PHOTO: President Rouhani looks on as Supreme Leader talks with South African leader Jacob Zuma on Sunday

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Iran’s regime has taken advantage of a visit by South African President Jacob Zuma to put out its line on regional crises and a united economic stand to withstand US pressure.

Hosting Zuma on Sunday, the Supreme Leader proclaimed:

Independent countries must close ranks as much as possible and increase their cooperation in spite of disruptive acts by certain arrogant powers.

The interests of independent countries lie in increasing cooperation in different sectors and the obstacles certain powers are throwing up against such cooperation must be countered.

Iran suffered a diplomatic setback on April 15 when the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, with more than 50 member states, condemned Tehran and Hezbollah for “terrorism” and causing “regional instability”.

Saudi Arabia, which led the push for OIC criticism, is embroiled in tension with Iran, including the breaking of diplomatic relations after a crowd attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran in January. Riyadh supports the opposition and rebels in Syria, while Iran is an essential backer of the Assad regime. The two countries are also at odds over Yemen, where Saudi Arabia is pursuing military intervention against the Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement which controls the capital Sana’a and much of the country.

Meanwhile, there have been complications over the implementation of the July 2015 nuclear agreement, with the Supreme Leader claiming that the US is trying to undermine the deal with continuing sanctions and financial restrictions. Ayatollah Khamenei has warned the Rouhani Government that it needs to take a stronger stand against Washington and to pursue a “Resistance Economy” for self-sufficiency.

There were no signs of regime discord on Sunday, as President Rouhani attended the Khamenei-Zuma meeting. Iranian State media declared that Zuma had “echoed Ayatollah Khamenei’s remarks about the necessity of cooperation between independent nations” and proclaimed his constant opposition of Western sanctions.

Rouhani Proclaims Joint “Anti-Terrorist Fight”

At his press conference with Zuma, Rouhani said Iran and South Africa would purse “intelligence and political” cooperation in a fight against the violence and terrorism which threatens the Middle East, Africa, and the world.

The President specifically cited an exchange of view on the crises in Iraq, Yemen, and Syria, declaring that “a political solution can restore stability” in the Syrian civil war.

Rouhani also pointed to an effort to increase the influence of states like Iran and South Africa in the UN:

Like in the past, the two countries will have more serious cooperation in the field of international issues, particularly the future of the United Nations and reforms that the United Nations Security Council must undertake so that countries can defend their interests in the United Nations and particularly in the Security Council.

The two Presidents signed eight memoranda of understanding in areas such as trade and industry, agriculture, water resources, efforts against fight against money-laundering, oil, and cultural relations.

Cartoonist Farghedani’s Sentence Reduced from 12 Years to 18 Months

An appeals court has reduced the prison sentence of Iranian cartoonist and activist Atena Farghadani from more than 12 years to 18 months.

The new verdict means Farghadani will be released on May 11, according to her lawyer.

Farghedani, 29, was arrested in August 2014 and held for two months. She was re-arrested in January 2015 and was sentenced by the hardline judge Abolghasem Salavati in May. The punishment also included a “virginity test”.

The activist’s “crime” was drawing a cartoon that depicted MPs as animals, in a protest bills that would have outlawed voluntary sterilization, restricted access to contraceptives, and tightened divorce laws.

French-Iranian Citizen Afshar Given 6-Year Sentence

French-Iranian citizen Nazak Afshar has been sentenced to six years in prison.

Afshar, a former French embassy employee, left Iran in 2009 after facing espionage charges. She was arrested last month at Tehran airport as she arrived to visit her critically-ill mother.

She was freed on bail after the sentence

Afshar was freed in 2009 following the intervention of the French government and left the country the same year.

Several other dual-nationality citizens, including Iranian-American businessman Siamak Namazi, have been arrested as they visited friends and family in Iran.

“Five people who were arrested recently for their connections outside the country were put on trial…and four of them have received their sentences,” judiciary spokesman Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei said on Sunday.

Sabri Hassanpour, the presenter of a pro-opposition TV channel in the Netherlands, was arrested as he traveled to Iran last week. in “the disguise of visiting relatives”.