Iran Vows to Send its Rockets to Europe

Deputy head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Brigadier General Hossein Salami. (Reuters)
Deputy head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Brigadier General Hossein Salami. (Reuters)
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Iran Vows to Send its Rockets to Europe

Deputy head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Brigadier General Hossein Salami. (Reuters)
Deputy head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Brigadier General Hossein Salami. (Reuters)

Deputy head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Brigadier General Hossein Salami threatened on Sunday that Tehran would increase the range of its ballistic missiles to reach Europe.

“So far we have felt that Europe is not a threat, so we did not increase the range of our missiles. But if Europe wants to turn into a threat, we will increase the range of our missiles,” he added according to the Tasnim News Agency.

He said that its missile program was “non-negotiable”, vowing that Iran will develop them in a manner that would be able to confront the threat against them.

Salami stated that the ballistic missiles program is a guarantee for Iran’s “security, independence and diplomacy.”

He vowed that Tehran will never negotiate over its defensive capabilities because that would mean a surrender and a victory to the enemy without waging a war.

Meanwhile, head of the Guards military force, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, declared last week that the resistance front was formed in several regional and world countries, “which is promising for the future.”

He added that the war in Syria also had an ideological aspect, noting that resistance fronts are seen in “Hezbollah” in Lebanon, the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq and some groups in Yemen and other countries.



PKK Disarmament to Take a Few Months in Iraq, Türkiye Ruling Party Says

Türkiye's European Union Affairs Minister Omer Celik speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Turkish Embassy in London, Britain, September, 14, 2017. REUTERS/Will Russell/File photo
Türkiye's European Union Affairs Minister Omer Celik speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Turkish Embassy in London, Britain, September, 14, 2017. REUTERS/Will Russell/File photo
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PKK Disarmament to Take a Few Months in Iraq, Türkiye Ruling Party Says

Türkiye's European Union Affairs Minister Omer Celik speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Turkish Embassy in London, Britain, September, 14, 2017. REUTERS/Will Russell/File photo
Türkiye's European Union Affairs Minister Omer Celik speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Turkish Embassy in London, Britain, September, 14, 2017. REUTERS/Will Russell/File photo

The handover of weapons by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Iraq, following its decision to disband, should be completed within a few months, a spokeperson for Türkiye's ruling AK Party said late on Wednesday.

Speaking to broadcaster NTV, Omer Celik said a confirmation mechanism, including officials from Turkish intelligence and the armed forces, will oversee the handover process.

"The disarmament ... process (in Iraq) needs to be completed within three to five months... If it exceeds this period, it will become vulnerable to provocations," Celik said on NTV, Reuters reported.

The PKK, which has been locked in a bloody conflict with the Turkish state for more than four decades, decided in May to disband and end its armed struggle.

PKK militants are set to begin handing over weapons in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah on Friday as part of the peace process with Türkiye.

Since the PKK launched its insurgency against Türkiye in 1984 - originally with the aim of creating an independent Kurdish state - the conflict has killed more than 40,000 people, imposed a huge economic burden and fuelled social tensions.