The Pentagon: The American base in Erbil was targeted by 14 missiles

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US strikes in Syria in response to missile attacks inside Iraq

February 26, 2021

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Washington - (AFP) - The US Department of Defense announced that its fighters launched raids on military sites used by Iranian-backed armed groups in eastern Syria, in response to the recent missile attacks that targeted US forces stationed in Iraq.

Pentagon spokesman James Kirby said that "on the directives of President Biden, US military forces launched this evening raids on infrastructure used by military groups supported by Iran in eastern Syria."

He added that these raids came "in response to recent attacks against American soldiers and the coalition in Iraq, and to the constant threats against these soldiers."

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The night Iran's militia hit ... smart bombs demolished 7 sites on the Syrian-Iraqi border

 

Alhurra - Washington

February 26, 2021

 

 

The raids targeted seven locations and used smart bombs

Smart bombs have bombed the sites of Iranian-backed militants in Syria on the border with Iraq, in an American raid that came in response to the recent missile attacks in Iraq.

Details revealed by American officials and American newspapers indicate a "deliberate response" by the new US administration to the intensified missile attacks in the recent period against the American and coalition forces in Iraq.

Al-Hurra reporter said that the raids targeted seven sites and used smart bombs, the capacity of one smart bomb of 250 kilograms of explosives.

The Al-Hurra correspondent stated that the raids were carried out at 11 pm GMT, 6 pm Washington time.

A spokesman for the US Department of Defense (Pentagon), John Kirby, had confirmed that the US military launched, under the direction of the US President, Joe Biden, on Thursday evening, air strikes targeting infrastructure, used by Iranian-backed armed groups, in eastern Syria.

He emphasized that the strikes destroyed several facilities located at a border control point used by a number of Iranian-backed armed groups, including the "Hezbollah Brigades" and the "Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada" Brigades.

In remarks following the strikes, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed that the correct target was hit, and said, "We are sure that the target that was targeted in Syria was being used by the militias that carried out the missile attacks in Iraq."

For its part, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated that at least 17 pro-Iranian militants were killed in these raids.

An American official told Al-Hurra correspondent, "Our message is: We will not turn a blind eye to Iranian militia attacks."

The New York Times quoted US officials as saying that the recent strikes were a "very small" response, represented by "throwing a bomb at a small group of buildings on the Syrian-Iraqi border used to cross militia fighters and weapons inside and outside the country."

The strikes were carried out in Syria "to avoid a diplomatic response by the Iraqi government," according to the newspaper.

The officials said the Pentagon had presented larger sets of targets, but the US president had given the green light to implement "smaller" targets.

"The administration took a measured response to the missile attack in Erbil," the New York Times said.

Alhurra - Washington

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Thursday 25 February 2021 | 04:33 PM

| Views: 353

Barzani announces that initial information has been reached about the perpetrators of the Erbil attacks

 

The President of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masrour Barzani, announced, on Thursday, that initial information had been reached about the perpetrators of the Erbil attack. Barzani said during the inauguration of the (150 Meter Street) project in Erbil: "We have obtained preliminary information for the parties behind the perpetrators of the Erbil attack, and we have made good progress achieved by the results of the investigation, but for its continuation, I cannot go into full details." He indicated that "information about the attackers was handed over to Baghdad and the international coalition."

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Barzani announces that initial information has been reached about the perpetrators of the Erbil attacks

Political| 04:25 - 25/02/2021

 

 

 

 

Baghdad - Mawazine News
, the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masrour Barzani, announced, on Thursday, that he had obtained preliminary information about the perpetrators of the Erbil attack.
Barzani said during the inauguration of the (150 Meter Street) project in Erbil: "We have obtained preliminary information for the parties behind the perpetrators of the Erbil attack, and we have made good progress achieved by the results of the investigation, but for its continuation, I cannot go into full details."
He referred to "the delivery of information about the attackers to Baghdad and the international coalition." Ended 29 / h

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The American ambassador visits Erbil and meets with the presidents of the Kurdistan region and his government .. What did they discuss?

