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Two traditional foes, Turkey and Iran, have found themselves on the same side of a bitter regional dispute between Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Turkey and Iran directly back opposing factions in Syria's civil war, but have a common interest in backing Qatar amid a massive diplomatic and economic boycott led by fellow oil-rich Gulf monarchy, Saudi Arabia. The kingdomannounced earlier this month that it, along with Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, would cut all ties to its neighbor, which it accused of funding terrorism on behalf of both sides of the restive region's battle lines. In response, both Turkey and Iran have defied Saudi Arabia's blockade by sending crucial assistance to Qatar and have flexed their respective militaries in the already tense Persian Gulf.

Related:Saudi Arabia Gives Pakistan One Choice: 'Are You With Us or With Qatar?'

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In addition to its three original partners,Saudi Arabia's anti-Qatar alliance nowincludes the Comoros, Eritrea, Maldives, Mauritania, Senegal, the exiled government of Yemeni President Abbed Rabbo Hadi and the Tobruk-based military government of Libya's General Khalifa Hifter. The bloc has denied Qatar access to its only land border and cut service to crucial air and sea routes. The crisis has led to concerns about a potential humanitarian crisis on the tiny peninsular emirate.

Turkish armored personnel carrier drives at Ankara's military base in Doha, Qatar June 18, 2017. Turkey has begun military drills in Qatar amid a Saudi Arabia-led international boycott against its fellow, oil-rich Gulf Arab neighbor. Qatar News Agency/Reuters

"A ship carrying 4,000 tons of aid is going to Qatar right now, and then another ship carrying 11 tons of aid will also be sent," Turkish Economic Minister Nihat Zeybekci said Monday at an iftar event in Istanbul, according to Turkey's Hurriyet Daily News."They [Qatar] particularly wanted from us milk products and eggs, and weve sent 90 planes [loaded with aid] and met all their needs," he added.

Turkey and Qatar have been closely cooperating in Syria, where they both sponsor insurgent groups that have attempted to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since 2011. In recent years, however, these rebels have experienced defections and major defeats at the hands of both pro-government forces and jihadists such as the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda. Assad, whose allies include Iran and Russia, has also reclaimed most of the country's population centers that were formerly held by the opposition, meaning Turkey and Qatar's foothold in Syria has been waning. Fearing that Saudi Arabiacould move to completely isolate Turkey's greatest ally in the region, Turkey has expedited a defense agreement with Qatar and Turkish troops began drills Sunday at theTariq bin Ziyad military base in Doha.

Shortly after Saudi Arabia's ban was announced, unlikely ally Iran stepped in to to provide emergency assistance to Qatar. Iran is Saudi Arabia's greatest rival and the two nations sponsor clashing military and political movements abroad, including warring parties in Syria and Yemen. While Iran's foreign allies have also fought those backed by Qatar, Doha maintained some degree of relations with Iran, one of the reasons that Saudi Arabia initiated the blockade in the first place. Saudi Arabia accused Qatar of providing support both to ultraconservative Sunni Muslim groups and to militant Shiite Muslim organizations with ties to Iran, something Qatar, which is an overwhelmingly conservative Sunni Muslim nation, strongly denies.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Ankara, Turkey, May 7, 2017. Turkey and Iran directly sponsor warring factions in Syria, but have both recently signed off on a Russia-backed deal to evacuate retreating Syrian rebels and establish civilian de-escalation zones in the country. Yasin Bulbul/Reuters

While Saudi Arabian media reports that Qatar's monarchy was receiving protection from Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps remain entirely unverified, Iran mobilized its military Sunday nearthe Straight of Hormuz, a strategic waterway linking the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman to join China for naval drills. The war games occurred miles away from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates as well as U.S. warships stationed in the region. President Donald Trump previously took credit for Saudi Arabia's decision to sever its relationship with Qatar and his administration has designated Iran as one of the primary targets of U.S. foreign policy,

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari delivered Sunday a "verbal message" from Iran's President Hassan Rouhani to Qatar'sEmir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, according to reports by the state-run Qatari News Agency and Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency. The details of the message were not specified, however, the correspondence comes as Iran pledges to continue providing assistance to Qatar for "as long as there is demand."

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Iran and Turkey, At War in Syria, Back Qatar in Gulf Crisis With Food and Military Exercises - Newsweek

Foreign Policy (blog)

64 Years Later, CIA Finally Releases Details of Iranian Coup Foreign Policy (blog) Western firms had for decades controlled the region's oil wealth, whether Arabian-American Oil Company in Saudi Arabia, or the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in Iran. When the U.S. firm in Saudi Arabia bowed to pressure in late 1950 and agreed to share oil ...

