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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (R) and the head of the Iraqi National Alliance (INA), Ammar al-Hakim, meet in Tehran on July 4, 2017. (Photo by IRNA)

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has warned of divisive plots against Iraq, saying Tehran backs unity, stability and integrity in its western neighbor.

Any move undermining Iraqs unity and integrity will not be beneficial to anybody and is unacceptable, Rouhani said in a meeting with the head of the Iraqi National Alliance (INA), Ammar al-Hakim, in Tehran on Tuesday.

He emphasized that all Iraqis must avoid divisive issues and reinforce their unity.

Iran's chief executive also hailed the recent gains made by the Iraqi government, army and popular forces infighting terrorism and liberatingthe countrys second largest city of Mosul from Daesh Takfiris.

Rouhani said the prudence of Iraqi officials and enhanced unity among the countrys ethnic groupswould double the Iraqi nations joyfollowing Mosuls liberation.

He expressed hope that victories achieved in Mosul and the defeat of terrorists in the city would further strengthen security, stability and unity across Iraq.

Undoubtedly, this stability and security will be beneficial to relations between the Iranian and Iraqi nations, the Iranian president added.

Iraqi government forces on Monday pushed deeper into the last pocket of Mosul, which is controlled by Daesh Takfiri terrorists, as the battle for the countrys second largest city approachedits end.

The Iraqi forces took control of eastern Mosul in January after 100 days of fighting, and launched the battle in the west on February 19.

The full recapture of Mosul, Daeshs de facto capital in the Arab country, would mark the effective end of the terror group in Iraq.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian president pointedto Tehran's policy to bolster cordial relations with all neighboring countries, saying that the Islamic Republic always seeks strong relations with all neighbors, particularly Iraq.

Mosul liberation boosts Iraq's national unity: Hakim

The head of the Iraqi National Alliance, for his part, commended Irans support for the Iraqi government and nation in the fight against Daesh terrorists.

Hakim added that the liberation of Mosul had reinforced Iraqs national unity.

The INA head then called for proper planning and cooperation of all Iraqi ethnicand political groups to overcome the new challenges in the country after the liberation of Mosul.

Hakim also stressed the importance of further development of relations between Tehran and Baghdad.

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Iran supports stable, united Iraq: Rouhani - Press TV

SOUTHWEST ASIA, July 3, 2017 U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 19 strikes consisting of 63 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of yesterday's strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 18 strikes consisting of 21 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, three strikes destroyed three ISIS front-end loaders, two oil separator tanks and a wellhead.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike destroyed an ISIS wellhead.

-- Near Raqqa, 14 strikes engaged 13 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 10 fighting positions and a mortar system.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of 42 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Mosul, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed 15 fighting positions, seven medium machine guns and a heavy machine gun; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit and a mortar team.

July 1 Strikes

Additionally, 12 strikes were conducted in Syria and Iraq on July 1 that closed within the last 24 hours:

-- Near Abu Kamal, Syria, a strike destroyed two ISIS oil tanker trucks, an oil trailer and a road grader.

-- Near Kisik, Iraq, a strike suppressed an ISIS mortar team.

-- Near Mosul, Iraq, a strike destroyed an ISIS-held building and damaged four supply routes.

-- Near Raqqa, Syria, five strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units, destroyed a fighting position and a heavy machine gun and suppressed 27 fighting positions.

-- Near Shadaddi, Syria, four strikes destroyed two ISIS command-and-control nodes, a staging area and a vehicle-borne-bomb facility.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world, task force officials said.

The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets, officials noted.

Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike, they added. A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect.

For example, task force officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined, officials said.

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Coalition Strikes Hit ISIS Terrorists in Syria, Iraq - Department of Defense

A brave British soldier reportedly drowned an evil ISIS fighter in a puddle after the terror group surrounded a group of Special Boat Service troopers in Iraq.

After the fearless special forces fighters ran out of bullets, they decided to go out fighting and used their knives and bare hands to kill as many brainwashed extremists as possible.

In an extraordinary survival story, another Brit soldier killed three militant thugs using his rifle as a club, reportsThe Daily Star.

An Iraqi fighter in Mosul on July 3. (REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah)

The heroic members of the Royal Navys Special Boat Service reportedly were convinced they were going to die after being outnumbered and encircled after being ambushed by around 50 ISIS fighters near Mosul.

After killing at least 20 of the terrorists, the elite group realized they had around 10 bullets left between them and were trapped in a small river bed, the report said.

SYRIAN MILITARY DECLARES TEMPORARY CEASE-FIRE

Faced with the prospect of being captured and tortured, the men opted for a soldiers death and decided to fight like crazed warriors to kill as many of the extremists as possible.

Speaking with the Star, the source said: They knew that if they were captured they would be tortured and decapitated.

QATAR CRISIS DEADLINE EXTENDED

Rather than die on their knees, they went for a soldiers death and charged the IS fighters who were moving along the river bed.

They were screaming and swearing as they set about the terrorists.

Click for more from The Sun.

