"The opening of the Cathedral of the Virgin Mary, St. Paul, and St. Anthony for the Copts in Baghdad holds great symbolic significance, as it is the first of its kind in Iraq," Hammadi said.
Trump has alternated between threats of escalating the war with new strikes and winding down hostilities, and current and former officials say he does not appear to have made up his mind.
Iran has claimed a string of mine strikes on tankers in recent weeks, none independently verified, as it seeks to pressure the US over its blockade.
BEHIND THE LINES: The United States seems to be looking for short-term quiet in return for a tacit acknowledgment of Iran’s ascendant position in Iraq.
A weekly selection of opinions and analyses from the Arab media around the world.
"This is an extraordinary historic danger and one that cannot be ignored because I know we think it's half a world away, but nothing is half a world away anymore. Nothing is," Rubio said.
The group also said in a separate statement that it had attacked Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport and a pumping station on Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline.
"Do not allow Mohamed to die twice: once when he was taken from his family and disappeared, and again when the truth about his fate is allowed to disappear from the world," his family wrote.
"Both sides expressed deep concern regarding ongoing Israeli violations in Gaza that undermine the implementation of the Gaza peace plan," the Qatari Foreign Ministry said.
According to the IDF, thousands of additional tents have entered the Strip over the last week, bringing the total from over 91,000 on Monday to over 93,000 since the beginning of winter.
Iranian media reported on Thursday that four oil tankers were hit by explosions in the waterway vital for global shipping, adding that the vessels had ignored warnings.