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64 Years Later, CIA Finally Releases Details of Iranian Coup - Foreign Policy (blog)

LONDON Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Tuesday against any measures that could weaken the Tehran-backed Shi'ite paramilitary groups, saying such actions would endanger Baghdad's stability.

At a meeting in Tehran, Khamenei said the Shi'ite militias were Iraq's main forces pushing back Sunni jihadist groups, and Baghdad should not trust the United States in the fight against the Islamic State, Iranian state media reported.

The Shi'ite militias, known as Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) helped Baghdad defend the country against the Islamic State militant group when Iraqi military and police divisions deserted en masse in 2014.

Since then, the Iran-backed militias, estimated to comprise more than 60,000 fighters, have continued to attack the Islamic State, also known as Daesh, which has declared a Caliphate across swathes of Iraq and Syria.

But Sunnis in areas freed from Islamic State control say the Shi'ite militias have carried out looting, abductions and murder.

Some Arab leaders in northern Iraq have asked for the PMF to be dissolved or expelled from their Sunni-majority provinces.

"The Daesh is retreating from Iraq and that is thanks to the governments trust in these young devoted forces," Khamenei told Abadi in Tehran.

"The Americans are against Popular Forces because they want Iraq to lose its main source of strength," he added.

U.S.-backed Iraqi forces have also dislodged Islamic State from Iraqi cities the militants captured, and are about to fully capture Mosul, which used to be their de facto capital in the country.

AFTER SAUDI ARABIA

Abadi met Khamenei a day after his visit to Saudi Arabia, Iran's regional rival, in a Middle Eastern tour that will also include Kuwait.[nL8N1JH2LO]

Iraq lies on the faultline between Shi'ite Iran and the mostly Sunni Arab world. Deep-running animosity and distrust between the two sides is fueled by sectarian divides.

Abadi belongs to the Dawa party, a Shi'ite group with close ties to Iran. But he has managed relations with the Sunnis better than his predecessor, Nuri al-Maliki, and also improved Baghdad's ties with Saudi Arabia.

Khamenei asked Abadi not to trust the Americans in their fight against the Islamic State, as "they and their regional allies (Saudi Arabia) have created Daesh with their money and do not wish to fully eliminate them" in Iraq.

He said Iran was against the presence of American forces in Iraq under any circumstance including training Iraqi forces.

"We should remain vigilant of the Americans and not trust them. The Americans and their followers are against Iraq's independence, unity and identity," Khamenei said.

Khamenei also reiterated Iran's disagreement with any measure that threatened the territorial integrity of Iraq and divides the country.

Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region announced this month that it would hold a referendum on independence, a move that Baghdad's Shi'ite-led government has rejected.

(Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Richard Balmforth)

BRUSSELS Belgian troops shot a suspected "terrorist" bomber in Brussels Central Station on Tuesday but there were no other casualties and the situation was brought under control after people were evacuated, officials said.

WASHINGTON The U.S. State Department bluntly questioned on Tuesday the motives of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for their boycott of Doha, saying it was "mystified" the Gulf states had not released their grievances over Qatar.

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Iran's leader warns Iraq not to weaken Shi'ite militias - Reuters

The offshore field was first developed in the 1990s, and Total was one of the biggest investors in Iran until the international sanctions were imposed in 2006 over suspicions that Tehran was trying to develop nuclear arms.

Total has decided to return and develop phase 11 of the South Pars project in the Gulf, which will cost up to $5 billion, at a time when President Hassan Rouhani has faced criticism at home over a lack of economic revival following the easing of sanctions under the nuclear deal.

Though one of the world's largest oil and gas producers, most major international giants including Royal Dutch Shell and BP have so far shown limited appetite to invest in Iran, due to uncertainty over contract terms and a sharp drop in global oil prices.

U.S. President Donald Trump's hard line on Iran has further cooled the investment climate, even though his administration extended the wide sanctions relief last month.

"The U.S. waivers have been renewed and they will be renewed every six to eight months.We have to live with some uncertainty," said Pouyanne.

Total holds a 50.1 interest in the South Pars project along with state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation, with 30 percent, and Iran's Petropars with a 19.9 percent, he said.

The French group has also made a number of significant investments in recent years in Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Brazil as Pouyanne sees the three-year downturn in the global energy market as an opportunity to clinch deals for cheap resources to secure strong growth.

"REAL IMPROVEMENT"

Total aims to achieve returns of above 15 percent on every new project it is enters into around the world. That includes South Pars, where terms discussed with the Iranian government would be significantly better than in the pre-sanctions period, Pouyanne said.

Investors have complained that previous Iranian contracts allowed foreign companies little profit. Total worked on phases 2-3 of South Pars in the 1990s.

The new Iranian Petroleum Contract (IPC) differs from its predecessor by offering the operator remuneration based on production rather than a simple percentage of the development costs, Pouyanne said.

