Baghdad

Kurds will not surprise Turkey with the establishment of a possible independent state, according to Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Natural Resources Minister Ashti Hawrami.

Iran is ready to help Iraq fight an armed revolt using the same methods it deployed against opposition forces in Syria, an Iranian general said, suggesting Tehran is offering to take a larger role in battling Sunni militias threatening Baghdad.

Iraq said it received the first batch of Sukhoi warplanes from Russia as it pressed a counter-attack June 29 against Sunni militants whose offensive threatens to tear the country apart.

The West’s Syria policy could be best summarized in Sarah Palin’s words: “Let God sort it out.” That the U.S. forwarded the issue to God has not only helped Bashar al-Assad, but also the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) to enhance their sphere of influence.

Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani said June 27 there was no going back on autonomous Kurdish rule in oil city Kirkuk and other towns now defended against Sunni militants by Kurdish fighters.

Syria's opposition government sacked the military command of the rebel Free Syrian Army late Thursday over corruption allegations, as the White House asked lawmakers for $500 million for moderate insurgents.
      

The Turkish Economy Ministry has asked for Turkish companies to inform the government about their
business ties in Iraq amid the violence and political turmoil, which threatens all economic activities.

2014 was launched by UNESCO as the Year of Matrakçı Nasuh, the Ottoman swordsman and miniature artist. A special tile collection is being created with his miniatures by a tile artist in Kütahya On the 450th anniversary of his death, one of the most important statesmen in the era of the Ottoman Sultan Kanuni Sultan Süleyman, Matrakçı Nasuh is being remembered.

Israel told the United States on June 26 Kurdish independence in northern Iraq was a "foregone conclusion" and Israeli experts predicted the Jewish state would be quick to recognise a Kurdish state, should it emerge.

Iraq’s self-ruling Kurds outlined plans to swiftly ramp up oil exports now that their forces have seized control of Iraq’s main northern oil fields.

Kurdish Natural Resources Minister Ashti Hawrami told Reuters the Kurds had plans to increase their exports eight-fold by the end of 2015, including pumping oil from the fields taken by Kurdish fighters two weeks ago.