Jahangiri: Situation not critical
Former United Nations Secretary General and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kofi Annan died at the age of 80 on Saturday after a short illness, his foundation announced.
“It is with immense sadness that the Annan family and the Kofi Annan Foundation announce that Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations and Nobel Peace Laureate, passed away peacefully on Saturday 18th August after a its withdrawal from the nuclear deal.
Jahangiri made the comments on Saturday while addressing a ceremony marking National Journalist’s Day at IRNA’S headquarters in Tehran.
He said, “We have a great civilization, great human resources and many other capacities short illness,” the foundation said in a statement, AFP reported.
“His wife Nane and their children Ama, Kojo and Nina were by his side during his last days.”
The Ghanaian national, who lived in Switzerland, was a career diplomat who projected quiet charisma and who is widely credited for raising the world body’s profile in global politics during his two terms as UN chief, that will help us put this situation behind us, a situation which has been created by the adamancy of a country,” referring to the United States. The Iranian official noted, “We have ample resources, a geopolitical situation, a great population and a great country”.
from 1997 to 2006.
He quickly became a familiar face on television, with his name making newspaper headlines, and he was a sought-after guest at gala events.
Current UN chief Antonio Guterres voiced deep sadness at the news, describing his predecessor as “a guiding force for good”.
“In many ways, Kofi Annan was the United Nations,” he added.
“He rose through the ranks to lead the organization into the new millennium with matchless dignity and determination.”
‘Towering global leader’
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote on his Twitter account on Saturday that he was “extremely saddened by passing of Kofi Annan”.
Zarif described Annan as a “towering global leader and an unwavering champion for peace, justice and rule of law.”
The first secretary general from sub-saharan Africa, Annan led the United Nations through the divisive years of the Iraq war and was later accused of corruption in the oil-for-food scandal, one of the most trying times of his tenure.
In 2001, as the world was reeling from the September 11 attacks, Annan was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the world body “for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world”.
Born in Kumasi, the capital city of Ghana’s Ashanti region, Annan was the son of an executive of a European trading company, the United Africa company, a subsidiary of the Anglo-dutch multinational Unilever.
After ending his second term as UN chief, Annan went on to take high-profile mediation roles in Kenya and in Syria.
He later set up a foundation devoted to conflict resolution and joined the Elders group of statesmen which regularly speaks out on global issues. cricket team to the ceremony, and fast bowler Wasim Akram was pictured smiling among the crowd.
Another cricketer-turned-politician, India’s Navjot Singh Sidhu, was seated in the front row and earlier warmly embraced Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Later, Khan went to the Prime Minister’s house in the capital, where he was met by a guard of honor.
Khan campaigned on promises to end widespread graft while building an “Islamic welfare state”.
“I promise to my God that everyone who looted this country will be made accountable,” he said in Friday’s speech to parliament.
He said the US launched a psychological warfare against Iran before waging an economic war.
All forces must come under one umbrella. The country needs national unity to face this situation, he added.
On August 6, US President Donald Trump ordered all nuclear-related sanctions that were removed under the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement to be reinstated immediately.
It came after Trump announced on May 8 that he would abandon the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers.
Under the nuclear deal, Iran agreed to limit parts of its peaceful nuclear program in exchange for the removal of all nuclear-related sanctions.
The first phase of the unilateral sanctions came into effect a day after Trump’s order, targeting Iran’s purchase of US dollars, trade in gold and other precious metals as well as its automotive sector. A second batch of sanctions will be reimposed in November with the aim of curtailing Iran’s oil exports and shipping sectors.
Touching on the issue of corruption, he said the phenomenon is a major concern of the government today, adding that some top officials were involved in corruption in the past, but corruption was not fought without factional considerations.
He stressed that fight against corruption needs impartiality, free from factional interests.
Those who claim to fight corruption today, had the highest level of involvement in corruption when they were in power, he said alluding to former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad without naming.
Referring to the factors causing corruption, Jahangiri said information creates the highest level of rent in the country, hence we are preparing a bill on transparency to fight rent.
Another bill is on dealing with the conflict between personal and public interests of officials that will be prepared and submitted to the parliament in near future, the Iranian official said.
Another measure taken by the cabinet, he said is a website designed to monitor allocation of foreign exchange and imports of goods.
Iran’s currency has lost half of its value following US reimposition of sanctions.
Jahangiri added that an electronic website is to monitor payment of taxes to prevent evasion of taxes and money laundering.