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British soldier drowns ISIS thug in puddle after being ambushed in Iraq, report says - Fox News

OnJuly 14, the nuclear deal with Iran will turn two. This anniversary comes at a time when the United States is reviewing its Iran policy, of which the controversial agreement is a key pillar, and isputting the optionof regime change on the table once again. In doing so, the Trump administration should consider some lessons from one of the defining events in contemporary Iranian history: the Iran-Iraq War.

At first glance, the war doesnt seem to have much to do with the nuclear deal. After all, it took place in the 1980s; it did not officially involve any of the parties to the agreement with Iranthe United States, its European partners, China, and Russiaand it has largely faded from public memory. In Iran, however, the conflict that Iranians know as the Sacred Defense or Imposed War continues to loom large. Today, almost three decades after it ended, the war has a profound influence on decision-making in Iran, especially as it pertains to national security issues.

The end of the war restored the status quo ante, with both regimes still in power and without territorial adjustments. Throughout the last years of the war, missiles flew into major cities and population centers, as combatants dug up trenches, and Baghdad used chemical weapons against Iranians and Iraqs own Kurdish populations.

Although the war was disastrous for Iranians, the Islamic Republic has taken from it two key lessons that continue to condition Tehrans actions and policies today.

First, Iran came out of the war with a deep distrust of the United States and the world order it leads. And an event whose anniversary comes on July 3, just days before that of the nuclear deal, played a critical role in this. On that day in 1988, a U.S. Navy cruiser accidentally shot down an Iranian civilian airliner, killing all 290 people on board.

Second, feeling isolated from and distrustful of the U.S.-led international system, Iran emerged from the war with the conviction that it could not rely on anyone but itself. Throughout the conflict, Iran had difficultly purchasing weapons and updating and upgrading its aging equipment. As a result, in the middle of the war, Tehran began to develop the ballistic missile and nuclear programs that today generate so much tension with the United States.

For Washington, the nuclear deal was an opportunity to curb Irans nuclear program. It also cleared the path for future negotiations on other aspects of Irans potentially dangerous activities too. But for Tehran, the nuclear deal was a way to remove the threat of war, renormalize its status within the international community, and open up its economy.

However, the Trump administrations erratic and tough talk and its failure to assert clearly that the deal is here to stay have only reinforced the lessons of the war and have convinced Iran that the United States wont allow it to achieve those goals. The resulting uncertainty surrounding the nuclear deal has made businesses and investors even more reluctant to reenter a market whose prospects remain dubious. And the threat of war looms once again, as the administrationopenly admitsto maintaining a policy of regime change.

The re-entrenchment of the lessons of the war have long-term, and largely negative, implications for the United States. These lessons make Iran more inclined to distance itself from America and its allies, which in turn undermines U.S. ability to affect Iranian policies. They also reinforce Irans threat perception and fuel its distrust of the international order and the United States. That in turn will make Tehran less likely to return to the table and engage in negotiations over its other worrisome activities and more likely to pursue policies that challenge and undermine U.S. national interests.

As the nuclear deal enters its second year, it is vital for the United States to clearly communicate its commitment to the agreement. Doing so will afford Washington a much-needed credibility boost at a time when international confidence in American leadership is waning. It will also allow the United States to continue to lead the implementation process, leave the door open for future negotiations on other concerning aspects of Iranian behavior, and promote U.S. national security interests.

Ariane Tabatabai (@ArianeTabatabai) is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Security Studies at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and a Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).Annie Tracy Samuel (@ATracySamuel) is an Assistant Professor of history at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

The views expressed by this author are their own and are not the views of The Hill.

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Trump administration should not ignore lessons from Iran-Iraq War - The Hill (blog)

Iraqs June crude exports slipped from from the highest level since December amid decreased outflows from both southern and northern fields.

Ships hauling 113 million barrels of Iraqi crude sailed from ports in the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean Sea in June, according to data from port agents and tracking tracking. That works out at about 3.77 million barrels a day, or 4 percent lower than May.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers, including Russia, in May agreed to extend production cuts through March to help mop up a glut of crude in the market. Oil is trading at less than $50 a barrel, less than half where prices were three years ago, wreaking financial havoc on the budgets of exporters like Iraq.

The nation shipped 3.91 million barrels a day in October, the month OPEC used as its baseline for those production cuts. The cuts will helpwill re-balance the market,Oil Minister Jabbar Al-Luaibi said in London Monday.

The country aims to reach production capacity of 5 million barrels a day by the end of the year, he said. Iraq pumped 4.45 million barrels a day in May, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It was to cut its output to 4.351 million barrels a day under the cuts deal.

Iraq has boosted sales to the U.S. this year, delivering 811,000 barrels a day in April, the most since February 2003, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Ten vessels carrying 16 million barrels of crude left Iraq for the U.S. last month, compared with 11 tankers carrying 19 million barrels in May and 10 tankers carrying 17 million barrels of crude in April.

The semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq appeared to be shipping its first cargo for three years to the U.S., before the vessel reversed course, according to ship tracking data. As the tanker Neverland approached the coast ofNew England and Nova Scotia, Iraqs federal government asked U.S. and Canadian authorities to block the shipment, a person familiar with the matter said last week.

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Iraq's June Crude Exports Decline From Year High in May - Bloomberg