Political| 08:30 - 25/02/2021

 

 

 

 

BAGHDAD - Mawazine News
The US ambassador to Baghdad, Matthew Toller, discussed with the presidents of the Kurdistan region, Nechirvan Barzani, and the regional government, Masrour Barzani, several files, most notably the recent missile attack that targeted Erbil.
A statement by the US embassy in Baghdad, which Mawazine News received / a copy of, stated that “the US ambassador, Matthew Toller, visited Erbil on February 24 and met with the President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Nechirvan Barzani, the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masrour Barzani, and the Minister of Interior of the Kurdistan Region, Reber Ahmed .
The statement added, "The meetings included a range of issues, including US support for the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraqi federal government in the aftermath of the February 15 missile attacks in Erbil, as well as regional relations, support for the implementation of the Sinjar Agreement, and the safe, dignified and voluntary return of the displaced to the country." Their homes. "
He continued, "The meetings also discussed the budget negotiations of the Kurdistan Regional Government with the Government of Iraq, as well as relations between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party."
The US ambassador, Matthew Toller, stressed, according to the statement, "the importance of unifying the Kurdistan region of Iraq and its government as the best way to serve its people, economic recovery, provide security and a strong investment climate for business."
Toller stressed "the importance of freedom of expression and the press," noting that "the United States remains committed to working with the Iraqi Kurdistan region and civil society on this issue and ensuring the consolidation of relations with the Biden administration."
The statement continued: "Ambassador Tueller also visited the Director of Erbil International Airport, Ahmed Hoshyar Muhammad Amin, and the Commander of Erbil Air Base, Colonel Scott Dessormo."
He emphasized, "
Ambassador Toller concluded, according to the statement, "his visit with a meeting with Baz Raouf Karim, Director of Car Group, during which the two discussed the importance of diversifying and modernizing the energy infrastructure in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and the energy market."

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For the second time in a month ... the foreign minister will visit Tehran tomorrow

•  Time: 02/26/2021 14:26:39
•  
•  Read: 3,536 times

  

{International: Al-Furat News} A source described as "well-informed" revealed that Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein will visit the capital, Tehran, tomorrow, Saturday, on his second visit to Iran within one month.

The Iranian "Middle East News" agency quoted the source as saying that "the Iraqi foreign minister will visit Tehran tomorrow in his second visit this month, as he visited Iran in early February."
The source did not disclose Hussein's agenda and the content of his talks with Iranian officials.
During his visit in early February, Hussein met with his Iranian counterpart, Muhammad Javad Zarif, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, and the Secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, as well as other officials.
And Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi confirmed that Iraq plays an important role in reducing tensions in the region.
Last week, the Green Zone in Baghdad, where the US embassy and a number of government buildings were bombed, was bombed.
At dawn today, American planes bombed locations in eastern Syria and near the Iraqi border, and the Pentagon said it targeted groups involved in the Erbil attack in the middle of last month, and that the bombing operation was based on Iraqi information.

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Biden and the Iraqi Gate

 

Mustafa Fahs

February 27, 2021

 

 

The American president enters the area through the Iraqi gate

The US President, Joe Biden, chose the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, as the first Arab leader to communicate with the new administration. It is not possible to separate the personal relationship between Al-Kazemi and Biden and his Foreign Minister, Anthony Blinken, and an American position crystallizing about Iraq that expresses the current administration's orientations concerned with reaching many Iraqi, Iraqi and Iraqi regional settlements that guarantee the political and security stability of Iraq in the stage of negotiations between Washington and Tehran, It began to take on a rough character after the American strike on targets belonging to Iraqi factions loyal to Iran in Syria.

In terms of communication or communication, the US President enters the region through the Iraqi gate, at a stage in which his administration is re-engineering the new American policy in the Middle East, and looks forward to formulating its international presence, and reassessing its influence on the international arena, which puts at the core of its goals the containment of Chinese expansion and expansion The Russian Federation and what is going on in their orbit or resorting to them, and this is what makes Iraq a geo-strategic space that cannot be left or neglected in this confrontation.

The communication cannot be separated from the strikes that took place against American targets in Erbil and Baghdad, and it cannot also be separated from the American response to these strikes, but it confirms that there is American keenness, even temporarily, at this stage to neutralize Baghdad and refuse to turn Iraq into an arena for settling scores between Washington. And Tehran, and this explains Washington’s choice of the location and size of the response without naming the target faction, a step that reduces the security burdens on the Al-Kazemi government and sends a message to the parties that were targeted and then targeted that Washington’s options are not only negotiating.