It also extends over a period of 20 years rather than seven or eight. "The IPC is a real improvement," he said. "We will not go to Iran if there is not a reward which is commensurate."

With U.S. sanctions still in place prohibiting trading with Iran in dollars, Total will finance the project in euros from its own resources.

Gas from South Pars will supply only the fast-growing domestic Iranian market and none will be exported, Pouyanne said. Total will be paid not in cash but in condensate, a very light crude oil which is a by-product of gas production.

South Pars is part of a giant gas reservoir that straddles the territorial waters of Iran and Qatar, where Total is also a major player in gas production as well as in oil and refining.

Tehran has indicated that the development of the project will not be hit by Qatar's diplomatic isolation due to a dispute with Saudi Arabia and some of its Gulf Arab allies.

Total is also considering a petrochemicals project in Iran which would require external financing from Asian banks, although this remains in less advanced stage, Pouyanne said.

(Reporting by Ron Bousso; editing by David Stamp)

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France's Total to Go Ahead With Major Iran Gas Project-CEO - New York Times

By Maher Chmaytelli | ERBIL, Iraq

ERBIL, Iraq Iraq's army said it had encircled Islamic State's stronghold in the Old City of Mosul on Tuesday after taking over an area to the north of the densely populated historic district.

The army's 9th armored division seized al-Shifaa district, which includes the city's main hospitals, alongside the western bank of the Tigris river, a military statement said.

The fall of Shifaa means the Old City in the eastern half of Mosul is now surrounded by U.S.-backed government forces, deployed north, west, south and east, across the river.

The battle for the Old City is becoming the deadliest in the eight-month old U.S.-backed offensive to capture Mosul, Islamic State's de facto capital in Iraq and the largest city the group came to control in the country.

A mine explosion on Monday at the Old City frontline killed two journalists, Stephane Villeneuve from France and Bakhtiar Haddad from Iraq, and wounded two other French reporters, according to foreign ministry and diplomatic sources in Paris.

Aid organizations are expressing alarm at the situation of more than 100,000 civilians, of whom half are children, trapped in its old fragile houses with little food, water and medicine and no electricity.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Monday sick and wounded civilians escaping through Islamic State lines were dying in "high numbers".

The militants are moving stealthily in the Old City's maze of alleyways and narrow streets, through holes dug between houses, fighting back the advancing troops with sniper and mortar fire, booby traps and suicide bombers.

They have also covered many streets with cloths to obstruct air surveillance, making it difficult for the advancing troops to hit them without a risk to civilians.

The Iraqi army estimates the number of Islamic State fighters at no more than 300, down from nearly 6,000 in the city

when the battle of Mosul started on Oct. 17.

A U.S.-led international coalition is providing air and

ground support.

A program presenter who had worked for Islamic State's Mosul-based Al-Bayan radio station, Alaa Sami al-Khateeb, was arrested on Tuesday in eastern Mosul, according to an Iraqi army statement. Al-Khateeb was denounced by residents, it said.

GROUND SUPPORT

The fall of Mosul would, in effect, mark the end of the Iraqi half of the "caliphate" that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared three years ago and which once covered swathes of Iraq and Syria.

The Iraqi government initially hoped to take Mosul by the end of 2016, but the campaign took longer as militants reinforced positions in civilian areas to fight back.

The militants are also retreating in Syria, mainly in the face of a U.S.-backed Kurdish-led coalition. Its capital there,

Raqqa, is under siege.

About 850,000 people, more than a third of the pre-war population of the northern Iraqi city, have fled, seeking refuge with relatives or in camps, according to aid groups.

Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi headed on Tuesday to Iran, the second leg of a Middle East tour after Saudi Arabia to pursue efforts to foster regional reconciliation and coordination against terrorism.

Iraq and Saudi Arabia agreed to set up a coordination council to upgrade strategic ties, a joint statement said on Tuesday at the end his talks with Saudi King Salman a day earlier. After Iran, he will visit Kuwait.

Iraq lies on the fault line between Shi'ite Iran and the mostly-Sunni Arab world. Deep-running animosity and distrust between the two sides is fuelled by sectarian divides.

(Additional reporting by Stephen Kalin in Dubai; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Ralph Boulton)

BRUSSELS Belgian troops shot a suspected "terrorist" bomber in Brussels Central Station on Tuesday but there were no other casualties and the situation was brought under control after people were evacuated, officials said.

WASHINGTON The U.S. State Department bluntly questioned on Tuesday the motives of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for their boycott of Doha, saying it was "mystified" the Gulf states had not released their grievances over Qatar.

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Iraq's army encircles Islamic State in Mosul's Old City: military - Reuters