Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iran’s army chief said Sunday that Washington lacked the “courage” to initiate a conflict after US President Donald Trump threatened to hit dozens of targets inside the Islamic republic. “I doubt they have the courage to initiate” a conflict in which the Americans threatened to …
Read More »Missiles hit Green Zone and Iraq base housing US troops: security sources
Baghdad, Iraq | AFP | Two rockets Saturday hit Iraq’s Al-Balad air base, where US troops are stationed, while two mortars hit Baghdad’s Green Zone, a high-security enclave housing the US embassy, security sources said. Sirens immediately rang out at the American compound in Baghdad hosting both diplomats and troops, …
Read More »US flags burn as thousands mourn general in Tehran
Tehran, Iran | AFP | US and Israeli flags were set alight in Iran’s capital Saturday as thousands mourned the loss of top military commander Qasem Soleimani, a day after he was killed by American forces. “We are with you,” they chanted as they waved their hands in unison during the …
Read More »Killing Soleimani: Trump acted where other US leaders saw big risks
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump did Friday what previous presidents did not dare to do — eliminate a top Iranian general who aggressively expanded Tehran’s power while obstructing US efforts across the Middle East. Trump’s predecessors thought killing Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary …
Read More »US killing catapults Iraq back to aftermath of 2003 invasion
Baghdad, Iraq | AFP | Iraqi factions threatening to oust US troops, officials denouncing American “violations” and fears of a new Gulf war: a US strike has catapulted Iraq back to the tumultuous aftermath of the 2003 invasion. The precision drone strike outside Baghdad airport on Friday killed top Iranian …
Read More »US deploying up to 3,500 troops to Middle East
Washington, United States | AFP | The US is deploying up to 3,500 more troops to the Middle East in a show of force, a Pentagon official said Friday, after an American drone killed a top Iranian general. The reinforcements will come from the 82nd Airborne Division’s Global Response Force, …
Read More »Trump’s no ‘stupid’ wars doctrine faces biggest test
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump campaigns on a no more “stupid” wars mantra, but the US killing of Iran’s military mastermind will test his ability to stay out of Middle Eastern quagmires less than a year from election day. Since the day of his surprise election …
Read More »A history of US-Iraq relations since 2003
Baghdad, Iraq | AFP | Here are key dates in the relations between the United States and Iraq after Washington carried out a deadly strike against top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani on Iraqi soil. – Invasion – On March 20, 2003, a US-led invasion of Saddam Hussein’s Iraq is launched …
Read More »How the world is reacting to US killing of top Iran general
Paris, France | AFP | The world reacted with alarm on Friday after top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US strike in Iraq, with leaders appealing for restraint. The attack was praised by US President Donald Trump’s Republicans but elsewhere there were sharp warnings it could inflame regional …
Read More »Netanyahu hurries home after Hezbollah calls for revenge
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut short a visit to Greece and flew home Friday as Lebanon’s Hezbollah demanded revenge for the killing of a top Iranian commander in a US strike. A source in Netanyahu’s office said that the premier was returning from …
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