 The most prominent difference between the current and previous US administrations is that the former tried to drag the Iraqi government into an unequal confrontation and hesitated to provide its conditional support in the first place, as it did not receive the former prime minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, and Donald Trump did not officially visit Iraq during his presidential term, but rather carried him the burden of assassinating General Qassem Soleimani on his soil, and he carried Al-Kazimi the burden of its repercussions, while President Biden could choose targets inside Iraq, but he decided to neutralize him and reduce the goal of ensuring fragile stability and a difficult negotiation plan that requires protecting Iraq and its government from its repercussions.

Practically, the American behavior opens several questions, as it puts the ball in the stadium of Al-Kazemi and the political parties, especially the armed factions, that an unaccounted adventure with Washington will have dire consequences for everyone, and that the retreat of the current situation with all its disadvantages will lead to general chaos that no one can control its effects Or to speculate about its end, as the strike is a warning message to those behind it that the next response will vary in location and size, and this is what makes the Iraqi armed factions bear responsibility for what matters will be.

Trust between Al-Kazemi and the armed factions is weak, and it can hold him responsible for the blow that he was subjected to or work to embarrass him again, especially if it wanted to link Biden's call to the Pentagon's declaration of intelligence cooperation with Iraq before the strike occurred, and this returns to Some factions accuse Al-Kazemi of complicity in the assassination of Soleimani and Al-Muhandis, but their reaction is related to Tehran, which has not yet taken the decision to escalate.

Many factors are supposed to force Tehran to review its methods, the most prominent of which is the wide public and political rejection of the actions of the factions against the diplomatic missions and that they are against the interest of Iraq, the most prominent of which was the statement of the Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein: “Iraq is a democratic country and there is no resistance in it. The missiles are terrorists and operate against the Iraqi government and people. "

Go back to the start, to the first contact that restores American interest in Iraq, and to transform it from a diplomatic call between two presidents who have a personal relationship to an opportunity that the Iraqi people need to help them get out of their accumulated crises, if the political class succeeds in removing Iraq from the conflict of axes and siding with national interests.

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America expects a high level of danger to its forces in Iraq for the coming days

 Saturday February 27, 2021 - 01:18 GMT

 

The United States has warned its forces in Iraq of an increased level of danger after the recent air strikes in Syria.

 

 

The American "Fox News" channel, citing sources, said today, Saturday, that "the increased risk level will continue for several days at least."

The source pointed out that the Pentagon has set a special work schedule in this regard, as it will allow only the most important movements at Balad Air Force Base in Iraq from 6:30 pm until 5 am.

The Pentagon confirmed, earlier on Friday, that the US Air Force launched a military strike in eastern Syria, in response to the recent attacks on US military personnel in Iraq.

On the 20th of this month, the Iraqi Security Information Cell said, "Four Katyusha rockets landed inside Balad Air Force base in Salah al-Din Governorate .

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Biden: Strikes in Syria sent warning to Iran to 'be careful'

• 

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden meet with troops at a FEMA COVID-19 mass vaccination site at NRG Stadium, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021, in Houston.

PATRICK SEMANSKY/AP

 

 

By LOLITA C. BALDOR, ROBERT BURNS AND QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA | Associated Press | Published: February 26, 2021

 

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Friday that Iran should view his decision to authorize U.S. airstrikes in Syria as a warning that it can expect consequences for its support of militia groups that threaten U.S. interests or personnel.

“You can't act with impunity. Be careful,” Biden said when a reporter asked what message he had intended to send with the airstrikes, which the Pentagon said destroyed several buildings in eastern Syria but were not intended to eradicate the militia groups that used them to facilitate attacks inside Iraq.

Administration officials defended the Thursday night airstrikes as legal and appropriate, saying they took out facilities that housed valuable “capabilities” used by Iranian-backed militia groups to attack American and allied forces in Iraq.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Friday that Biden used his constitutional authority to defend U.S. personnel.

"The targets were chosen to correspond to the recent attacks on facilities and to deter the risk of additional attacks over the coming weeks,” she said.

 

 

Among the recent attacks cited was a Feb. 15 rocket attack in northern Iraq that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a U.S. service member and other coalition troops.

An Iraqi militia official said Friday that the strikes killed one fighter and wounded several others.

The Iraqi militia official told The Associated Press that the strikes against the Kataeb Hezbollah, or Hezbollah Brigades, hit an area along the border between the Syrian site of Boukamal facing Qaim on the Iraqi side. The official was not authorized to speak publicly of the attack and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Biden’s decision to attack in Syria did not appear to signal an intention to widen U.S. military involvement in the region but rather to demonstrate a will to defend U.S. troops in Iraq and send a message to Iran. The Biden administration in its first weeks has emphasized its intent to put more focus on the challenges posed by China, even as Mideast threats persist.

