Iranian Weapons Are Flooding Into Iraq Including T-72 Tanks

Qasem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s elite Quds force. Rudaw

Adam Rawnsley, War Is Boring: Iranian Weapons Flood the Battle of Tikrit



Tehran sends tanks, rocket launchers and drones



Iraqi and Shia militia forces have been taking back ground from Islamic State, pushing the jihadist fighters out of much of the town of Tikrit.



But in a sign of Tehran’s growing military presence in the Iraq, Iranian weapons were a nearly ubiquitous sight in images and videos coming out of the offensive to take the mostly Sunni city.



Ever since Islamic State shocked the region with its capture of Mosul last summer, Iran has opened up its arsenals and flooded clients, proxies and friends in Iraq with arms and vehicles.



Now, as Iraqi forces have brushed off their American advisers during the push into Tikrit, Iranian weapons — and advisers — are helping to spread the Islamic Republic’s influence.




Update: Iran’s Expanding Sphere of Influence: Iranian T-72 Tanks in Iraq -- Belling Cat



WNU Editor: Not surprising .... some in Iraq are appreciative of this Iranian support .... Iraqi commander slams US, hails Iran in fight against ISIS in Tikrit (AP)

China says Japan ties face test, opportunity this year

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's relations with Japan face a "test" this year linked to whether Japan can properly atone for its wartime past, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Sunday.

Five die in small plane crash in northern Mexico: media reports

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Five people were killed when their small plane crashed in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua on Saturday, according to l media reports.

White House Issues A Saturday Night Warning To The U.S. Senate On Passing Any Iran Legislation

Snow starts to fall as a woman walks past the White House in Washington March 5, 2015. Credit: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

Huffington Post: White House Issues Saturday Night Iran Deal Warning To Senate



WASHINGTON -- In an effort to reassert control over the domestic political debate surrounding sensitive negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program, the White House penned a letter Saturday night warning senators to hold back on legislation that would detract from the president’s ability to affect and approve a final agreement with Iran.


The letter, written by White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough to Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), reiterates a veto threat of the bill, while insisting that Congress will have a say in reviewing and affecting the ultimate outcome.



WNU Editor: This warning was issued late Saturday night .... which in itself is a surprise. Something is brewing with Iran, and it is clear that the White House wants nothing to disrupt it.

More News On The White House Issuing A Saturday Night Warning To The U.S. Senate On Passing Any Iranian Legislation

White House Warns Senate Anew on Iran Legislation -- ABC News/AP

White House warns Republican Senators legislation could hurt Iran talks -- Reuters

White House warns Congress on Iran vote -- Politico

China threatens 'decisive' response after Myanmar bombing

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's military will take "decisive" measures if there is a repeat attack by Myanmar forces on Chinese territory, a senior military officer said after a bomb from a Myanmar aircraft fell in Chinese territory and killed four Chinese people.

Up to 51 dead after bus crash in southern Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - As many as 51 people died on Saturday when a passenger bus drove off a cliff in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, police said.

Aid heads for Vanuatu after devastating Pacific cyclone

SYDNEY (Reuters) - The first shipments of aid headed for Vanuatu on Sunday as authorities declared a state of emergency and global relief agencies geared up after a powerful cyclone tore through the vulnerable Pacific island nation.

Iraqi Kurds Claim That The Islamic State Is Using Chemical Weapons

Voice of America: Iraqi Kurds Claim Islamic State Militants Used Chemical Weapon



The Kurdish regional government in Iraq says it has evidence that Islamic State militants used a chemical weapon against Kurdish peshmerga forces.


The Kurdistan Region Security Council released a statement Saturday alleging that chlorine was used in a January suicide bombing in northern Iraq.


The statement said a lab analysis found chlorine traces in samples from the scene of the attack. The Kurds said the lab was located in a partner nation in the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group, but they did not identify the nation or the lab.

