Middle East

Iranian foreign minister will visit the Iraqi Kurdistan on Friday to take part in the funeral ceremony of former Iraqi president Jalal Talabani.

A senior political commentator believes there will be no reason for Iranian Kurds to go for secession if their rights are respected and their demands met.

An Iranian news website, in an article, has hailed Iran’s new military diplomacy and the possibility of re-establishment of a military alliance between Iran, Iraq and Turkey without the intervention of foreign powers.

Russian Defence Ministry says Abu Muhammad al-Julani, the leader of al-Nusra Front terrorist group, has sunk into a coma after an airstrike carried out by Russia’s Aerospace Forces.

A Saudi-led coalition that has been attacking Yemen for the past couple of years is now placed on a UN blacklist for killing and maiming 683 children in 2016 and attacking schools and hospitals.

A Saudi woman has lost her life in a car accident as she was learning to drive in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.

An Iranian analyst says the recent taboo-breaking reforms in Saudi Arabia are aimed at appeasing people before implementing austerity measures.

A political commentator says Iran and Turkey enjoy great potential to create a new regional order through the conclusion of military-security pacts.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has once again emphasized that Ankara only recognizes Iraq’s central government, stressing that the Iraqi Kurdistan’s secessionism will bring the KRG nothing but isolation.

Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, says Tehran and Ankara will never accept redrawing of geographical borders in the region and officials in the Iraqi Kurdistan region must reconsider their secessionist tendencies.

The dispute between Iraqi Kurdistan’s two main political parties has heightened following the recent meeting of the region’s Political Council headed by President of Kurdistan Regional Government, Masoud Barzani.

Iran and Turkey inked four Memorandums of Understanding during the Turkish president’s visit to Tehran on Wednesday.

Abbas Abdi, a senior Iranian analyst and journalist, has weighed in on the root causes of the Saudi government’s recent moves to give women more freedom.

A senior political analyst says there exists great potential to upgrade Tehran’s relations with Doha and Muscat, and the Iranian foreign minister’s recent visits to the two Arab capitals can help Tehran tap into the potentialities.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has condoled with Iraq over the death of former Iraqi president Jalal Talabani, describing him as a distinguished man who spent his life on protecting the Arab country’s integrity.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has conferred on expansion of business ties with his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha.

Jalal Talabani, the first non-Arab president of Iraq and the founder of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), has passed away at the age of 83.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has stressed the need to bolster central governments in Syria and Iraq, saying that any change in geographical borders will cause insecurity and instability to spread across the region.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the annual Hajj pilgrimage provides the best opportunity to thwart the propaganda campaign against the Islamic Republic.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has held a meeting with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani during his one-day visit to Doha.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, while in Muscat on the first leg of his regional tour, held separate meetings with top Omani officials and discussed regional issues with them on Monday.

Western countries in recent days have adopted double-standard policies on two similar secession plebiscites held in two parts of the world one week apart.

An Iranian lawmaker says the joint military exercises conducted by Iran and Iraq in border areas reveal the two sides’ capabilities to suppress secessionist moves.

Kurdish security forces known as Asayesh and Peshmerga fighters have deported scores of Arab and Turkmen families from Iraq’s northern province of Kirkuk following last week’s referendum on secession.

Turkey's Military Chief of Staff General Hulusi Akar is in Tehran for talks with Iran's top military and political officials, expected to tackle border security and counter-terrorism along with regional issues.