The U.S. has previously targeted facilities in Syria belonging to Kataeb Hezbollah, which it has blamed for numerous attacks targeting U.S. personnel and interests in Iraq. The Iraqi Kataeb is separate from the Lebanese Hezbollah movement.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group that monitors the war in Syria, said the strikes targeted a shipment of weapons that were being taken by trucks entering Syrian territories from Iraq. The group said 22 fighters from the Popular Mobilization Forces, an Iraqi umbrella group of mostly Shiite paramilitaries that includes Kataeb Hezbollah, were killed. The report could not be independently verified.

In a statement, the group confirmed one of its fighters was killed and said it reserved the right to retaliate, without elaborating. Kataeb Hezbollah, like other Iranian-backed factions, maintains fighters in Syria to both fight against the Islamic State group and assist Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces in that country's civil war.

Syria condemned the U.S. strike, calling it “a cowardly and systematic American aggression,” warning that the attack will lead to consequences.

U.S. forces have been significantly reduced in Iraq to 2,500 personnel and no longer partake in combat missions with Iraqi forces in ongoing operations against the Islamic State group.

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REUTERS: 17 IRAQIS WERE KILLED AS A RESULT OF THE US RAID IN AL-BUKAMAL

 

18 hours ago 98

 

A Reuters news agency report revealed the number of victims of the US air raid against Kataib Hezbollah in the Albu Kamal border area between Iraq and Syria.

The agency quoted local sources and a medical source as saying that the raids launched by the United States last night on eastern Syria left at least 17 people dead.

In addition, the opposition "Syrian Observatory for Human Rights" talked about the rise in the death toll from the American bombing that affected the Albu Kamal border area with Iraq to at least 22 dead, most of them members of the Iraqi "Hezbollah Brigades" and the rest of the "Popular Mobilization", indicating that the toll is expected to rise. .

The Observatory stated that the bombing targeted sites and a shipment of weapons when they entered the Syrian territories from Iraq through a military crossing near the main Al-Qaim crossing in the Albu Kamal area in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, adding that the American raids completely destroyed three ammunition trucks.

The US Defense Department announced that the recent raids were carried out, based on intelligence information provided by the Iraqi side, against Iranian-backed armed groups in eastern Syria in response to the recent attacks against US personnel in Iraq.

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Foreign Minister arrives in Tehran

 

09 less than a minute

Iraqi life

On Saturday, the Foreign Ministry announced that its Minister, Fuad Hussein, had arrived in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
"Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and his accompanying delegation arrived in the Iranian capital, Tehran," ministry spokesman Ahmed Al-Sahhaf said in a brief statement.
Hussein is scheduled to meet with Iranian officials to discuss the political and security situations and bilateral relations between the two countries.

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Fouad Hussein meets his counterpart in Iran. This is what they researched?

 

013 less than a minute

Iraqi life

On Saturday, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein discussed with his Iranian counterpart, Javad Zarif, ways to strengthen bilateral relations.
"The Foreign Minister met his Iranian counterpart, Muhammad Javad Zarif, during his visit to Tehran," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Al-Sahhaf said in a statement issued by Al-Hayat Iraq.
Al-Sahaf added, "The two ministers discussed bilateral relations between the two countries and the regional and international situation and its implications for common interests."

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Saturday 27 February 2021 | 03:38 pm

| Views: 110

Iraqis protest against the statements of the Foreign Minister in Tehran

 

Dozens of members of the Iraqi community demonstrated in Tehran to protest against the recent statements of Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, in which he said that "Iraq is a democratic country and there is no resistance in it." Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said during a televised interview recently, "Those who launch rockets are terrorists and work against the Iraqi government and people."

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He described it as "suspicious" ... a funny talk about attacks against Western interests in Iraq, contradiction or division?

 

Free / Exclusive - Washington

February 27, 2021

 

 

Analysts say the true position of Iran comes from Khamenei, not from Zarif or Rouhani

A "clear contradiction" in the statements of Iranian Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif about the attacks against US interests in Iraq, as he called on Baghdad to reveal the parties standing behind them, in a move that observers counted as an indication of the ongoing conflict within the wings of power in Tehran, and a reflection of the contradiction between Iran's words and actions.

