While Iraqi forces are fighting to retake the western half of Mosul from Islamic State fighters, internal divisions regarding the future of Iraq’s political process are escalating ahead of provincial elections scheduled for September, especially within the country’s largest Shiite political bloc, the Shiite National Alliance.
Iran-Backed Iraqi Militia Group Launches New Brigade to “Liberate” Golan Heights
A powerful Iran-supported Iraqi Shiite militia group has announced the creation of a new brigade to “liberate” the Golan Heights from Israel, the Iranian media reports. “After the latest victories [in Syria and Iraq], we established the ‘Golan Liberation Brigade’.
I.R.G.C. Test-Fires Naval Ballistic Missile amid Heightening Tension with U.S.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) has “successfully” test-fired a naval missile destroying a floating target more than 100 miles away, the Iranian media reported earlier today.
Rights Groups Call on Tehran to End Repression of Justice-Seekers of 1980s Mass Executions
Twenty human rights organizations issued a joint statement today calling on the Iranian authorities to “stop the harassment, intimidation and prosecution of human rights defenders seeking truth and justice on behalf of individuals who were summarily executed or forcibly disappeared during the 1980s and their families,” the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), one of the signatories of the statement
Tehran Worried King Salman’s Asia Tour Aimed at Isolating Iran
The Iranian media speculates that Saudi Arabia’s King Salman’s month-long tour of Asia-Pacific region is aimed at expanding Riyadh’s “anti-Iran” coalition to pressure and isolate Tehran.
Pakistani Shiite Militias Fighting in Syria Say Quds Force Keep Their Passports
Iran’s Qom News reported on Friday that Sayed Abbas Mousavi, a commander of the Zainabyoun Brigade, was kidnapped in the Iranian holy city of Qom (the site has now deleted the report).
