Iran congratulates Iraq on Mosul victory over the Islamic State
Iran has congratulated Iraq on its declared victory over the Islamic State jihadist group in Mosul and offered its help to rebuild the devastated country.
“Congratulations to brave people and Government of Iraq upon liberation of Mosul,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote late Sunday in a tweet.
“When Iraqis join hands, no limits to what they can achieve.”
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi was in Mosul Sunday, officially marking the end of a difficult campaign to retake the city, where IS declared its self-styled caliphate three years ago.
Other Iranian officials were also quick to welcome the victory, Iraq’s biggest yet against the jihadists.
It was a “great achievement in the path to ending the presence and savage actions of the criminal Daesh (IS) group against the Iraqi nation”, said Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, in messages to Abadi and Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the country’s most revered cleric.
“The government, armed forces and the brave nation of Islamic Iran... are prepared to offer aid to the displaced and injured in the war and help rebuild the cities and vital infrastructure in the country,” official news agency IRNA quoted Shamkhani as saying.
Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan and the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, also congratulated Abadi, saying they were ready to boost defence and security ties with Baghdad.
Less time to read?
Try Quickreads
-
Priti Patel conveys ‘general view’ to UK PM amid mass resignations: Report
UK home secretary Priti Patel has reportedly conveyed Prime Minister Boris Johnson the “general view” of Conservative lawmakers amid efforts to force him out of office. "Home Secretary Priti Patel, told Johnson that the general view of the Conservative party was that he had to go," CNN reported citing a person familiar with the matter.
-
Give CAATSA waiver, deepen defence and energy ties with India: US Congressmen
In separate amendments to the National Defence Authorization Act, three US Congressmen have proposed that the US deepen defence ties with India, waive off sanctions that may be triggered by India's acquisitions of Russian weapons under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), enhance the energy partnership with India, and work to reduce Indian dependence on Russian military equipment and energy sources and replace it with the US sources.
-
'Ikea has better cabinets…': Twitter chuckles as Boris Johnson clings to power
British prime minister Boris Johnson - holding on to power precariously after multiple members oJohnson'sis cabinet resigned over the past few days - has become the subject of memes among the online community. A slew of these memes have surfaced on Twitter, encapsulating the current political crisis in Britain as Johnson stares at the strong possibility of being removed as Conservative Party leader and PM.
-
Beijing-based AIIB opens Abu Dhabi office in face of China’s zero-Covid policy
The China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank on Thursday announced the opening of its first office outside its Beijing headquarter, in what appears to be an effort to negotiate China's Covid-19-related policies including restrictions on international travel and strict quarantine requirements for returnees. “The AIIB Board of Directors has approved the establishment of an Interim Operational Hub (the Hub), the bank's first overseas office,” the multilateral lender said in a statement on Thursday.
-
South Asians may have suffered more than general public in Covid-19: Canadian study
South Asian communities may have suffered more during the Covid-19 pandemic than the general population, according to an indicative study published in Canada. Researchers from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, “found the Regional Municipality of Peel, home to a large South Asian Canadian community, emerged as a Covid-19 hotspot before the local rollout of vaccines starting in April 2021”. The city of Brampton was the “epicentre”.
