From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, July 11, 2023
Iranian president delays departure for Africa trip without explaining
TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi doesn’t depart today on a three-nation tour to Africa as planned, state media reports without elaboration.
Raisi was supposed to travel from Tehran this morning, but no Iranian news outlets reports him leaving.
The country’s media said repeatedly over the past week that the president planned to visit Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe. State media doesn’t elaborate on why he hasn’t departed.
Kenya’s foreign ministry says in a brief statement that the visit was delayed until tomorrow morning so key memoranda of understanding could be finalized “that are central to the furtherance of relations.” The statement says the presidents would have a bilateral meeting after Raisi arrives.
It would be unusual for Iran’s president to call off a foreign trip, though domestic visits sometimes are canceled.
In 2018, Iran canceled a visit by Iraq’s then-prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, after he said he had no choice but to abide by renewed US sanctions on Tehran even though he opposed them.
Iran’s then-foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, reportedly canceled a trip to Italy amid tense nuclear talks, citing his tight schedule.
