Direct flights between Herat’s Khwaja Abdullah Ansari International Airport and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates have begun, marking a new air link for passengers travelling between the two cities.

Airport officials said 53 passengers were carried on the inaugural flight from Herat to Dubai, half of them Iranian nationals.

The new route is expected to operate once a week, providing passengers and business travellers with a direct connection between Herat and Dubai.

Officials at Khwaja Abdullah Ansari International Airport also said direct flights from Herat to Tehran and Istanbul are expected to launch in the coming weeks, further expanding the city’s international air connections.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has told Russian President Vladimir Putin that countries in the Middle East can resolve regional problems without relying on the United States, as Tehran and Moscow pledged to deepen cooperation amid heightened regional tensions.

Pezeshkian made the remarks during a meeting with Putin in Moscow on Tuesday, October 27, on the sidelines of the eighth summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).

“I believe we are capable of resolving our problems in the region without relying on the United States,” Pezeshkian told Putin, arguing that regional countries have the capacity to address their own challenges through cooperation.

The Iranian president said growing trade between Tehran and Moscow reflected strengthening ties between the two countries. He added that US actions were encouraging closer cooperation among Russia, Iran and other countries facing unilateral American sanctions.

Pezeshkian also called for expanded bilateral cooperation across scientific, economic, industrial, cultural, security and military fields, thanking Moscow for its political, economic and security support for Iran.

Putin, meanwhile, said trade between Russia and Iran had continued to grow and confirmed that construction work at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant was progressing.

The Russian president also acknowledged the seriousness of the regional situation, saying he and Pezeshkian had discussed developments during a private conversation and expressing hope that events would move in a positive direction.

The meeting comes as Moscow seeks to support diplomatic efforts to prevent a renewed escalation in the Middle East. Negotiations between Washington and Tehran have remained stalled following the outbreak of war on February 28, when US-Israeli strikes targeted Iran.

Both Washington and Israel have threatened to resume strikes against Iran, adding to uncertainty over the prospects for a diplomatic settlement.

The talks in Moscow underscore the growing importance Tehran places on its partnership with Russia as it seeks to strengthen economic and political ties with countries outside the Western sphere.

The United Kingdom, the United States and senior United Nations officials have called for Afghan women and girls to have a greater role in shaping their country’s future, criticizing restrictions on their rights and exclusion from public life.

Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting on Women, Peace and Security on October 27, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Kate Foster said women and girls in Afghanistan had been systematically excluded from public life and decision-making.

“Their voices must be central to discussions about the country’s future,” Foster said, stressing that lasting peace cannot be achieved while half of the population is excluded from decisions that shape society.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres also highlighted restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan, alongside Mali, Yemen and Somalia, saying they were facing further crackdowns on their rights.

Sima Bahous, executive director of UN Women, said Afghan women and girls continued to be systematically excluded from public life and denied a voice in determining their country’s future.

Tammy Bruce, the US deputy representative to the United Nations, said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan continued to deny young Afghan women opportunities to pursue education, secure employment and receive training.

“Over the past five years, the Taliban (IEA) have systematically reversed decades of hard-won progress on women’s participation in peace and security,” Bruce said. “These practices are unacceptable and must cease immediately.”

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has imposed restrictions on women and girls’ access to education, employment and public life since returning to power in August 2021. These measures have drawn repeated criticism from the United Nations and international human rights organizations.

The Islamic Emirate has maintained that restrictions are internal matters for Afghanistan and has called on other countries and organizations not to interfere in the country’s domestic affairs.