Zarif's statements came during his meeting, Saturday, with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein in Tehran, where he described the recent attacks in Iraq as "suspicious", despite all indications that groups linked to Iran are standing behind them.

The Iranian minister was not satisfied with that, but also called on the Iraqi government to "find the cause of these incidents," for which Washington officially held responsibility for Iran and its arms in Iraq.

On the other hand, the Secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani, during his meeting with the Iraqi minister, did not address the issue of missile attacks against Western interests, and he confined himself to condemning the US air raid on El Boukamal, saying that it targeted the "resistance forces." 

An American air strike targeted infrastructure for Iraqi factions, including the Iranian-backed Hezbollah Brigades, Thursday night, and the bombing came after a series of missile strikes in Iraq against Western interests, including the US embassy and a military base in Erbil.

The writer specializing in Middle East and Gulf affairs, Hussein Abdul Hussein, is not surprised by this "natural and clear contradiction" in Iranian positions, whether regarding what is happening in Iraq or the region in general.

"There has been a marked discrepancy for a long time between the statements of the Iranians on the one hand and their actions on the ground on the other hand," Abdel-Hussein told Al-Hurra.

He added that "anything that the Iranian Foreign Ministry or President Hassan Rouhani says is rarely implemented on the ground," noting that "Zarif is just a spokesman and not a foreign minister who has sovereignty or an independent decision."

Abdul-Hussein describes Zarif's position as "for media consumption," noting that "Iran's real position comes from Khamenei, who is completely different and does not attach any importance to international treaties or bilateral relations."

The Lebanese writer, who is based in Washington, believes that the position of Khamenei and the hard-line and conservative parties in Iran is very clear.

The system of government in Iran, which combines the religious state and the republic, gives decisive power in the hands of the conservative religious establishment. 

The Supreme Leader in Iran has great influence and constitutional authority over the executive, legislative and judicial institutions of government, in addition to the army and the media.

Iran has a regular army, but the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is much stronger than it. It is not, for example, just a guardian of Iran. It has an economic empire of companies with interests in sectors from banking to construction and manufacturing.

The Iraqi researcher and political analyst Ahmed al-Yasiri says, "The contradiction in Iranian stances towards Iraq is natural, because the internal desire on the Iraqi file is divided inside Iran."

He added in an interview with "Al-Hurra" that this file is currently being managed by the Revolutionary Guards, and they see that the priority is not for strategic bilateral interests, but rather for the revolutionary factions that follow their approach.

He confirms that "the Iranian Foreign Ministry has a somewhat different discourse," indicating that this difference has become part of the composition of the Iranian regime for several years.

Tehran supports several armed factions inside Iraq, most notably the Kataib Hezbollah militia, Asaib Ahl al-Haq and the Nujaba Movement.

Iran has used these factions to strengthen its influence in Iraq at times, and fight alongside Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria at other times.

In recent months, these groups have stepped up their attacks against the US embassy in Baghdad, and Iraqi military bases that house soldiers for the international coalition fighting ISIS.

A foreign civilian contractor was killed and five others were wounded, in addition to an American soldier, in a missile attack targeting an air base in Iraqi Kurdistan on the 15th of this month.

A group calling itself the "Awliya al-Dam Brigades" adopted the missile attack on Erbil, but Iraqi intelligence sources confirmed that the Kataib Hezbollah militia was the one who supervised the attack.

Last year, about ten groups appeared like the ones that adopted the launch of rockets, but Iraqi and American officials emphasized that these groups are a "front" for armed factions loyal to Iran, such as the "Hezbollah Brigades" and "Asaib Ahl al-Haq."

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Iran: The White House maintains friendship with "ISIS"

• ARAB AND INTERNATIONAL
•  
•  February 27, 2021
•  

Follow up/

Assistant Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Hossein Amir Abdollahian said, "The White House is hypocritical in the face of terrorism and maintains its friendship with ISIS," considering that "the mask of the occupants of the White House has changed and nothing more."

In his tweet on Twitter, Abdollahian wrote: “While (US President) Joe Biden boasted of the war against terrorism and ISIS during his election campaign, his mandate to strike local anti-ISIS forces shows that the White House is hypocritical in the face of terrorism and maintains its friendship. With ISIS ”.

He added, "The mask of the occupants of the White House has changed, and nothing more!"

