatched from Azerbaijan to Armenia.
Azerbaijan and Armenia used a high-profile international platform in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday to underline growing trade ties, expanding cooperation and what both leaders described as an irreversible turn towards peace after decades of conflict.
Afghan officials and international partners met in Kabul on Wednesday (4 February) for the fourth meeting of the Doha Process Working Group on Counter-Narcotics, with officials citing a reduction in poppy cultivation to “nearly zero” as efforts to curb drug production and trafficking were reviewed.
Uzbekistan is accelerating plans to expand uranium production and deepen international nuclear cooperation, positioning the sector as a pillar of long-term industrial growth and resource security.
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