The cover story of this edition is dedicated to the six-nation tour of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to Latin America. Visiting Cuba, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia and Venezuela for the very first time, Zarif was aiming to further expand economic relations with these Latin American countries in the light of sanctions removal and newly-presented opportunities for trade cooperation.
The Politics section kicks off with an Op-Ed by the editor-in-chief of MNA’s English desk on the Syrian Army siege over Aleppo and the West and some Arab states’ attempts at undermining the expected liberation of Syria’s biggest city. The US Supreme Court ruling on the seizure of about $2bn of Iranian assets provided an occasion to reach out to Canadian political analyst Eric Walberg to ask about their opinion on the issue. The failed coup in Turkey was another hot topic in July, which prompted MNA to contact American analyst Stephen Lendman and Eric Walberg on the occasion. Lendman theorizes about US involvement in the coup, saying US intelligence likely knew about plans to oust Erdogan, yet didn’t warn him. Eric Walberg believes that the role of Turkey’s social media was decisive in mobilizing the broad public within minutes and to get them to the streets in support of President Erdogan.
Amir Saed Vakil, a professor of international law and lawyer, talks about Brexit and how to read the world when the UK leaves the European Union. American analyst Dr. Steinbock also touches upon the issue, who believed that the UK referendum would foster substantial economic uncertainty, market volatility and political risk, which could lead London and Brussels back to the negotiating deal.
Joe Stork, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa division, talked with Mehr News about the UN removing Saudi Arabia from the black list on children’s rights violation. He said that the US has a very long record in influencing the UN decisions by having cut off funding to particular UN agencies and threatened others. Following this is an interview a German MP who discussed the Munich shooting, saying the incident would not have considerable impact on the country as an open society. The politics section closes with an interview with Jewish religious scholar Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss, a spokesman for ‘Jews against Zionism’ who sat earlier in May with Mehr News to talk about the Zionism and its multiple dimensions, the corrupt nature of the Israeli regime which Rabbi Weiss believed violated the fundamental rules of the Judaism.
This edition of Mehr Vision includes a section dedicated to economy with an interview with sanction expert Sarosh Zaiwalla on Iran’s Bank Mellat, followed by two interviews with Thailand’s Ambassador to Tehran and a senior Thai official about bilateral relations.
Notable in Culture section of the magazine is two pieces dedicated to the passing away of world-renowned Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami. A report on Iran’s National Botanical Garden describes this beautiful reserve which is home to 3000 species of plants, shrubs and trees. Another report discusses Tehran Municipality’s initiative of setting up a city-wide gallery of national and international artworks displayed on billboards. The National Journalists’ Day is commemorated in the next part, followed by a report on Brazil Islamic Center which provided halal food for athletes at Rio Olympics.
News in Vision features the sum up of the most notable events from June to July at a glance.
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