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Iraq foreign minister holds talks in Iran

 

February 28, 2021 at 1:19 pm | 

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein holds a press conference in Baghdad, Iraq on November 18, 2020 [Murtadha Al-Sudani / Anadolu Agency]

 

February 28, 2021 at 1:19 pm

 

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein during his second visit to Tehran this month held wide-ranging talks with senior Iranian officials on Saturday, reported Anadolu Agency.

In a meeting with Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, the two officials discussed the "expansion of bilateral ties, besides regional and international issues."

In a Twitter post, Zarif said he "welcomed Iraq's constructive efforts for regional security," while stressing "Iran's commitment to Iraqi stability." The top Iranian diplomat told his Iraqi counterpart that his country "rejects destabilising US aggression against Iraqi forces."

Hussein's visit to Tehran came a day after a US airstrike in eastern Syria bordering Iraq targeted the "facilities of Iran-backed militias."

The Pentagon said the strike, which was strongly condemned by Tehran, was in retaliation to recent attacks on US and coalition forces in Iraq.

The attacks on US troops and supply convoys in Iraq have intensified in recent months with Washington accusing "Iran-backed militia groups" in the country. Iran has, however, repeatedly rejected the claims.

 

Earlier in the day, Hussein also held talks with Iran's top security official Ali Shamkhani, a statement issued by his office said.

During the meeting, the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council told the visiting official that the US airstrike was:

…part of Washington's attempt to revive organised terrorism.

"Iran and other countries fighting terrorism will not allow foreign-affiliated Takfiri terrorism to revive in the region," Shamkhani said, blaming the US for "promoting takfirism" in the region.

The Iranian official also noted with concern "delay in the implementation" of a bill passed by the Iraqi parliament that calls for expulsion of foreign troops from the war-ravaged country.

Among other issues that figured in discussions include Iranian funds in Iraq, which the visiting official said would be released as per an agreement reached between the two sides recently.

Recently, Iran's state gas company had slashed gas supplies to Iraq over non-payment of dues, before the two countries reached an agreement over the disbursement of outstanding debt.

US sanctions have prevented Iran from accessing its assets in several countries, including Iraq. However, Tehran has recently ramped up efforts to bring back the funds.

It was the Iraqi foreign minister's second visit to Tehran in February and came two weeks after Iranian judiciary chief Ebrahim Raeesi's high-profile visit to Iraq.

During the visit, sources said, Raeesi had raised issues of continued US presence in Iraq and progress in investigations into the killing of Iran's top military commander Qassem Soleimani in a US airstrike early last year.

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Foreign Minister discusses in Tehran political developments in the region

Sunday 28th February 2021 136

 

 

Tehran: Muhammad Salih Sidqian 

 

Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein held talks with Iranian officials in Tehran, which focused on discussing issues of concern to the two countries and political developments in the region, "discussing regional situations and supporting paths to achieve balance and avoid tension and escalation," according to a statement by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesman. 

During the visit, which is the second of its kind during the current month of February, to Tehran, yesterday, Saturday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs met with his Iranian counterpart Muhammad Jawad Zarif and Secretary of the National Security Council Ali Shamkhani, while he met with the Director of the Commercial Bank Salem Chalabi, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, Abdel Nasser Hemmat .

During his meeting with Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, Iranian Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif condemned the US air campaigns on the common Iraqi-Syrian border. He said: It is "a dangerous step that conflicts with the national sovereignty of countries." He believed that some attacks inside Iraq are suspicious and raise suspicion. They aim to disrupt Iranian-Iraqi relations and destabilize security and stability inside Iraq, calling on the Iraqi government to act in order to find out who is behind these attacks ... in a clear reference to the attack that targeted Harir camp in the Kurdistan region. And the attack on the headquarters of the US embassy in Baghdad. 

He expressed his hope for solving the problem of transporting trucks transporting energy to Iraq, while calling for speeding up the completion of the "Shalamjah-Basra" railway, due to the interest of the two countries. 

Minister Fuad Hussein expressed his satisfaction with the progress made in the talks between the two countries to solve the outstanding financial problems due to the US embargo.

He said: Iraq does not allow any party that tries to exploit the developments to strike at the relationship between Tehran and Baghdad. 

During his meeting with the Secretary of the Iranian National Security Council Ali Shamkhani, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fuad Hussein, believed that security and stability are the basis of economic development and prosperity, and for a country like Iraq, which has been involved in fighting terrorism for years, establishing security is its top priority.

