WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 18:00 GMT, June 15, to 08:00 GMT, June 16, 2017.

US's anti-Iran policy

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says Washington’s policy towards Iran is based on regime change. The remarks have been strongly slammed by the Iranian foreign minister. Mohammad Javad Zarif says the US government should study and learn from history before making such comments. We have a report.

Bahrain crackdown

In Bahrain, a court has sentenced 26 activists to long jail terms, and stripped them of their citizenship. According to Bahraini media, a judge has sentenced 18 activists from a group called Diraz Youth to life in prison. Eight more activists were each given a 15-year jail term. The trial comes three weeks after the Bahraini regime killed several people and arrested some 300 protesters in the town of Diraz which is home to prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Issa Qassim. Manama has revoked Sheikh Qassim’s citizenship. He has also received a one-year suspended prison sentence.

Kabul mosque attack

Several people have been killed by an explosion that hit a mosque in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul. Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danesh has said two suicide bombers blew up their explosive vests in the kitchen of Al-Zahra Shia mosque in western Kabul. Danesh added the attackers aimed to blow themselves up in the mosque, but were blocked by the police. The attack comes amid tight security for worshippers marking Laylat al-Qadr or the night of Glory in Kabul. Daesh Takfiri terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Turkey protest

Thousands of people have taken to the streets in the Turkish capital Ankara and the port city of Istanbul after an opposition lawmaker was jailed. The protesters are angry at a 25-year prison sentence handed down to Enis Berberoglu. A court on Wednesday found him guilty of military espionage. Berberoglu, is the first lawmaker from the main opposition Republican People's Party to be jailed in a government crackdown that began after last July's failed coup. The CHP’s leader Kemal Kilich-daroglu started a march from the capital Ankara to a prison in Istanbul where Berberoglu is being held. Party officials say the journey could take 20 days. Kilich-daroglu has condemned the lawmaker’s arrest as illegal and ordered by the government.

Anger at austerity

More than two thousand elderly protesters have marched in central Athens to protest further pension cuts. The pensioners voiced outrage at the constantly diminishing size of their pensions, which follows the government’s EU-backed austerity measures. The protest came ahead of a meeting of 19 finance ministers from the European countries, in which they agreed a 8.5 bln euro bailout payment to the country. Athens, which is due to exit its bailout program next year, has been struggling with a debt crisis since 20-10. Greece has imposed several austerity packages to ensure receiving rescue loans from its European and international creditors.

US missile system in Syria

Russia has criticized the US for deploying long-range missiles against the Syrian forces in the east of the country. Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that two HIMARS multiple rocket launchers were relocated from Jordan to US Special Forces base of al-Tanf. According to the statement, US-led forces have repeatedly launched attacks on Syrian government forces from the base. It also added that sending foreign weapons to Syria must be approved by the government in Damascus. The so-called US-led coalition against Daesh has been conducting strikes inside Syria since 2014 without any authorization from Damascus or a United Nations mandate.

Iran clearing areas of terrorists

Iranian security forces are pressing ahead with a campaign to dislodge terrorists from some border regions. In a joint operation, the Iranian forces managed to dismantle a Takfiri terrorist cell in Qasr-e Qand district of Sistan-and-Baluchestan province. They have seized a large amount of explosives from the terrorists. Iran launched the large-scale operations after the Daesh Takfiri terror group carried out two deadly attacks on the Iranian parliament and the mausoleum of the Islamic Republic’s founder Imam Khomeini last week. The terrorist attacks left 17 people dead. Since then, Iran has dismantled numerous terror cells and arrested many terrorists across the country.

Iraqi fight on Daesh

Iraqi forces step closer to encircling the Daesh stronghold of Mosul’s Old City after advancing in the last district under Takfiri control. The Iraqi army has made the announcement after weeks of fierce clashes in al-Shifa district north of the Old City. The Iraqi military says it has also recaptured the adjacent smaller neighborhood of Bab Sinjar. Senior commanders say different factions of the Iraqi forces will start an imminent offensive on the densely-populated Old City from different directions. However Baghdad says Daesh is using hundreds of thousands of civilians as human shields to slow down and complicate the operation. The historic district contains the Grand Noori Mosque where the Takfiri terrorists announced their rule in Iraq and Syria.