More News On Iraq's Kurds Claiming That The Islamic State Is Using Chemical Weapons

Iraqi Kurds claim Islamic State group used chemical weapons -- AP

Iraqi Kurds say Islamic State used chlorine gas against them -- Reuters

Islamic State used chemical weapons against peshmerga, Kurds say -- The Guardian

Iraqi Kurds say Islamic State fighters used chemical weapons -- UPI

Iraqi Kurds say ISIS used chemical weapons against troops

-- FOX News

Iraqi Kurds say ISIL deployed chemical weapons against them -- Al Jazeera

Iraqi Kurds: ‘Desperate’ ISIS using suicide bombers laden with chemical weapons -- RT

Islamic State used chlorine gas as a chemical weapon, Iraqi Kurds say -- Washington Times

Kurds accuse IS of using 'weaponized' chlorine in Iraq -- Deutsche Welle

CIA Director John Brennan: US Does Not Want Collapse Of The Syrian Regime

CIA Director John Brennan, seen here in 2014, spoke at a Council on Foreign Relations event in which he discussed the CIA's new structure. (Yuri Gripas/Courtesy Reuters).

Bloomberg: CIA Director Says Assad’s Collapse Would Risk Terrorist Takeover



(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. doesn’t want to see Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government collapse and create a vacuum for Islamic State and other militants to take over, Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan said.


When asked whether he fears what might follow if Assad’s regime collapsed, Brennan called it “a legitimate concern.”


“What we don’t want to do is to allow those extremist elements” including Islamic State, Jabhat al-Nusra, and al-Qaeda elements within Syria to seize power from a collapsed regime, Brennan told the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Friday. “The last thing we want to do is to allow them to march into Damascus.”

More News On CIA Director John Brennan Remarks That The US Does Not Want To See The Syrian Regime Collapse

US does not want to see Syrian regime 'collapse': CIA -- AFP

CIA Director: Collapse Worse Than Assad -- Daily Beast

CIA Chief Says Washington Against 'Collapse' of Syrian Government -- Sputnik

US does not want to see Assad regime 'collapse', taken over by 'extremist elements' -- Jerusalem Post

US does not want to see Syrian regime 'collapse': CIA -- i24 News

CIA Director Brennan: 'Social Media And The Internet Have Greatly Amplified The Terror Threat'

Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John Brennan listens to a reporter's question during a news conference at CIA Headquarters in Virginia in December. Social media and other technology are making it increasingly difficult to combat militants who are using such modern resources to share information and conduct operations, the head of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency said on Friday. Larry Downing/Reuters

Daily Mail/Reuters: CIA chief voices concern over social media 'greatly amplifying' terror threat after 20,000 foreign fighters flock to Syria and Iraq



* CIA Director John Brennan, in a speech in New York, said e-communications only add to the difficulty of dealing with diffuse threats

* He added the new technologies can help attract new recruits, disseminate propaganda, and inspire sympathizers across the globe


Social media and other technology are making it increasingly difficult to combat militants who are using such modern resources to share information and conduct operations, the head of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency said on Friday.


CIA director John Brennan, in a speech in New York, said such communications only add to the difficulty of dealing with diffuse threats and attacks across the world from groups like Islamic State, known also as ISIL, and others.

More News On CIA Director Brennan's Comments That Social Media And The Internet Have Greatly Amplified The Terror Threat

CIA director: 'Terrorism is greatly amplified' by Internet -- UPI

CIA chief: Social media hampers fight against 'terror' -- Al Jazeera

CIA Director Brennan: Social Media Makes It Harder to Fight Terror -- NBC

CIA director: Social media ‘greatly amplifies’ terror threat -- Washington Times

CIA chief: Cyber terror is the future -- The Hill

CIA director blames social media for strength of ISIS -- RT

Kurds battle Islamic State in Syria, U.S.-led coalition jets strike

BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.S.-led coalition jets struck Islamic State positions in northeast Syria for the second day in a row, in an area where the militants are battling Kurdish forces, a Kurdish official and a group monitoring the war said on Saturday.