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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)
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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.

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Cyprus Says US Decree on Security Affirms Island's Stabilizing Role in Region

Nicosia, Cyprus | Photo: Getty Images
Nicosia, Cyprus | Photo: Getty Images
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Cyprus Says US Decree on Security Affirms Island's Stabilizing Role in Region

Nicosia, Cyprus | Photo: Getty Images
Nicosia, Cyprus | Photo: Getty Images

Cyprus on Thursday hailed a US memorandum allowing military sales, including arms, to the island as a milestone affirming recognition of the island as a pillar of stability in the east Mediterranean region which has been fraught with conflict.
US President Joe Biden boosted security ties with Cyprus on Wednesday by issuing a memorandum that makes the island eligible to receive American defense articles, military sales and training.
Cyprus has over the years played a key role in evacuating people out of conflict zones and established a maritime corridor for aid to war-ravaged Gaza last year.
"This (memorandum) is a clear recognition of the Republic of Cyprus as a pillar of stability and security in the Eastern Mediterranean, with the potential to further contribute to peace and the management of humanitarian challenges," the Cypriot presidency said in a statement.
Cyprus was close to Russia for decades, but there has been a marked shift in allegiances in recent years, Reuters said.
For many in Cyprus, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has drawn parallels to Türkiye’s invasion of Cyprus in 1974, and Cyprus, an EU member state, has followed its peers in adopting sanctions on Moscow. It is now getting FBI expertise in countering illicit finance.
Access to the US programs would enable greater interoperability to respond to regional humanitarian crises, counter malign influence, and combat terrorism and transnational organized crime, the US embassy in Nicosia said.
Deepening US-Cyprus relations are closely followed by Türkiye, which in September criticized the signing of a roadmap to boost defense co-operation between the United States and Cyprus.
Cyprus was split in a Turkish invasion following a brief Greek-inspired coup in 1974, following years of sporadic violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots which triggered the collapse of a power-sharing administration in 1963.