GCC chief urges Iran to build trust, not destabilize Mideast

“The Persian Gulf is 1,375 kilometers long – this missile’s range is beyond that,” Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri said in an interview with state television. He added that the weapon, built by the IRGC Navy, is fully indigenous and “can be guided after launch.”

His remarks came as the IRGC carried out the second phase of its naval drill, which began Thursday with ballistic and cruise missile fire at targets in the Oman Sea. State media said the exercise also included drone operations and air defense maneuvers around the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s southern islands.

Tangsiri said all weapons used in the drill were domestically made, including a new ballistic missile with “very high precision.” “Our enemies have seen its accuracy,” he said.

Iran’s missiles have a declared range of up to 2,000 kilometers, which officials say is sufficient for deterrence and covers Israel. The United States and its allies have called on Tehran to restrict missile development to under 500 kilometers, a demand Iran has repeatedly rejected.

The agreement was reached at the fifth meeting of the Iran–Russia Joint Working Group on Communications and Information Technology, held in Moscow, according to the Iranian broadcaster IRIB.

The document was signed by Meysam Abedi, Iran’s deputy minister of communications for technology and innovation, and Alexander Shoitov, Russia’s deputy minister of digital development, communications and mass media.

The accord covers cooperation in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital economy, smart government, blockchain and fintech, as well as technology parks and private-sector partnerships.

Abedi said the signing confirmed “the determination of both governments to expand cooperation in communications and information technology.” He said joint work would continue on data transit, e-government, and developing AI tools, adding that both countries aim to use each other’s experience to deliver “better products and services” to their citizens.

The new agreement follows the ratification of a 20-year strategic partnership between Iran and Russia earlier this year. That treaty, originally signed by Presidents Masoud Pezeshkian and Vladimir Putin in January, commits the two nations to closer coordination in defense, trade, and technology.

Iran’s parliament approved the pact in May with broad support. Lawmaker Hamid Rasai said it was “vital from economic, security, geopolitical, and diplomatic perspectives,” noting that both Tehran and Moscow face heavy Western sanctions.

Widespread awareness has not translated into action, Hadi Asadi-Rahmani, head of the Soil and Water Research Institute of Iran said at the World Soil Day conference in Ghazvin.

“We all know Iran’s soil is growing poorer, and without urgent action, the future of food production will face serious risk,” Asadi-Rahmani added.

Iran has 165 million hectares of land, of which only 24 million are arable. Half of national crop output, Asadi-Rahmani said, now comes from class-three and class-four lands.

He warned that continuous extraction, insufficient fertilizer inputs and erosion are pushing the country toward a structural crisis. “Seventy-five percent of Iran’s soils have less than one percent organic carbon,” he noted. “This shows how exhausted our soils have become.”

Roughly 30,000 hectares of land, according to him, degrade each year, reflecting patterns similar to the country’s water crisis.

Water authorities warn of parallel emergency

Iran is in its sixth consecutive year of drought, Arash Kordi, deputy minister of energy, also said on Saturday.

“Even with normal rainfall, current extraction patterns have no compatibility with Iran’s climate,” Kordi added.

“Delaying reforms directly threatens people’s livelihoods and the foundations of the country.”

Specialists warn of shrinking reserves

Dry conditions have pushed reservoirs in several provinces to record lows. Officials in the religious city of Mashhad have moved to full rationing, and parts of Kerman in the south report farmland abandonment linked to groundwater loss. Nationwide rainfall has dropped to about 18 percent of typical levels.

The twin crises of soil depletion and water scarcity, officials said, now reinforce one another. Asadi-Rahmani warned that postponing decisions would make damages irreversible.

Experts blame decades of over-extraction, unchecked urban growth and placing water-hungry industries in the desert – alongside drier weather – for pushing groundwater sources and lakes to the brink.

Hossein Shariatmadari wrote that Bahrainis seek a “return to the main and mother homeland,” going beyond Iran’s usual rejection of GCC references to Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs.

“This undeniable right of Iran and the people of its separated province cannot and should not be ignored,” he said.

His remarks followed a GCC communiqué issued Wednesday that reaffirmed support for Emirati claims over the islands and called for negotiations or referral to the International Court of Justice. Such statements often prompt formal Iranian protests or diplomatic summonses.

Kayhan links GCC stance to foreign alignment

Shariatmadari accused Persian Gulf states of acting under Western pressure and cited 19th-century British maps to argue Iran’s continuous sovereignty over the islands. He described Bahrain’s separation as a result of foreign intervention and said consultations with tribal leaders did not amount to a true referendum.

His remarks ventured beyond standard Iranian diplomatic messaging, which generally restricts itself to sovereignty claims dating to 1971 and rejects third-party arbitration. By reviving the Bahrain question – largely absent from formal diplomacy for decades – the column broadened the dispute at a moment when GCC statements increasingly pair the islands with Saudi-Kuwaiti positions on the offshore Arash/Durra gas field.

GCC communiqués regularly reprise both issues, while Iran emphasizes territorial “red lines” and warns neighbors against what Tehran describes as misreading its posture in the Persian Gulf.

Jabbar Kouchakinejad, a member of parliament’s budget and planning committee, said Iran has been unable to secure enough foreign exchange for key imports.

“Because of reduced oil income, we cannot provide the required foreign currency for basic goods,” he told ILNA news agency. He said allocations for essential imports fell from 18 billion dollars last year to about 11 billion dollars this year.

Kouchakinejad said much of Iran’s oil sold to China has not been converted into usable currency, while sanctions have forced Tehran to offer heavy discounts.

“Although the oil minister says sales are good, the revenue is not returning to the country,” he said, adding that this has led to import restrictions and shortages in several sectors.

Structural problems worsen fiscal gaps

Economists say the country’s chronic budget deficit, high inflation and weak productivity stem from a large, costly bureaucracy and overlapping agencies. They warn that without reform, Iran’s economy will remain vulnerable to external shocks and sanctions.

Economist Mehdi Pazouki said the unchecked expansion of the administrative system has fueled inflation and wasted public resources. “Without discipline in spending, it will be very difficult to stabilize the economy,” he said.

Analysts warn of harder year ahead

Experts say Iran’s economic outlook may worsen next year when renewed UN sanctions triggered by European powers take full effect. Economist Morteza Afghah said growth targets of eight percent are unrealistic under current conditions, noting that “even without war and sanctions, such goals would be unattainable.”

Kouchakinejad said the monthly treasury reports confirm a decline in oil income, though the exact figures remain classified. “The fall in revenue has made it difficult to forecast foreign currency inflows and fund imports,” he said.