A member of Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service holds an Islamic State militant flag as he celebrates in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq July 9, 2017.
Mehdi Jedinia, VOA: Analysts: Tehran Sees Liberation of Mosul as Victory for Iraq and Iran
WASHINGTON — A senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader has described Iraq’s liberation of Mosul from Islamic State (IS) as a victory for Tehran.
Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, told reporters, “Liberation of the Iraqi city of Mosul from the hands of IS marks a triumph for Iran as well as for Iraq.”
Majid Rafizadeh, a political scientist at Harvard University, said the victory by Iraqi forces “helped Tehran tip the regional balance of power against its Sunni-dominated rivals such as Saudi Arabia.”
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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- July 18, 2017
Syrian Cease-Fire Is a Baby Step Toward Peace -- Bloomberg editorial
Death of a Jihadi Dream: The Battle of Mosul -- Robert T. Souza & Brian Glyn Williams, RCD
Terror at the Temple Mount Puts the Lie to Palestinian Rage -- Eli Lake, Bloomberg
Doomsday averted on the Temple Mount, for now -- Ben Caspit, Al-Monitor
The Gulf Crisis Might Be Based on a Hoax -- Joshua Keating, Slate
Southeast Asia Braces for the Post-Islamic State Era -- Bilveer Singh, The Diplomat
Why Isn’t Russia Worried About Kim Jong Un’s Nukes? -- Chris Miller, Foreign Policy
The Korean War 1950–53: Still Settling the Score -- Ron Huisken, The Strategist
India-China standoff? All about Bhutan -- M.K. Bhadrakumar, Asia Times
Options for a Future Strategy for the Afghan Taliban -- Paul Butchard, RCD
Straight Out of the Russian Intelligence Playbook -- Danielle Hoffman, The Cipher Brief
Put a European General in Charge of NATO -- Ramon Marks, RCD
What's Behind Putin's Hate for the Magnitsky Act? -- Cindy Saine, VOA
Seven is the number that explains why Congressional Republicans won’t turn on Trump -- Paul Waldman, Reuters
Fighting Back: U.S. Options for Cyberattacks -- Adam Petno, RCD/Atlantic Council
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