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An Iraqi Shi'ite force backed by Iran has said it pushed Islamic State (IS) militants out of villages on the border with Syria on May 29, in a step toward reopening a supply route to send Iranian weapons to President Bashar al-Assad.

The Popular Mobilization Forces described its advance to the border with Syria north of the town of Baaj on May 29 as "a Ramadan miracle," referring to the Muslim fasting month that started over the weekend.

For the Popular Mobilization Forces, reclaiming the territory is a step toward achieving a linkup between Baghdad and Assad's forces in Syria, reopening a critical highway for supplying weapons to Assad's army, and giving the Syrian leader a significant advantage in fighting the 6-year-old armed rebellion against him.

"This will be the first step to the liberation of the entire border," said Ahmad al-Asadi, a spokesman for the Iranian-backed militia.

But the Iraqi forces backed by Iran cannot as yet link up with the Syrian Army and allied Iranian-backed militias in Syria, as Assad's forces have not as yet reached the Iraqi border from the Syrian side, despite concerted efforts in recent weeks.

To get there, they would have to pass through territory held by U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces that the U.S. military has been training to fight IS.

Iraq's Iranian-backed militia leaders say they are ready to move inside Syrian territory to assist Assad in battling rebel groups there. It is not known whether the Syrian Kurds would allow the Iraqi Shi'ite force to use their territory to reach Assad's troops, however, which are deployed further south and further west.

The Popular Mobilization Forces are taking part in the U.S.-backed Iraqi campaign to defeat IS in its Iraqi stronghold of Mosul and surrounding Nineveh Province.

The Iraq government's army has been focusing its efforts on dislodging the militants from Mosul, while the Iranian-backed forces have battled to reclaim the vast desert territory between Mosul and the Syrian border.

While reporting nominally to Iraq's Shi'ite-led government, the Popular Mobilization Forces have Iranian military advisers, one of whom died last week fighting near Baaj.

Iran backs militia forces in both Iraq and Syria, where it has helped to train and organize thousands of Shi'ite troops it has recruited from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Fighters from Lebanon's Hizballah also work closely with Iranian military commanders in Syria.

Eight months into the Mosul campaign, IS fighters have been dislodged from all of the city except an enclave by the western bank of the Tigris River.

Iraq's army over the weekend launched a new offensive to take the militants' enclave, which includes the densely populated Old City.

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Iraqi Shi'ite Militia Backed By Iran Recaptures Border Area With Syria - RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty

New York Times

As Iran and US Leaders Trade Barbs, Big Deals Proceed New York Times TEHRAN President Trump, who has never made a secret of his hostility toward Iran, called recently for a grand regional strategy among Sunni nations to isolate the country. But Tehran received that threat with surprising equanimity because, in ... How Is Iran's Hassan Rouhani A Moderate?Forbes Iran's Khamenei says Saudis will fall, Rouhani calls for better tiesReuters Why Trump's Pressures On Iran Won't Benefit AmericaFortune The Weekly Standard all 872 news articles »

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As Iran and US Leaders Trade Barbs, Big Deals Proceed - New York Times

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani on Monday called racist Israel a threat to the region and humanity.

In a message congratulating Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on the 17th anniversary of Israels pullout from south Lebanon, Larijani said the aggressive and racist nature of the Zionist regime has always been and will remain a threat to humanity and to regional nations, according to Iranian media reports.

Referring to Israels 2000 pullout after 15 years of conflict with Hezbollah, Larijani urged the Palestinians to follow the Lebanon terror groups lead and liberate territories from Israel.

The multiple victories of the Islamic resistance against the Zionist regime clearly demonstrate that the lofty aspirations for the liberation of the occupied Palestinian territories can be achieved only through harmony, solidarity and resistance, he said.

Israels withdrawal from southern Lebanon began on May 23, 2000, ending 18 years of presence in the country since the start of the First Lebanon War in 1982. The pullout was completed over two days.

Hezbollah, established in 1985 with the backing of Iran, led Lebanese efforts to attack and drive Israelis from Lebanon. The IDF lost over 550 soldiers in fighting the terror group.

Hezbollah deputy secretary general Naim Qassem (photo credit: AP/Grace Kassab)

The comments came amid a report that Iran has agreed in principle to renew its funding for the Gaza-based Hamas terror group. The deal to restore Hamass financial support came after marathon meetings in Lebanon between officials from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Hamas, and Hezbollah, the London-based Asharq al-Awsat report said.

A day earlier, Iran dismissed US President Donald Trumps allegations that it was a major sponsor of terrorism as incorrect and irrelevant.

Trump, during his recent trip to Saudi Arabia, accused Tehran of spearheading global terror. Along with Saudi King Salman he called for the Islamic Republic to be shunned.

From Lebanon to Iraq to Yemen, Iran funds, arms and trains terrorists, militias and other extremist groups that spread destruction and chaos across the region, Trump said.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi dismissed the accusations during a press briefing.

These improper, incorrect and irrelevant positions of certain countries are nothing new and they try to project the blame on others and such remarks are unbelievable and unacceptable, he said.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

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Iran parliament speaker says Israel 'a threat to humanity' - The Times of Israel

Standing in the blue-tiled shadows of one of Irans greatest mosques, armed with a dish of sesame caramel snacks, Mohammed Reza Zamani is a cleric on a mission to repair the countrys image in the west, one tourist at a time.

