AP: The U.S. has sent Hellfire air-to-ground missiles to Iraq’s air forces, which is using them in an ongoing campaign against the country’s branch of al-Qaida, officials in Washington and Baghdad said Thursday.
US sends Hellfire missiles to Iraq
Iranian dissidents say rockets hit their Baghdad camp, kill three
Reuters: A camp of Iranian dissidents in the Iraqi capital was hit by rockets on Thursday in an attack the group said killed at least two people and seriously wounded several others.
Iranians pile into stocks as detente triggers 133% rally
Bloomberg: For evidence of how Iranians are embracing President Hassan Rouhani’s pledge to re-establish ties with the world economy after decades of crippling sanctions, take a look at the Tehran Stock Exchange.
Iranian MPs propose bill to enrich uranium up to 60 percent
Reuters: Iran’s hardline lawmakers are seeking to increase uranium enrichment under the country’s nuclear program to a level that can produce bomb-grade material, a state-run website said on Wednesday.
Kuwait court rejects ex-Qaeda spokesman citizenship claim
AFP: The Al-Qaeda militant left Kuwait for Afghanistan in June 2001 and then fled to Iran around the end of the following year, remaining there until he travelled to Turkey in early 2013.
Iran official got job in Khamenei conglomerate after approving deal
Reuters: Several Setad officials have been appointed to top government posts in recent years. In August, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani named Mohammad Shariatmadari, who had served on Setad’s board of directors, as his vice president for executive affairs.
Iran parliament mulls changing country’s capital
AP: The Iranian parliament is considering a proposal to pick another city as the nation’s capital and move the seat of the government from the overcrowded and heavily polluted Tehran.
Assad’s secret oil lifeline: Iraqi crude from Egypt
Reuters: The Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad has received substantial imports of Iraqi crude oil from an Egyptian port in the last nine months, shipping and payments documents show, part of an under-the-radar trade that has kept his military running despite Western sanctions.
UN to issue invites to Syria talks by end of year
AFP: United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Monday invitations to the next round of Syria peace talks would be sent by the end of year as he launched a fresh appeal for Iran to participate.
Vanishing adviser reappears as Iran policy player
AP: Last year, while Jake Sullivan was traveling with his boss, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, he quietly disappeared during a stop in Paris. He showed up again a few days later, rejoining Clinton’s traveling contingent in Mongolia.
