The Baghdad government plans to send 6,000 Kurdish soldiers — known as peshmerga — to help secure oil and electricity installations in the multiethnic region of Kirkuk.

69.5% of Iranians believe that West’s sanctions against Iran could not hurt their national solidarity, results of a recent opinion poll suggested.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blasted great powers for their bullying approach towards other world nations, warning that their demise is imminent.