Free Friendly Talks a billboard announces in English, at the entrance to a historic religious seminary-turned-museum, in the central city of Isfahan, a former imperial capital so beautiful that even today Iranians describe the city as half the world.

Tourism brings both money and a more positive international image for Iran, says Zamani, 36, a theology student, who is keen to ensure that visitors who might once have been alarmed by his clerical turban and robes feel welcome in his city.

I think the moment they set foot in Iran [foreigners] find it totally different from what they expect, and their minds are changed by the people when visitors talk to us, he said, as he took a short break between explaining marriage and circumcision traditions to a group of Italians and discussing millenarian religious beliefs with a man from the Netherlands.

Irans reformist president, Hassan Rouhani, staked his government and reputation on opening Iran to the world, sealing a nuclear deal that ended sanctions and courting foreign investment in its wake.

Rouhani was re-elected for a second term in a landslide victory last weekend, a sweeping endorsement of his policy from the Iranian people. And for many Iranians the growing flood of foreigners armed with guidebooks and selfie sticks is one of the most visible signs of change and re-engagement.

Isfahan lives by tourists, said Masood Mohamedian, a former lorry driver who this year gambled all his savings on opening a small cafe serving traditional snacks just off the main square. I am 100% happy with Rouhani as president.

Tourism to Iran might seem like a hard sell. The initial problem is the countrys reputation, tied up inextricably for many in the west with dramatic television images of the US embassy hostage crisis from 1979-81, and the fatwa issued in 1989 against Salman Rushdie for his book The Satanic Verses. More recently, the crackdown that followed disputed 2009 elections, and arrests of figures such as Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, have done little to soften that image. And the countrys conservative religious and social rules, which visitors must observe along with citizens, might deter some westerners.

There is little public nightlife, no alcohol, men and women cannot kiss or embrace in public, and women in particular must observe a relatively strict dress code, wearing a headscarf and covering their arms and legs. But tens of thousands of people have decided that Irans attractions far outweigh those constraints. And Iran has tried to encourage them by easing restrictions on travel.

Europeans from countries including France, Italy and Germany, who account for the majority of western tourists, can now get visas on arrival in Tehran, and at the main sites they mingle with sightseers from China, Japan and elsewhere.

When the sanctions were lifted, I decided to come as soon as possible, said Simonetta Marfoglia, an Italian tourist who was halfway through a two-week trip. I had read a lot of Iranian poetry, and I am very interested in the history of the region. I am really very happy to be visiting: the people are wonderful, there is great hospitality, and its very friendly.

The country boasts an extraordinarily rich cultural heritage, from the ruins of ancient Persepolis to Isfahan and other historic cities, such as Kashan, Tabriz and Shiraz.

Food-lovers can feast on dishes from a sophisticated cuisine that is winning increasing recognition in the west, with dishes such as fesenjan, a rich, tart and sweet chicken stew thick with walnuts and pomegranate molasses.

There are also bazaars packed with carpets and handicrafts for shoppers, a thriving contemporary arts scene and spectacular natural beauty ranging from beaches to stark deserts and snow-capped mountains. .

Together these factors have fuelled a dramatic rise in western tourists to Iran, although the majority of its two million visitors are still religious pilgrims visiting its major shrines.

Isfahan, the jewel in Irans heritage crown and more a destination for tourists than pilgrims, counted just over 5,000 visitors a month in 2013, when Rouhani came to power. By spring 2017 that number had risen to 85,000 in a single month, the newspaper Isfahan Today reported.

The surge in visitors has been so dramatic that some nights in high season every single hotel room in the city is taken, according to the receptionist at the newly built Zenderood Hotel.

Foreign hotel chains are eyeing the market enthusiastically, particularly since some of the biggest American players are still in effect barred. US sanctions have stayed in place after the nuclear-linked bans were lifted, leaving the field clear for European and other groups. Dubai-based Rotana Hotels is the latest firm to unveil plans for a new hotel in Isfahan, following the likes of the French chain Accor.

Spanish heritage hotel company Paradores is also looking at opportunities in the country, whose famous hotels include a former caravanserai that housed traders bringing lucrative goods to market in the 16th century.

The biggest challenge to Irans goal of increasing tourist numbers tenfold within the decade may be the pace of change they represent, in a country where Rouhanis conservative rival still managed to garner 16 million votes in the election.

I am unhappy about their cultural impact, because of their customs, grumbled Mohammed Paknahad, a shopkeeper in Isfahans bazaar, who said tourists rarely bought his handicrafts. Some of the women dont cover their bodies properly.

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The guidebooks and selfie-sticks arrive as Rouhani's Iran declares itself open to all - The Guardian

New York Times

US Sees a Vital Iraqi Toll Road, but Iran Sees a Threat New York Times This being Iraq, though, the project has quickly been caught up in geopolitics, sectarianism and tensions between the United States and Iran, which seems determined to sabotage the highway project as an unacceptable projection of American influence ... FM Ja'afari: Iraq will never join anti-Iran frontPress TV all 5 news articles »

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US Sees a Vital Iraqi Toll Road, but Iran Sees a Threat - New York Times