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Greek Foreign Affairs Minister Nikos Dendias met with his counterparts of Egypt, of Jordan and of Iraq, and also with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, on the first of his three-day visit to Bahrain on Saturday.

At capital city Manama, Dendias will be attending the annual forum Manama Dialogue.

On Saturday, the Greek minister is also expected to meet with Israeli National Security Adviser Eyal Hulata, on the sidelines of the forum.

On Sunday, he will be meeting with Prime Minister of Iraqi Kurdistan Masrour Barzani and also with Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi. He will also attend the discussion Conflict Termination in the Wider Region at Manama Dialogue.

On Monday, Dendias will meet with his counterpart of Bahrain Abdullatif bin Rashid Alzayani, where talks are expected to focus on bilateral relations, developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, in the Gulf and in Libya, and also in Greeces cooperation with the Gulf Cooperation Council, it was said in a ministry statement.

Dendias will then be received by Prime Minister of Bahrain and heir to the throne Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

[AMNA]

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Dendias meets with counterparts from Egypt, Jordan, Iraq in Bahrain - http://www.ekathimerini.com

Why do the Zionist regime and the Westerners defend the seemingly pro-Kurdish anti-revolutionary groups? asked Irans interior minister during a visit to the Kurdish region of Iran, according to Tasnim News.

Irans new Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi is wanted by Interpol for murdering 85 people in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. However, now the minister wants to devote his discussion to the support he will provide the Kurdish region in Iran. He claimed that the Kurdistan region needs prosperity and security and that Kurds had rejected attempts by foreign regimes to undermine Irans role in its northwest, where Kurds live.

He stated that the Kurds, along with the people all over the country, have punched the counter-revolution in the mouth with a strong fist in the face of the conspiracies and extravagances of the enemies, the report said.

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The minister of interior pointed out: The people of Kurdistan are proud and resilient and it is right to be a model and to learn many lessons from their honor, dignity, resistance and stability, he said.

Undoubtedly, Kurdistan and the universities of this province can be an important center for the whole region and the upbringing of Kurds and Kurdish nations abroad, if the doors of our universities are open to them because we have very good relations with the Kurdish nations and the Kurdish region of Iraq.

He praised the role of Kurds in Iran and recalled the brutalities of the Saddam Hussein regime.

The enemies have made many attempts to divide us and the Kurds of Iraq and Iran, which fortunately were not achieved by the Kurdish people and will never be able to do so, he said.

Unlike other countries in the region that generally have suppressed Kurds and denied their existence, Irans regime has a more nuanced view of them.

The Kurdish nation has always been united and their civilization, culture and bravery in defending the system throughout history can be good lessons for others, the minister said.

He says the new governor will address the concerns of the people.

Emphasizing that the new governor should do his best to solve the peoples problems, the interior minister added: While identifying the problems, priorities should be determined and steps should be taken in this direction as if we would also support them.

He praised the region for its human capital and culture. He said deprivation would be reduced.

He considered the completion of construction projects, the highway corridor in the west of the country necessary and added: The issue of drinking water in Sanandaj is very important and should be resolved as soon as possible, according to the report.

A strong Kurdistan and Iran will be realized when all people come to the square, he said.

Link:
Iran wants to invest in Kurdish region to counter 'Zionists' - analysis - The Jerusalem Post

During an informal press gaggle today, Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby answered questions about a congressional visit to Taiwan, Afghan refugees and Iranian actions in Iraq.

China has objected to a visit to Taiwan by a U.S. congressional delegation. Kirby noted that congressional visits to Taiwan are relatively common and in keeping with U.S. obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act. The members of Congress are traveling on a U.S. military jet, as is the custom for congressional delegations.

Kirby confirmed that a group of 191 Afghans who escaped from Afghanistan to Tajikistan including some Afghan air force pilots who flew to the country as Kabul fell may be evacuated from that nation soon. "Our embassy there is working to expedite their departure,"Kirby said. "We expect that they'll be able to depart Tajikistan soon, but we are not in control of the timeline."

Kirby said DOD "presumes"that attacks in and around Iraq were launched by Iranian-backed militias. There have been a number of attacks with the latest being an attempt to assassinate Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Sunday. Drones attacked the prime ministers residence in Baghdad.

"These attacks are being perpetrated by militia groups that are backed by Iran, and [they] have access to resources and to lethal tools to conduct these attacks,"Kirby said. "I can't speak with great specificity as to the timing of these attacks and why they're happening in certain times, as opposed to others."

"All I can say is, we're focused on the threat,"he continued. "It's not just a threat to us, but to our Iraqi partners as the attack on the prime minister clearly demonstrated. And we take those seriously."

Kirby would not say what group launched the attack. He noted these groups have launched similar attacks using large and small unmanned aerial systems. "That is a common tactic of theirs,"he said. "And so we are certainly working under the presumption that that's the case here, but I'm not going to get into specific attribution at this time."

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Kirby Updates Media on Visit to Taiwan, Iranian-Backed Groups in Iraq - Department of Defense

National security adviser Robert O'Brien arrives to speak to reporters outside the White House on Tuesday. O'Brien announced that President Trump has ordered 2500 U.S. troops to be withdrawn from Afghanistan and Iraq by Jan. 15. Drew Angerer/Getty Images hide caption

National security adviser Robert O'Brien arrives to speak to reporters outside the White House on Tuesday. O'Brien announced that President Trump has ordered 2500 U.S. troops to be withdrawn from Afghanistan and Iraq by Jan. 15.

The White House announced Tuesday that it will pull thousands of troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan by Jan. 15. A force of 2,500 service members will remain in both countries, but the Trump administration aims to have all remaining troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan by Spring 2021.

