Iran: multilateral political relations

This file concerns Iran's foreign relations. It contains press cuttings and correspondence on:

• A speech by Dr Ali Akbar Velayati to ambassadors, criticising the Soviet Union, the US and Israel
• 'Soviet imperialism' in Afghanistan and a call for pan-Islamic sanctions against the US
• Iran's preference for relations with Muslim and Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) nations, in a ‘Neither East nor West’ approach
• Iranian representation at the funeral of Leonid Brezhnev
• An interview with President Ali Khamenei on Iran’s foreign policy
• The Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the kidnapping of Iranians there and the election of President Bashir Gemayel
• The involvement of Iranian soldiers in an attacks in Baalbek on 22 November 1982
• Relations between the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Iran and the views of the PLO Ambassador Salah Zawawi
• A call by President Khamenei for an Islamic Conference Organisation (ICO) summit on the Lebanon-Palestinian question
• A conference of liberation movements in Tehran organised by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a proposal by Ayatollah Hussein-Ali Montazeri to establish a ‘united Islamic front’
• A proposal for a united Muslim army to defeat Israel
• Criticisms of the Muslim Brotherhood and its activities in Syria
• Recent Iranian success in its war with Iraq, and the difficulties of Saddam Hussein
• The diplomatic support for Iran from Libyan in its war with Iraq
• Suspicions raised by India of Iran’s willingness to bomb Baghdad during a forthcoming NAM summit there
• Assurance given to Sheikh Suroor Bin Mohammad Al Nahyan that Iran has no hostile intention towards the Gulf
• The Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Bin Mubarak Al Khalifa’s outlook on peace prospects in the Iran-Iraq War, and a possible mediation by Pakistan, Algeria and Gulf nations
• Iraqi pressure on Oman, and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to break ties with Iran
• The concerns of Sheikh Sa'ud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi of Ras Al Khaimah about an Iranian coastguard vessel off the coast of Umm Al Quwain
• A visit to the UAE by Ayatollah Ghyoory and delegation, and meeting with the Ruler of Sharjah Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi
• A visit to the UAE by an Iranian delegation headed by Foreign Ministry official Hussein Sheikholeslam; and the Ruler of Ajman Sheikh Humaid Bin Rashid Al Nuaimi’s account of their talks
• The tension in Saudi Arabia-Iranian relations created by criticism of the Royal Family
• The establishment of Tanzanian-Iranian relations; and the opening of embassies in Mauritania, Cuba, the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY), Malaysia, Ghana and Guinea
• The diplomatic activities of Iran on International Jerusalem Day, (Quds Day, 16 July) in: the Gulf, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Algeria, Nigeria, Mauritania, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius and Tanzania
• The effect on Iran's foreign relations of recent lenient sentences on coup-plotters in Bahrain
• The defection to Bahrain, using a Iranian National Oil Company helicopter, of a Lieutenant Commander in the Imperial Iranian Navy and his request for US asylum
• Tensions in Bahrain-Iran relations
• The establishment of offices by the Filipino group the Moro National Liberation Front in Iran and a newspaper interview with the group’s leader Nur Misuari
• The Swedish Ambassador’s representation of British interests, including the detained businessman Andrew Pyke
• An article in Kayhan International entitled ‘There is no Peace Between Islam and Kufr’
• Visits by Dr Velayati to Algeria, Libya, Mauretania, and comments on the Polisario Front in Western Sahara
• A visit to Africa by Dr Velayati, attending an ICO meeting in Niamey
• A visit by Dr Velayati to India, and his talks with the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and others
• A visit by the PDYR Foreign Minister Saleem Saleh Mohammad and his delegation to Tehran and meetings with the Iranian President, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister
• A visit to Bulgaria by the Iranian Minister of Agriculture Mohammad Salamati
• A visit by Malta’s Foreign Minister Alex Sceberras Trigona to Iran under the auspices of the NAM
• A visit by the speaker of the North Korean parliament and his meeting with Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
• An assessment of Rafsanjani’s ideological position
• A visit by New Zealand’s Foreign and Trade Minister Warren Cooper to Iran and the signing of a new meat contract
• Iran and the Organization for Regional Cooperation and Development (ORCD, or RCD).