Middle East

Iran opened a new consulate in Iraq’s southern city of Basra a few days after the old diplomatic mission was torched in a mob attack.

Four days after the meeting of the presidents of the three guarantor states of the Astana process in Tehran, diplomats from Iran, Russia, and Turkey held a meeting on the formation of Syria’s constitutional constitution in Geneva, Switzerland.

Iran’s military chief says officials of the Kurdistan Regional Government had been repeatedly warned before the IRGC launched missile strikes against anti-Iran elements in the region, warning Iran will have to repeat the strikes if terrorists continue to stage plots inside Iran.

Hossein Jaberi Ansari, a senior assistant to the Iranian foreign minister, is in the Swiss city of Geneva to hold joint talks with his Russian and Turkish counterparts on the Syria peace process.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi says the Islamic Republic’s recent attacks on terrorists’ positions in the Iraqi Kurdistan were both retaliatory and pre-emptive.

Iran says it cannot confirm the claim that 14 Iranians have been trying to enter Bahrain using fake passports before being arrested, saying that the Bahraini government has so far provided Iran with no evidence.

An Iranian military advisor says if the Syrian government and nation want to confront the United States in eastern Euphrates and ask Iran for help, Tehran is ready to support the Arab country in this confrontation.

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has confirmed it has conducted missile strikes against terrorist groups in the Iraqi Kurdistan, saying it meant to punish the groups that in recent years have intensified their anti-Iran operations.

Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says Iran’s resistance has foiled plots hatched by the world arrogance against the region, and that was manifested in the US defeats in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.

The anti-Israel art festival Hourglass was wrapped up in a recent ceremony in Tehran, awarding winners of the competition focused on annihilation of the Israeli regime.

Several rockets, said to have been fired from the Iranian territory, hit the headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDP-I) and the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) on Saturday, killing at least 14 and wounding dozens of others from the anti-Iran terrorist groups, Kurdish media reported.

A former US army psychological warfare officer said a recent attack on Iran’s consulate in the city of Basra in Iraq is an attempt to cause a rift between Iran and Iraq, adding that it was most likely carried out by provocateurs paid by mercenary agents from Riyadh and Tel Aviv.

Iran’s Defence Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami has thanked China for joining hands with Iran to support the Syrian government, saying Beijing’s cooperation has been highly effective in forcing a defeat to terrorists operating in the country.

An Iranian lawmaker has rejected “baseless” media reports on Iran’s missile exports to regional states, saying the Islamic Republic has never transferred any missile to any part of the world so far.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi has strongly denounced a brutal attack on the country’s consulate in the city of Basra in southern Iraq, saying that the Iraqi envoy to Tehran has been summoned to receive Tehran’s strong protest.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the US sanctions can help Iran, Russia and Turkey expand their cooperation.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says efforts by Iran, Russia and Turkey have curbed bloodshed of terrorism in Syria, preparing the ground for constructive talks among Syrians to settle the seven-year conflict.

The Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the US is concerned over cooperation and proximity between Muslim nations, including Iran and Turkey.

Iranian, Russian, and Turkish presidents, in a joint statement on Friday, agreed to distinguish anti-government militants in Syria from terrorists in a bid to protect the lives of civilians during the ongoing fight against terrorists in the war-torn state.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has called for greater cooperation between Tehran and Ankara to counter the unilateral sanctions imposed by the US, as the two countries are increasingly targeted by punitive US measures.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin arrived in the Iranian capital on Friday to attend the trilateral Tehran Summit on the Syria conflict.

Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, says the country is under a full-scale media invasion waged by adversaries.

Iran’s defence minister says victories in Syria are still halfway through, and that full coordination is required to continue and complete anti-terrorist operations.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Seyyed Abbas Araqchi says the fuss made by Western media about the Syrian army’s upcoming operation to retake the militant-held Idlib province is very much similar to the one made ahead of Aleppo and East Ghouta offensives.

Iran’s Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli has arrived in Baghdad to discuss bilateral border issues and this year’s Arba’een ceremony, the world’s largest religious pilgrimage, in meetings with Iraqi officials.