Probe against Pakistan PM

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has appeared before an investigation team probing his family’s offshore assets. This is the first time in Pakistan’s history that a sitting prime minister is facing a formal criminal investigation over corruption charges. Press TV’s Kamran Yousaf has the details.

Island controversy in Egypt

Egyptian police have arrested dozens of political opponents of a disputed agreement to transfer two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia. According to two rights lawyers, Mohammed Abdel-Aziz and Gamal Eid, up to 40 people were detained across the country. The arrests come amid calls for protests against the agreement in the Capital Cairo on Friday. Last year, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi agreed to hand over the strategic Islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia. The deal sparked widespread protests in the country with critics calling the accord an act of treason. On Wednesday, the Egyptian parliament approved the transfer of the islands to Saudi Arabia.

Turkey-US tensions

Turkish president has condemned the United States for issuing arrest warrants for his security personnel over a brawl in Washington last month. Rejep Tayyip Erdogan says his government will do everything in its power to resolve the issue diplomatically and judicially. Turkish Foreign Ministry has also slammed the arrest warrants as wrong, biased and lacking legal basis. The statements come after US officials announced arrest warrants for twelve members of Erdogan’s security entourage earlier on Thursday. The guards are accused of assaulting and injuring pro-Kurdish demonstrators who gathered in Washington DC on May 16 to protest Erdogan’s visit.

Slamming new US sanctions against Iran

A member of Iran’s special monitoring committee for the implementation of the nuclear deal has slammed the latest US sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Ali-Akbar Velayati said the measure violates the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action signed between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries in 2015. He promised that the committee will study the issue and give a proper response to the sanctions. Velayati, who is also a senior advisor to Iran’s leader, said Washington is trying to deflect attention away from its failures in Iraq and Syria by making such moves. On Thursday, the US Senate voted to impose a new set of sanctions on Iran. It accuses the Islamic Republic of continued support for terrorism.

London fire inquiry

British authorities say some victims of the London tower block fire could never be identified. London police commander Stuart Cundy has confirmed that at least 17 people have lost their lives in the fire, saying they don’t envisage finding any more survivors. He said the death toll is expected to rise as many more victims are still unaccounted for. Meanwhile, residents and those living in the neighborhood, where the Grenfell apartment block is located, are fuming over inadequate rescue efforts. Prime Minister Theresa May has promised a public inquiry into the cause of the devastating blaze.

US's new Russia sanctions

Germany and Austria have roundly condemned the new anti-Russia sanctions approved by the US Senate, calling them unacceptable. In a joint statement, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern said the sanctions aim to benefit the US oil and gas sectors. The two politicians stressed that European countries cannot tolerate being threatened over their business deals with Moscow and warned that the sanctions could have a highly negative effect on US-Europe relations. On Thursday, the US Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill to slap new sanctions on Russia. If turned into law, they would fine enterprises that deal with Russian counterparts.

US declassifies documents on Iran 1953 Coup

The US State Department has released a long-overdue official compilation of de-classified documents on the 1953 coup in Iran. The retrospective volume provides new specifics and insights into the covert operation. It supplements an earlier publication in 1989 that omitted all references to the role of American and British intelligence in the ouster of Iran’s then-prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddeq, on August 19, 1953. For decades, the CIA and MI6 refused to come clean about their roles in the operation. But in 2013, the US Central Intelligence Agency finally admitted that it had organized the coup. The newly-released data also confirms previous reports that the coup was engineered and approved at the highest levels of the US government as part of Washington's foreign policy plans.

Daesh leader 'may have been killed'

Russia’s defense ministry says one of its airstrikes in Syria may have killed Daesh leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The attack was carried out overnight on the outskirts of the city of Raqqah on May 28. Moscow said it targeted a meeting of the terror group’s leaders, who had gathered to discuss the routes for their exit from the city through the southern corridors. The ministry said three hundred-thirty Daesh members, including 28 top generals were also killed in the attack. Russia has, however, said that it is seeking confirmation through different channels.

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