Reuters - The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad said on Wednesday that all public consular operations were suspended, a day after Iraqi people stormed its outer perimeter, setting fires, throwing rocks and smashing surveillance cameras. Due to militia attacks at the U.S. Embassy compound, all public consular operations are suspended until further notice. ...

The Wall Street Journal - Brent crude oil is up 0.8% at $66.52 a barrel and WTI futures are up 0.6% at $51.43 a barrel after Brent closed out its strongest year since 2016. DNB Markets Helge Martinsen cites Thursdays gains as coming after a rise in geopolitical tension in the Middle East over the holiday period, with U.S. airstrikes prompting angry ...

MNA In a tweet message, national security assistant to former US President Barack Obama Ben Rhodes evaluated Trump's Iran policy 'a total failure'. "Its hard to overstate what a total failure Trumps Iran policy has been. Nuclear program resumed. Regional provocations escalated. US isolated," he wrote on December 31. In another tweet, the former ...

The Washington Post | Adam Taylor: Tensions between the United States and Iran have escalated throughout 2019, but on New Years Eve these tensions were illustrated by a dramatic new image: the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad under siege. That militia supporters targeted the embassy in Iraq was no surprise. For the United States, which has no diplomatic ...

The Guardian | Julian Borger: Up to 3,000 soldiers to be sent in as pro-Iran militants leave US embassy in Iraqi capital Iranian-backed militants have ended a day-long siege of the American embassy in Baghdad following an order from their militia organisation, but the struggle between the US and Iran for influence in Iraq looked set to intensify ...

Press TV - Bahrains top Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassimhas denounced the deadly Americanair raids that targeted the positions of Iraqs Hashd al-Shaabi or Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), saying they constitute an act of aggression against the entire Muslim world. In a statement carried by Arabic-languageLua LuaTV network on Wednesday, Sheikh Qassim ...

Press TV - Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has strongly condemned the deadly Americanair raids that targeted the positions of Iraqs Hashd al-Shaabi forces, saying Washington is in fact taking revenge on the popular forces because of the key role they played in defeating the Daesh terror group. The Leader made the remarks ...

Bloomberg |David Wainer and Glen Carey: The U.S. and Iran have lived in a state of hostility for decades. But rarely have relations been as tense as in recent months. The U.S. is trying to deprive Iran of oil revenue, the lifeblood of its economy; Iran has responded by exceeding limits it agreed to on its nuclear program, and its been accused of attacking ...

MNA Tehran has summoned the Swiss ambassador, whose country represents US interests in Iran, to protest against Washingtons recent measures in Iraq and the American officials' anti-Iran remarks. Markus Leitner was summoned to the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday to receive an official protest note regarding Washingtons recent aggression in ...

MNA Anthony Cartalucci, Bangkok- based geopolitical researcher, says Iraqs Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) play an undeniably significant role in foiling the US plots in the country as the forces have many homefield advantages over America and its proxies. US forces on Sunday conducted drone strikes on a number of bases for Kata'ib Hezbollah,...

Bourse and Bazaar | Esfandyar Batmanghelidj: One day after a deadly US airstrike which killed 25 militiamen, members of several Iraqi paramilitary groups aligned with Iran marched on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, breaching the outer wall of the compound, which is set behind multiple checkpoints in the heavily guarded Green Zone. Facing no resistance ...

RT - Anti-American sentiment has taken deep root in Iraqi society and ultimately fueled the fiery siege of the US Embassy in Baghdad, as the locals blame Washington for the sorry state of Iraq, military and political analysts tell RT. Chanting Death to America and Death to Israel, a crowd of protesters surrounded the US diplomatic mission on Tuesday,...

The New York Times | Michael Crowley and Edward Wong: Administration officials say they are restoring deterrence against Iran, but the presidents reluctance to use force in the Middle East may be creating an opening for Tehran. President Trump toughened his rhetoric toward Iran on Tuesday, saying the country would be held fully responsible for the ...

The Guardian | Julian Borger: Mobbing of US embassy after US strikes on state-sanctioned militia show Americas plan of maximum pressure only added to chaos The mobbing of a US embassy has historically served as an emblem of America in decline, so the scenes around the embattled mission in Baghdad are a fitting end to the decade. Tuesdays events ...

The Washington Post |Max Boot: To call the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad merely a diplomatic mission is to severely understate its scope and size. At 104 acres, the compound is nearly the size of Vatican City and comes complete with its own dormitories, dining halls, electrical plant, fire department and everything else needed to support the thousands of ...

Reuters - Hundreds of Iraqi militiamen and their supporters hurled stones at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad for a second day on Wednesday and security forces fired tear gas and stun grenades to drive them away. The protests mark a new turn in the shadow war between Washington and Tehran playing out across the Middle East. U.S. President Donald Trump,...

Tasnim Irans Ambassador to the United Nations Majid Takht Ravanchi shrugged off recent remarks by some US officials against the Islamic Republic and said Washington is leveling accusations against Tehran to cover up its recent massacre of the Iraqis. The US accusations against our country are aimed at diverting public attention away from the anger ...

Tasnim Irans Foreign Ministry spokesman hit back at Washington for its accusations against Iran following recent protests in Iraq, calling on the White House to quit its destructive policies in the region. In a statement on Tuesday, Abbas Mousavi dismissed the bogus allegations that the American officials have made against Iran over the recent ...

RT - Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has condemned US airstrikes on what he claims were Iraqi armed forces, saying that such attacks will have grave consequences. On Sunday, US F-15 fighter jets struck three Kataib Hezbollah targets at Qaim near the Syrian border, and two in Syria. According to the Shia militia group, at least 25 of their ...

The Wall Street Journal | Ghassan Adnan and Isabel Coles: Iraqs top cleric added his voice to a chorus of condemnation of U.S. strikes against an Iran-backed militia as some factions renewed calls for the departure of American forces. Meanwhile, the Iraqi government said Monday the U.S. strikes would force Baghdad to review its relationship with ...