Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh on Wednesday arrived in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Defense Ministers' Meeting, according to Yuyuantantian, a media outlet under China Media Group (CMG).
Defense leaders of SCO member countries as well as senior officials of SCO Secretariat and Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure are attending the two-day event from Wednesday and Thursday.
Following the Astana summit in July 2024, China assumed the rotating presidency of the SCO for 2024-2025 and will host the 25th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO in north China's Tianjin Municipality this autumn.
The SCO, established in 2001, is the first international organization with China as a founding member state and named after a Chinese city.
Iranian defense minister arrives in Qingdao for SCO meeting
Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez said on Sunday that the country is at a critical stage and must achieve national unity, emphasizing that maintaining internal cohesion is of utmost importance.
In a televised address, Rodriguez called on the public to continue trusting the government under the current highly complex political circumstances.
Her statement comes in the wake of a January 3 military operation conducted by the United States, during which Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were taken into custody and flown out of the country.
The operation resulted in at least 100 fatalities.
Rodriguez, who was sworn in as acting president two days later on January 5, framed her appeal for unity against this backdrop of external intervention.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan Minister of Communication and Information Freddy Nanez denounced the U.S. actions as a "war crime of the 21st century" when speaking at an international cultural event on Sunday.
Nanez condemned not only the January 3 airstrikes but also the associated cyber and electromagnetic attacks.
He accused the United States of violating international law through the forced removal of President Maduro and his wife, while attacks on civilian infrastructure, including medical facilities, represent a flagrant breach of humanitarian norms.
He reiterated that the stigmatization and military attacks against Venezuela are driven by economic interests, particularly the desire to control its abundant natural resources.
Venezuelan acting president calls for national unity amid complex situation
