The United States on Wednesday resumed joint military operations with Iraq that had been put on pause after the US drone strike that killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad, the New York Times reported. Two US military officials quoted by the paper said the Pentagon wanted to resume these operations in order to pick […]

The Iraqi ambassador to Iran said on Monday that the country is in negotiations to purchase the Russian S-300 missile defense system. Iraq has sought to purchase such a system from Russia since 2017, but has been held back by pressure from the U.S. Turkey has purchased the S-400 system from Russia, a move that […]

Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper reiterated his belief on Sunday morning talk shows that elimination of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani would prevent an attack that could lead to more dangerous, open conflict with Iran. “We had information that there was going to be an attack within a matter of days, that would be broad […]

The United States on Friday rejected a request by Iraq to start talks on pulling out its 5,200 troops, notching up the discord after Washington killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad. Angry at an attack seen as violating Iraqi sovereignty and enmeshing the country again in war, Iraq’s caretaker prime minister asked Secretary of […]

France said Thursday it remains “committed” to the 2015 Iran nuclear accord it signed with other world powers, despite Donald Trump urging the Europeans to quit the deal. The US president on Wednesday pulled back from the brink of war with Iran after having ordered the killing of a top Iranian general, to which Tehran […]

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday that the US strike that killed a top Iranian general had restored credibility to the US threat to Tehran to restrain itself militarily. “I believe that we’ve restored a level of deterrence with them,” he said. But Washington security analysts say it is far from certain that Tehran […]

Although Iranian missiles damaged equipment and infrastructure at U.S. and ally-occupied military installations in Iraq yesterday, training and defensive readiness paid off in no lives being lost, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. “There’s sirens that go off on these bases. … There’s bunkers and jersey barriers, and there’s places to go […]

Tensions between Iran and the United States have been steadily escalating for months. After a US strike killed a top Iranian commander last week and Iran launched retaliation strikes on Wednesday, here is a review: – Terror blacklist – On April 8, 2019 Washington declares Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard Corps a “terrorist” group. Its Quds […]

Iran fired “more than a dozen” ballistic missiles on Tuesday (Jan 7) against two airbases in Iraq where US and coalition forces are based, the Pentagon said. “At approximately 5.30pm (2230 GMT) on January 7, Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against US military and coalition forces in Iraq,” Assistant to the Secretary […]

Although NATO is committed to the training mission in Iraq, the alliance has suspended training operations in the country, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in Brussels today. ”In everything that we do, the safety of our personnel is paramount,” Stoltenberg told the media after a meeting of the North Atlantic Council. ”As such, we […]