Middle East & North Africa

ANKARA, Jan 6 (NNN-BERNAMA-ANADOLU) — Turkey is going to great lengths to reduce tensions between the United States (US) and Iran, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday following the recent killing of a top Iranian commander in a US drone strike in the Iraqi capital.

“Turkey always stands against foreign intervention and regards the recent US attack in Baghdad with this same understanding,” Anadolu Agency reported, quoting Erdogan as saying in a televised interview. 

ANKARA, January 5. /TASS/: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that it would be wrong to leave the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani without response.

"I believe the killing of any commander from the top echelons of any country should not be left without response," the Turkish leader said on CNN Turk, when asked by the host to comment on the developments around the Soleimani killing

Erdogan pointed out that in the latest phone call he asked US President Donald Trump to "refrain from escalation with Iran."

ANKARA, January 5. /TASS/: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to discuss regional issues during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit, Erdogan said in an interview aired by CNN Turk channel on Sunday.

"During our meeting scheduled for January 8, we will be focusing on a wide range of issues, including regional issues and TurkStream," the Turkish president said.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco (2222.SE) shares briefly hit 34.45 riyals ($9.18) in early trade, their lowest level since its shares began trading on December 11, following a record-setting initial public offering (IPO).

At 0706 GMT, Aramco shares were down 0.14% at 34.50 riyals.

They have lost almost 11% since hitting a high of 38.70 riyals.

The IPO was priced at 32 riyals per share, valuing Aramco at $1.7 trillion, making it the world’s most valuable company.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led vast crowds in prayers in Tehran on Monday at the funeral of slain military commander Qassem Soleimani, publicly weeping for the general killed by a U.S. drone strike.

Iranians, who state media said numbered in the millions, poured on to the streets of the Iranian capital to bid farewell to the commander of the Quds Force, the unit in charge of foreign operations of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

BAGHDAD, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi parliament on Sunday passed a draft law requiring the government to end the presence of foreign forces in Iraq and prevent them from using Iraqi airspace and water.

In an extraordinary session, the lawmakers voted with majority in favor of passing a law requiring the government to cancel the request for assistance from the international coalition to fight Islamic State (IS) group due to the end of military operations and war in Iraq.

BEIRUT, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah urged on Sunday its fighters to attack U.S. soldiers in the region in retaliation for the assassination of Iranian top commander Qassem Soleimani by the United States.

"The resistance should force American soldiers to leave Iraq and our region. This is the least that can be done in retaliation for this awful crime," Nasrallah said during a Beirut memorial for Soleimani and the others who were killed in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq on Friday, Al Manar local TV channel reported.

ISTANBUL, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday evening that Turkey is "gradually" sending troops to Libya under a deal inked with its UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA).

"Our soldiers are gradually going," Erdogan told the CNNTurk broadcaster in a televised interview, saying "The duty of Turkish soldiers is to ensure ceasefire and not to fight."

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The blowback over the U.S. killing of a top Iranian general mounted Sunday as Iran announced it will no longer abide by the limits contained in the 2015 nuclear deal and Iraq’s Parliament called for the expulsion of all American troops from Iraqi soil.

The twin developments could bring Iran closer to building an atomic bomb and enable the Islamic State group to stage a comeback in Iraq, making the Middle East a far more dangerous and unstable place.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — An Iranian general who replaced the leader killed by a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad vowed in remarks aired Monday to take revenge as Tehran abandoned the remaining limits of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers in response to the slaying.

Esmail Ghaani’s threat comes as the blowback over the U.S. killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. Separately, Iraq’s parliament has called for the expulsion of all American troops from Iraqi soil.