3 Iran Guards Killed in Border Clash

In this July 19, 2011 file photo, a group of Iranian border guards march at the eastern border of Iran near Zabol, Sistan and Baluchestan province. (AP)
In this July 19, 2011 file photo, a group of Iranian border guards march at the eastern border of Iran near Zabol, Sistan and Baluchestan province. (AP)
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3 Iran Guards Killed in Border Clash

In this July 19, 2011 file photo, a group of Iranian border guards march at the eastern border of Iran near Zabol, Sistan and Baluchestan province. (AP)
In this July 19, 2011 file photo, a group of Iranian border guards march at the eastern border of Iran near Zabol, Sistan and Baluchestan province. (AP)

Three Iranian border guards were killed on Friday by unknown gunmen in a Kurdish area near the country's western border with Iraq.

The official IRNA news agency said the three were killed in clashes with “bandits” while patrolling near the town of Sardasht, located about 530 kilometers west of the capital, Tehran.

It said several of the attackers were also killed during the clash but did not elaborate further.

The area has seen occasional fighting between Iranian forces and Kurdish separatists, as well as militants linked to the extremist ISIS group.

Earlier in May, unknown gunmen killed three members of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in a shootout that also took place in a Kurdish area.

Iran’s eastern border has been the scene of occasional clashes with Baluch militants.



Danish PM Tells Trump It Is up to Greenland to Decide on Independence

Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen attends the Baltic Sea NATO Allies Summit in Helsinki, Finland, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen attends the Baltic Sea NATO Allies Summit in Helsinki, Finland, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
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Danish PM Tells Trump It Is up to Greenland to Decide on Independence

Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen attends the Baltic Sea NATO Allies Summit in Helsinki, Finland, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen attends the Baltic Sea NATO Allies Summit in Helsinki, Finland, 14 January 2025. (EPA)

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Wednesday she had spoken on the phone with US President-elect Donald Trump and told him that it is up to Greenland itself to decide on any independence.

Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, said last week that US control of Greenland was an "absolute necessity" and did not rule out using military or economic action such as tariffs against Denmark to make it happen.

"In the conversation, the prime minister referred to the statements of the Chairman of the Greenlandic Parliament, Mute B. Egede, that Greenland is not for sale," Frederiksen's office said in a statement.

"The prime minister emphasized that it is up to Greenland itself to make a decision on independence," the statement said.

Frederiksen also stressed the importance of strengthening security in the Arctic and that Denmark was open to taking a greater responsibility, it added.