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Iran’s regime put on a display on Friday of its intervention in Iraq, proclaiming its salvation of the country from the Islamic State.

Delivering the Tehran Friday Prayer, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami (pictured) said, “The Islamic Iran supports Iraq’s territorial integrity and Iran’s aid for this country aims to thwart enemies’ [plots] to disintegrate Iraq.”

Khatami celebrated the advance in the last weeks in the offensive to take the city of Tikrit, 160 km (100 miles) north of Baghdad, expressing hope that the Iraqi army will succeed in “eradicating the terrorists”. He bragged that “all countries know that Iran provided ‘advisory’ assistance” in the campaign.

The head of the elite Qods Force, General Qassem Soleimani, has been photographed alongside Iraqi forces and Shia militia during the offensive.

Other Iranian officials, such as President Rouhani’s advisor for minorities, upheld Tehran’s “respect for Iraq’s independence and territorial integrity”.

The leader of the Badr Brigades, a prominent Iraqi Shia militia, complemented Tehran’s announcement. Hadi al-Amiri said, “Anyone who talks about Iranian advisors, must speak with respect, because if they were not there and if brother Qassem Soleimani was not there, all of Iraq would be occupied by ISIS right now.”

Al-Amiri claimed that the US had tried to restrict the offensive on Tikrit by saying that American-supplied weapons could only be used in the defense of Baghdad: “Our brothers in the Islamic Republic of Iran consult with us without a single expectation, unlike the Americans.”

Ammar Hakim, the head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, also praised Iran’s commitment to Iraq: he said that the Islamic Republic was the first country to come to the aid of the Iraqi people without any preconditions.


Iran’s Economic Aid Package for Yemen’s Houthi Regime

The leadership in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, the Shia Houthi faction, say they have secured an economic aid package from Iran.

After the return of a Houthi delegation from Tehran, a spokesperson said Iran has pledged to expand Yemen’s ports, help build power plants, and provide the country with enough oil to last a year.

Last month, the Houthis pushed out President Abdrabuh Mansour Ali, dissolved Parliament, and set up a “Presidential Council”.

Hadi fled to southern Yemen where he has declared an alternative Government.

Photo: Funerals for 3 Afghan Fighters Killed in Syria

An image from the funerals for three Afghan Fatimiyoun Brigade members killed in fighting in Syria:

IRAN FUNERALS AFGHAN FIGHTERS

Iranian officials have organized Afghan units to support Syrian forces increasingly depleted and under pressure in the four-year conflict. The Afghans, given the incentives of monthly payment and residency in Iran, have taken significant losses in recent regime operations in the northwest and south of Syria.