Tehran says it welcomes the successful and timely holding of parliamentary elections in Iraq as an indication that the country is on the correct path of democracy.

Iran Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has, in a message, congratulated his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein on the successful holding of the country’s parliamentary vote.

The former Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran stated that the central government in Baghdad does not have enough control on the Kurdistan Region in the north of the country and according to the agreements, the situation allows Tehran to defend its territorial integrity by using military and security means.

The Turkish Trade Ministry on Friday held a welcoming ceremony in Istanbul to mark the arrival of Pakistani trucks that used the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul Road Transport Corridor, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) reported on Saturday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and Syrian President Bashar Assad met in the Syrian capital on Saturday, IRNA reported.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Saturday that Syria lies enroute of development and progress, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, like the terrorist wartime against Damascus, will stand by Syria firmly.

The Iraqi Civil Front, led by Iraq's former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, cast doubts about the voters' turnout in the polls for the parliamentary election, calling the President and the Supreme Federal Court to refrain from ratifying the results.

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani departed for Doha on Saturday, on an official visit to Qatar.

Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission’s (IHEC) said on Saturday, October 16, that manual counting of ballots following the parliamentary election is 95 percent complete, bringing final results closer to being announced.

President of the Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani met with Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert on Friday, October 15, in Erbil to discuss the results of the recent parliamentary elections.

An Indiana University professor warned the scenario of the US troops' withdrawal from Afghanistan could be repeated in Kurdish-controlled areas of Syria and Iraq.

Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission has confirmed that the manual count for a sample of polling boxes matched the initial results released on Monday.

In the past week alone, 18 journalists, most of whom work for Kurdish media outlets, were put on trial in Turkey, Voice of America News reported on Friday.

The Turkish president’s warnings are targeted as much at Washington and Moscow as they are at Syria’s Kurds.

Turkey is preparing for possible further military action against a U.S.-backed Kurdish militia in northern Syria if talks on the issue with the United States and Russia fail, two Turkish officials said.

Ankara’s surprise request to purchase F-16 jets from the United States looks like a rational decision dictated by military realities, but some suspect it might well be a gambit to set the stage for warplane negotiations with Russia.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday Turkey would “do what is necessary for its security” after what it said was a rise in cross-border attacks by People’s Protection Units (YPG).

Among the consequences of Turkey's re-military offensive against the Syrian Kurds, the Stratfor Institute said there was a possibility of a military confrontation between Turkish troops and Russian and Syrian forces, and that Kurdish forces would move closer to the Syrian government.

A member of the representative office of the Syrian Kurdistan self-ruling government in the Iraqi Kurdistan region said the administration would take serious the threats of Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over attacking the Kurdish regions in northern Syria.

A delegation from Belgium made a visit to Syrian Kurdistan where it held talks with the officials of the self-ruling administration.

Northern Syria’s Kurdish administration has urged Damascus to open a dialogue to avoid further conflict after the government warned the semiautonomous region to sever relations with US occupying forces.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) denies the group's forces were involved in the attack on a convoy of Turkish police forces in northern Syria.

At least four people were killed when a car bomb exploded in Afrin city on Monday, a medical source said.

The General Commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Mazloum Kobani believes that the jailer Leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan is key to resolving the Kurdish issue and peace in the Middle East.