Iran’s Bank Melli says some services restored after disruptions

Iran will allow Afghan nationals to enter through the Dogharoun border crossing 24 hours before the funeral ceremony for late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the governor of Taybad said on Thursday.

He said arrangements had been made to transfer them from the border to Mashhad to attend the ceremony.

They would then be taken back to the Dogharoun crossing and leave Iran after receiving their passports, he said.

The governor said no Afghan nationals had entered Iran through the crossing so far and that visas had been issued for 2,500 people.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf called on the public on Thursday to attend the funeral of slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, saying the ceremony should send what he called the nation’s demand for blood vengeance to the world.

Ghalibaf said people should show that they would not remain silent in the face of arrogance and would not forget “the blood of their imam.”

He described the funeral as a renewal of allegiance to Khamenei’s path and to the values of the Islamic Republic.

Pakistani and Qatari mediators concluded separate meetings with US and Iranian negotiators in Doha on Thursday with "positive progress" on issues linked to the MoU, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said.

The statement said the meetings built on the Switzerland summit and focused on aspects of implementing the memorandum of understanding.

It said the parties agreed to continue discussions with the next meeting to be set as early as possible after a funeral for former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

US resumes some air shipments of dollars to Iraq months after suspending them to pressure Baghdad to distance itself from Iran, The New York Times reported, citing two aides to Iraq’s prime minister.

“The dollar shipments to Iraq have resumed,” Haider al-Aboudi, a spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, said, adding that “the problem has been resolved.”

The report said US security cooperation and funding for Iraqi security services remained suspended.

The Trump administration halted the shipments in April, withholding Iraqi funds earned from oil sales as Washington pushed Baghdad to rein in Iran-linked militias and block prime ministerial candidates seen as close to Tehran, the report said.

Former US national security adviser H R McMaster said on Wednesday Iran is benefiting from indirect US-Iran negotiations, adding Tehran is “getting everything that they wanted.”

McMaster said sanctions relief and eased oil restrictions were providing Iran with “big paychecks,” which he argued could help it rebuild its military capabilities and regional proxy networks, speaking on CBS.

"They're getting the infusion of cash they desperately needed to get themselves up off the mat," he added.