Referring to the agreements reached between officials of the two countries to pay off Iraq's debts to Iran, which were delayed due to external sanctions imposed on Iran, Fuad Hussein said: “With the continuous efforts of the Iranian and Iraqi financial and banking sectors and economic institutions, some important obstacles have been removed, and based on the agreed model. On it between the two countries, the debt repayment process will begin.

The security developments in Iraq were discussed, as Shamkhani called for the need to strengthen cooperation and make more joint efforts between the countries of the region to reduce tension and hold constructive talks to alleviate the existing crises. The Armed Forces and Popular Resistance Factions. 

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Foreign Ministry: The government is able to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq

•  Yesterday, 21:25
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•  215

 Political

BAGHDAD - INA
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed, today, Monday, that the government is able to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq. 
"We reject any interference by diplomatic missions in Iraqi internal affairs," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Al-Sahhaf told the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
He added, "We call on all missions to abide by the Vienna Convention to regulate relations between countries."

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U.S. Airstrike Against Iran-Backed Militias in Syria: Iran Undeterred? I Watchman Newscast
397,155 views•Feb 26, 2021

 

The Watchman with Erick Stakelbeck

On today's Watchman Newscast, host Erick Stakelbeck breaks down the U.S. airstrike against Iran-backed militias in Syria on February 25th. The strike occurred along the Iraq/Syria border and targeted Iraq-based terror militias, including Kataib Hezbollah. At least 17 of these fighters were reportedly killed, including one Kataib Hezbollah member. The airstrike came in response to a series of rocket barrages against U.S. personnel in Iraq over the past two weeks. But will it be enough to deter the Iranian regime and its proxies from further terror attacks--and does it change Biden's desire to re-enter the disastrous Iran nuclear deal?

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Kurdistan Region: Arresting the perpetrators of the Erbil missile attacks

•  Time: 03/2021 18:17:06
•  
•  Read: 5,980 times

  

(Baghdad: Al Furat News) The forces of the Counter-Terrorism Service in the Kurdistan region have arrested two of the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks on Erbil airport.

The fight against terrorism in the Kurdistan region stated in a statement that "two perpetrators of those involved in the attack on Erbil have been arrested, and work is underway to pursue the others."

He pointed out that "the results showed the involvement of four persons in the attack on Erbil airport."

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He revealed new details about the missile attack in Iraqi Kurdistan

l 21 hours ago

Sky News Arabia - Abu Dhabi

•  

 

Part of the effects of the missile attack on Erbil International Airport.

The General Directorate for Combating Terrorism in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq revealed, on Wednesday, new details of the missile attack that targeted the city of Erbil and its international airport on February 15th.

The missile attack, which targeted Erbil International Airport with 14 missiles, killed a foreign contractor and an Iraqi citizen, and wounded five American soldiers and two civilians.

The General Directorate of Combating Terrorism in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq said in a statement that a "Kia" car was found, which was the car that was carrying missiles, and after that the security forces obtained good information.

According to the statement, "The results showed that four persons are the main responsible for the terrorist attack, and on top of them is the main perpetrator of the attack called (Haidar Hamza Abbas Mustafa al-Bayati), who was arrested and confessed to his crime, and made detailed confessions about how the attack was carried out."

 

The statement added, "After sharing the results of the investigation with the security institutions in the federal government and the international coalition, the federal security institutions have arrested another perpetrator of the attack, while there are still two other criminals that the security services are constantly monitoring to reach and arrest them."

The General Directorate for Combating Terrorism in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq indicated in its statement that "the names of the other criminals were hidden and were not revealed in the confessions of (Haider Hamza Al-Bayati)," who spoke "in his confessions in detail about how the attack was prepared and carried out on February 15th."

The General Directorate for Combating Terrorism in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq affirmed that the security forces in the region "always carry out their duties with dedication to maintain the security and stability of the Kurdistan region, and are ready to thwart any activity, attempts or plans aiming to undermine security and stability in the Kurdistan region."

[yota691]

According to the 'Avigner' system

Report: The United States plans to deploy a mobile air defense system in Syria and Iraq

2021.03.04 - 12:43

 

  

Baghdad - People   

A report published by the "Forbes" website suggested that the United States intend to deploy a mobile defense missile system in Syria and Iraq soon.  

