Middle East

The Iraqi Army’s 9th Armoured Division imposed full control over the Makhoul Mountains in the northern countryside of the Salaheddine Governorate on Friday, putting an end to the ISIS presence at a place described by military experts as Gate of Mosul.

Secretary General of the Lebanese Resistance Movement, Hezbollah, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah deplored a US sanctions law seeking to tighten the noose on the party’s finances, saying that the law would not have any financial impact on the movement.

Tehran’s Friday prayers leader took a swipe at the Manama regime for stripping Shiite cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim of his Bahraini citizenship, describing the move as a sign of Al Khalifa’s frustration and helplessness.

Iraq's top cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani praised efforts by Bahrain's prominent Shiite scholar Sheikh Isa Qassim in defending people’s rights through peaceful means.

The representative of prominent Bahraini cleric Sheikh Isa Ahmed Qassim, whose nationality has been recently revoked by the Al Khalifa regime, said the popular uprising in the Arab country will remain peaceful in nature unless Manama resorts to assassinations and intrusion.

As Iraqi and Syrian forces are fighting to repel ISIS terrorists from major cities like Fallujah in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria, a senior Iraqi military commander predicts that the group will once again appear in a stronger version in future.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) strongly condemned the Manama regime’s decision to strip Shiite cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim of his Bahraini citizenship, saying the move will trigger a crushing uprising against the ruling regime and accelerate its downfall.

Turkish authorities have arrested three prominent press freedom campaigners, including the local representative of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), on charges of spreading "terrorist propaganda", according to human rights groups.

An official source linked with the Iraqi government says Baghdad intends to submit a request for Saudi Arabia to replace its ambassador to Iraq, Thamer al-Sabhan, against the backdrop of his repeated interventionist remarks.

Iran’s Parliament Speaker said on Tuesday June 21 that Bahrain’s decision in revoking the citizenship of prominent Shia cleric, Sheikh Isa Qassim, is a sign of Al-Khalifa’s ‘last breaths’.

Iran has exported 1.8bn cubic metres of natural gas to neighbouring Turkey since March 20, up 11% year-on-year, said a National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) official.

A senior commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) warned that the sanctuary of the most senior Bahraini Shiite cleric, Sheikh Isa Qassim, is a redline whose violation will set fire to Bahrain and the entire region.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry denounces Bahrain’s move to strip the citizenship of the country’s most senior Shia cleric, Sheikh Isa Qassim.

An MP has said he hopes that severe sentences will be given out to attackers on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran, which would help prevent a repetition of such unacceptable incidents in the future. Heshmatollah Falahatpishe, a principalist legislator, made the statement referring to a recent announcement by the judiciary that the case of the January attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran will be heard in court next month.

Davoud Feyrahi, a professor of political sciences at the University of Tehran, believes that Sunni Muslim countries cannot achieve democracy without the Muslim Brotherhood Movement.

Iraqi military commanders announced the recapture of Fallujah in a letter to Heidar Al Ebadi, the Iraqi Prime minister, Fararu Reported. Following the liberation of Al Nezal at the centre of Fallujah, Iraqi forces managed to win back the area of el Arsan and triumphantly hoisted their flag over the city’s government building.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has congratulated the recent liberation of the central city of Fallujah in Iraq to the Iraqi government and people.

Saudi Arabian naval forces have reportedly seized a fishing boat from Iran in the Persian Gulf, Fars news agency reported on Thursday, June 16.

A fresh round of Iran-Armenia power talks has begun over exports of certain technical and engineering services as well as electrical goods from Iran to the Caucasus region states.

Iraq’s Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari lauded Iranian commander Major General Qassem Soleimani for his dedication to advisory assistance in Iraq’s fight against terrorism.

Amid Riyadh’s recent tensions with Washington and the United Nations, Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince and Defence Minister Mohammed bin Salman has travelled to the United States, and is going to meet with President Barack Obama and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Iran and Turkey have signed an agreement to construct an industrial park in Iran in a bid to boost mutual cooperation between the two neighbouring countries.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari strongly condemned a recent explosion in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, calling it “a measure aimed at destabilizing Lebanon”.

In its Monday June 13 issue, Iranian conservative newspaper Javan discussed the recent shooting by an ISIS member on a gay nightclub in Florida’s Orlando, claiming that such attacks are launched by the “Children of Saudi Arabia and the USA”.

The Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPO) declared on Saturday June 11 that, following confirmation from the World Organization for Animal Health concerning the control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Iran, prohibition of Iran's dairy export to Iraq has been lifted.