Tag Archives: Iraq

Iraqi outlet Rudaw reports: US State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce on Friday warned that Iranian proxies in the Middle East will face “dire” consequences should they target American interests. “There’s also been a reinforcement that Iran and its proxy should not target US interests or personnel, and if they do, the consequences will be dire. So we can reinforce that,” …

Reuters reports: Iraq’s parliament passed a law criminalising same-sex relationships with a maximum 15-year prison sentence on Saturday, in a move it said aimed to uphold religious values but was condemned by rights advocates as the latest attack on the LGBT community in Iraq. The law aims to “protect Iraqi society from moral depravity and the calls for homosexuality that …

The New York Times reports: The United States on Friday carried out a series of military strikes against Iran-backed militants in half a dozen sites in Iraq and Syria, according to a U.S. Defense Department official, marking a sharp escalation of the war in the Middle East that the Biden administration has for four months sought to avoid. President Biden …

The Washington Post reports: American forces launched airstrikes against three facilities used by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups linked to Iran, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement, in response to an attack on U.S. personnel stationed at Irbil air base that left one service member critically injured. The militant attack was launched by a one-way explosive drone, a …

The Associated Press reports: President Joe Biden ordered the U.S. military to carry out retaliatory airstrikes against Iranian-backed militia groups after three U.S. service members were injured in a drone attack in northern Iraq. National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said one of the U.S. troops suffered critical injuries in the attack that occurred earlier Monday. The Iranian-backed militia Kataib …

“I was a part of one of these wars in Iraq where you get in and there’s no concrete victory achieved. It’s just kind of ‘OK, you’re there, we are supposed to create a democracy in Iraq.’ “What do they have now? It’s an Iranian controlled government effectively in Iraq. How is that in America’s interest? I mean, Saddam was …

Reuters reports: Iraq’s official media regulator on Tuesday ordered all media and social media companies operating in the Arab state not to use the term “homosexuality” and instead to say “sexual deviance,” the regulator said. The Iraqi Communications and Media Commission (CMC) said in a statement that the use of the term “gender” was also banned. It prohibited all phone …

NPR reports: Pope Francis has touched down in Iraq for the first-ever papal visit to the predominantly Muslim country, beginning a four-day visit in Baghdad, where yellow and white Vatican flags and likenesses of the pontiff flutter above hastily weeded traffic circles. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi welcomed Francis at Baghdad International Airport. He was greeted with fanfare as he stepped …

CNBC reports: Acting Pentagon chief Christopher Miller said Tuesday that the United States will reduce its military presence in Afghanistan to 2,500 troops and 2,500 troops in Iraq by Jan. 15. The United States has approximately 4,500 troops currently in Afghanistan and more than 3,000 in Iraq. Last week, Miller ascended to the Pentagon’s acting Secretary of Defense role after …

CNN reports: US military commanders are anticipating that a formal order will be given by President Donald Trump as soon as this week to begin a further withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and Iraq before Trump leaves office on January 20, according to two US officials familiar. The Pentagon has issued a notice to commanders known as a “warning …

UK-based Muslim news outlet 5 Pillars reports: The Iraqi Foreign Ministry has said homosexuality goes against “the noble morals of all divine religions” and that all missions in Iraq had to “adhere to the laws of the country,” after foreign embassies flew the rainbow LGBT flag in honour of the International Day Against Homophobia. The European Union, the World Bank …

The Associated Press reports: Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi has told the U.S. secretary of state to send a delegation to Iraq tasked with formulating the mechanism for the withdrawal of U.S troops from Iraq, according to a statement released Friday. The statement, from the office of the Iraqi caretaker prime minister, said the request came in a telephone call …

CNN reports: At least 10 rockets hit al-Asad airbase in Iraq, which houses US forces, a Sunni commander of the paramilitary forces in a nearby town told CNN. Qatri al-Obeidi, a commander in the nearby town of al-Baghdadi, said that the shelling has stopped for now. President Donald Trump visited the base in December 2018 to visit troops after Christmas. …

The New York Times reports: Lawmakers in Iraq heeded the demands of angry citizens and voted on Sunday to expel United States troops from the country, as hundreds of thousands of mourners poured into the streets of Iran to pay their respects to the slain leader of the elite Quds Force, Maj. General Qassim Suleimani. The vote is not final …

The Associated Press reports: The daughter of Iran’s Gen. Qassem Soleimani says the death of her father will “not break us” and the United States should know that his blood will not go for free. Zeinab Soleimani told Lebanon’s Al-Manar TV — which is linked with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group —that the “filthy” President Donald Trump will not be able …

Reuters reports: US President Donald Trump has ramped up the pressure on Iran – threatening to hit 52 sites ‘very hard and very fast’. In a series of explosive tweets Trump said Iran were ‘targeting US assets’ after the killing of general Qassem Soleimani, regarded as the second most powerful figure in Iran, was killed in the U.S. strike on …

Politico reports: NATO suspended its training mission in Iraq, the alliance said Saturday after a U.S. drone strike killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad. NATO has been advising the Iraqi defense forces on how to keep ISIS from regaining strength. However, those “training activities are temporarily suspended,” NATO spokesman Dylan White said in an emailed statement. “The safety of …

The Times Of Israel reports: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has praised the United States and President Donald Trump for killing Iranian top commander Qassem Soleimani in an airstrike in the early morning hours. “Trump is worthy of full appreciation for acting with determination, strongly and swiftly,” he told reporters before departing Greece to head back to Israel. “We stand fully …

Yahoo News reports: One of the most prominent figures on Fox News isn’t joining in on the cheerleading of President Donald Trump’s assassination of Iran’s most important military leader. During his show on Friday, host Tucker Carlson delivered a lengthy monologue criticizing the escalation of tensions with Iran sparked by the killing of Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani, who …

The Daily Beast reports: Two weeks after she voted “present” during the impeachment vote in the House, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) appeared on Fox News to denounce President Donald Trump’s military action that killed Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani. “This was very clearly an act of war by this president without any authorization or declaration of war from Congress, clearly …