  

 

  

  

The report stated that the short-range air defense missile system "Avenger" is the best readily available system to protect US forces in Syria and Iraq from the increasing threat posed by unmanned aircraft.  

In late February, pictures appeared on social media purporting to show the "Avenger" system being transported on a highway from Iraq to Syria. It is likely that it was transferred to the American forces in the Deir ez-Zor region in eastern Syria.  

With the FIM-92 Stinger missile launchers, the Avenger is designed to protect pedestrians from low-flying aircraft, cruise missiles, helicopters and drones.  

Until early last year, the bases hosting US forces in Iraq did not have air defense systems. Its weakness was evident when Iran attacked two of them with ballistic missiles in January 2020, in a retaliatory strike in response to the US assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani by a drone near Baghdad International Airport.  

Since then, the United States has deployed high-altitude hit Patriot MIM-104 missiles at these bases, along with short-range "C-RAM" systems (anti-missile, artillery and mortar shells).  

However, it can be said that the "Avenger" is a more suitable system for providing protection to ground forces against drones.  

In early 2020, US forces deployed in the oil fields in Deir Ezzor were targeted by unmanned aerial vehicles capable of dropping small mortar shells and ammunition, which was apparently manufactured using a 3D printer.  

While the attackers failed to kill or injure any American, they demonstrated the nature of this new threat that US forces now have to deal with.  

RT  

[yota691]

Security expert: The fingers of the Zionist entity are printed on the missile attacks in Iraq

18:35 - 04/03/2021

 

  

Information / Special ...

The Iranian security and military expert, Ali Hashemi, confirmed that the missile attacks in Iraq are impossible, and they may have come from within, and we do not suspect that they are plans coming from Al-Kharj.

"The Zionist entity is trying hard to interfere in all aspects of life inside Iraq, after it failed to start a new phase of the Zionist plan by attacking the US military headquarters and diplomatic missions, and throwing accusations on the Iraqi resistance factions and the popular crowd in general," Hashemi said in a statement to the agency .

He stated, "These operations primarily target the Iraqi popular crowd , which imposed its presence as an official Iraqi security force during the terrorist attack launched by ISIS with the support of some regional countries and under the auspices of the United States."

He explained, "The Zionist entity and the American forces are trying as hard as possible to impose a realistic presence on Iraqi lands and to win over the popular street in Iraq by accusing the Popular Mobilization factions of carrying out attacks inside cities and terrorizing the security citizens."

He added, "These plans will not succeed with the structure of Iraqi society, since most Iraqis and of various nationalities are now aware and experts in the devilish measures that are planned and are trying to be implemented by the American forces and the Zionist entity. Therefore, we do not doubt that the Iraqi popular and political rejection will be strong on these accusations."

He pointed out that "the blood that led to victory has not dried up yet, and the Americans try to forget this issue by preoccupying the Iraqis with other issues. This is out of the question in the arena, and this is what has been proven on the ground and through a simple observation of the Iraqi regions."

[yota691]

The "Iraqi negotiating" factions: Any party that stands as an obstacle to confronting the occupier is a traitor

Policy

2021-03-04 | 17:06

 

 

2,208 views

 

On Thursday, the Coordinating Committee of the "Iraqi Resistance" factions considered that any party standing as an obstacle against the path of resistance and its choice in confronting the occupier and expelling him is a "traitorous party."

A statement by the factions stated, "The resistance operations were and will remain against the occupation forces and its bases and will not target the diplomatic missions," stressing that "we are facing a new page of the resistance pages in which the weapon of the resistance will reach all the occupation forces and its bases in any part of the homeland. Resistance has the legal and national right and support." Pdf for it all. "

 

 

He added, "The Iraqi resistance is an Iraqi decision, and its choice is the choice of the Iraqi people, and it will continue with this choice regardless of the circumstances and sacrifices until liberation." Iraq Whoever defiled the occupation, "declaring that" any party that stands as an obstacle against the path of resistance and its constant choice in facing and expelling the occupier, it is a traitorous, client or submissive party afraid and humiliated, and it is the right of the resistance, but rather its duty not to pay attention to such bodies, but rather to prevent it by all means from impeding its strikes against the occupation ".

 

 

 

The statement added, "The resistance sees confrontation as the only option that guarantees freedom, dignity and pride in this country after exhausting all the means that others have bet on with this occupation, and we are all going on this path, relying on God."