"By May, it is President Trump's hope that they will all come home safely and in their entirety," national security adviser Robert O'Brien said. "I want to reiterate that this policy is not new. This has been the president's policy since he took office."

Nearly 3,000 lives were lost in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and an additional 7,000 American service members have been killed in the nearly 20 years of armed conflict since. Trump had promised during his 2016 campaign that he would end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But, the drawdown worries some military leaders. Peace talks with the Taliban appear to be stalled and attacks are on the rise in Afghanistan. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is also concerned about reducing the number of boots on the ground in such a tumultuous time.

"I think it is extremely important here in the next couple of months not to have any earthshaking changes with regard to defense and foreign policy," McConnell said. "I think a precipitous drawdown in either Afghanistan or Iraq would be a mistake."

Troop levels had surged to a high of more than 100,000 until Osama Bin Laden was killed in 2011. Shortly after, President Barack Obama began withdrawing troops from the Middle East and numbers have continued to decline in years since.

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Trump Administration Wants All U.S. Troops Out Of Iraq And ...

BAGHDAD (AP) Iraqs elections on Sunday come with enormous challenges: Iraqs economy has been battered by years of conflict, endemic corruption and more recently, the coronavirus pandemic. State institutions are failing, the countrys infrastructure is crumbling. Powerful paramilitary groups increasingly threaten the authority of the state, and hundreds of thousands of people are still displaced from the years of war against the Islamic State group.

While few Iraqis expect meaningful change in their day-to-day lives, the parliament elections will shape the direction of Iraqs foreign policy at a key time in the Middle East, including as Iraq is mediating between regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Iraqs elections will be watched by all in the region to determine how the countrys future leadership will sway the regional balance of power, said Marsin Alshamary an Iraqi-American research fellow with the Harvard Kennedy Schools Belfer Center.

So, what are the main things to watch for?

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MANY FIRSTS

The elections are being held early, in response to mass protests that erupted in 2019. Its the first time a vote is taking place because of demands by Iraqi protesters on the streets. The vote is also taking place under a new election law that divides Iraq into smaller constituencies another demand of the young activists and allows for more independent candidates.

A U.N. Security Council resolution adopted earlier this year authorized an expanded team to monitor the elections. There will be up to 600 international observers in place, including 150 from the United Nations.

Iraq is also for the first time introducing biometric cards for voters. To prevent abuse of electronic voter cards, they will be disabled for 72 hours after each person votes, to avoid double voting.

But despite all these measures, claims of vote buying, intimidation and manipulation have persisted.

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SHIITE DIVISIONS

Groups drawn from Iraqs Shiite factions dominate the electoral landscape, as has been the case since after Saddam was toppled, when the countrys power base shifted from minority Sunnis to majority Shiites.

But Shiite groups are divided, particularly over the influence of neighboring Iran, a Shiite powerhouse. A tight race is expected between the political bloc of influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, the biggest winner in the 2018 election, and the Fatah Alliance led by paramilitary leader Hadi al-Ameri, which came in second.

The Fatah Alliance comprises of parties affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group of mostly pro-Iran Shiite militias that rose to prominence during the war against the Sunni extremist Islamic State group. It includes some of the most hard-line pro-Iran factions such as the Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia. Al-Sadr, a nationalist and populist leader, is also close to Iran, but publicly rejects its political influence.

Kataib Hezbollah, a powerful Shiite militia with close ties to Iran, is fielding candidates for the first time.

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CALLS FOR BOYCOTT

Activists and young Iraqis who took part in the protests calling for change have been divided over whether to take part in the vote.

The 2019 demonstrations were met with deadly force, with at least 600 people killed over a period of few months. Although authorities gave in and called the early elections, the death toll and the heavy-handed crackdown prompted many young activists and demonstrators who took part in the protests to later call for a boycott.

A series of kidnappings and targeted assassinations that killed more than 35 people, has further discouraged many from taking part.

Iraqs top Shiite cleric and a widely respected authority, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has called for a large turnout, saying that voting remains the best way for Iraqis to take part in shaping their countrys future.

The 2018 elections saw a record low turnout with just 44% of eligible voters casting ballots. The results were widely contested.

There are concerns of a similar or even lower turnout this time.

Mustafa al-Jabouri, a 27-year-old private sector employee, says he wont vote after seeing his friends killed in the demonstrations, in front of my eyes.

I have participated in every election since I turned 18. We always say that change will come, and things will improve. What Ive seen is that things always go from bad to worse, he said as he sat smoking a hookah at a coffee shop in Baghdad. Now it is the same faces from the same parties putting up campaign posters.

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REGIONAL IMPLICATIONS

Iraqs vote comes amid a flurry of diplomatic activity in the region, partially spurred by the Biden administrations gradual retreat from the Middle East and icy relations with traditional ally Saudi Arabia. Current Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has sought to portray Iraq as a neutral mediator in the regions crises. In recent months, Baghdad hosted several rounds of direct talks between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran in a bid to ease tensions.

Alshamary, the research fellow, said Arab states will be watching to see what gains pro-Iranian factions make in the vote and, conversely, Iran will look at how Western-leaning politicians fare. The outcome of these elections will have an impact on foreign relations in the region for years to come, she said.

Under Iraqs laws, the winner of Sundays vote gets to choose the countrys next prime minister, but its unlikely any of the competing coalitions can secure a clear majority. That will require a lengthy process involving backroom negotiations to select a consensus prime minister and agree on a new coalition government.

Randa Slim, of the Washington-based Middle East Institute, said Iraqs regional mediation role is al-Kadhimis achievement, a result of his success at balancing between U.S. and Iranian interests in Iraq.

If he wont be the next prime minister, all of these initiatives might not be sustained, Slim said.

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Karam reported from Beirut.

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EXPLAINER: Why do Iraq's elections matter to the world? - Associated Press