TRUMP RECEIVES REMAINS OF SIX US SOLDIERS KILLED IN IRAN WAR

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Agency report

US President Donald Trump attended the return on Saturday of the bodies of the first six American soldiers killed during the escalating war with Iran.

Trump, wearing a white “USA” baseball cap and accompanied by several cabinet members, saluted as each flag-draped case was carried from a military transport aircraft at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, the facility where the remains of US troops killed overseas are returned to American soil.

The soldiers were killed last Sunday when a drone struck a key US command centre in Kuwait, a day after the United States and Israel launched a sweeping military campaign against Iran.

Meanwhile, Iran’s military called on its neighbour Azerbaijan to “expel the Zionists” from its territory in order to safeguard regional security. The call came a day after Baku accused Tehran of plotting attacks on Azerbaijani territory.

Israel is a close ally of Azerbaijan and one of its key arms suppliers, while Tehran has long accused Israel of using Azerbaijani territory for intelligence operations.

“We declare to Iran’s neighbouring country, the Republic of Azerbaijan, as a Muslim country, to expel the Zionists from that country in order to prevent the spread of insecurity in the region and not to endanger the security of its people and Islamic Iran,” a military spokesman said in a statement.

On Friday, Azerbaijan said it had foiled several planned Iranian terrorist attacks on its territory, including plots targeting a major oil pipeline, a synagogue and Jewish community leaders.

Iran did not comment on the accusations.

On Thursday, at least four drones crashed into Azerbaijan’s exclave of Nakhchivan, including one that struck an airport, with Baku blaming Tehran for the incident.

Tehran denied the allegation and instead accused Israel of attempting to stage a provocation.