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  • In key concession to Turkey, Iraq bans PKK

    Iraq’s government has banned the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) ahead of an expected visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan next month. This comes as Turkey is expected to launch another major offensive against its longtime Kurdish foe inside Iraq this summer. Although the Iraqi ban seemingly stops short of labeling the PKK as a terrorist organization, it represents a major concession—possibly in hopes that Ankara will reciprocate on key issues like trade and water resource management.

  • Saudi Arabia agrees to finance project to remove cluster munitions from Iraqi territories

    The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) signed on Wednesday a memorandum for financial support with the Iraqi Ministry of Environment. The memorandum is aimed at funding projects for the survey, removal and qualitative control of territories contaminated with cluster munitions in some governorates of Iraq.

  • Iraq and Saudi Arabia discuss oil market co-operation

    Iraq and Saudi Arabia – Opec’s largest crude producers – need to align their views to maintain stability in the oil market, Iraq’s Prime Minister said on Wednesday. Mohammed Shia Al Sudani, who met Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman in Baghdad, said he welcomed the entry of the kingdom’s companies into Iraq and discussed expanding economic co-operation, according to a report by the Iraqi News Agency. “Iraq welcomes the entry of Saudi companies into the Iraqi market, in which there are many great investment opportunities today," Mr Al Sudani said.

  • Do Iraqis Really Want the Americans to Withdraw?

    On February 10, 2024, the 329-seat Iraqi parliament convened to consider a resolution to demand formally American withdrawal. Within the parliament, 176 members represent the Coordination Framework, a coalition of political parties that back Prime Minister Mohammed Shi'a al-Sudani. The Framework also comprises among Iraq's most pro-Iranian political factions. Yet, despite holding a majority, the Framework could only muster 77 members to vote for a U.S. exit. Put another way, 252 parliamentarians split among Arabs and Kurds; Sunnis, Shi'ites, and Christians signaled they want the United States to remain for the sake of Iraqi sovereignty.

  • US launches series of airstrikes in Iraq, Syria

    The U.S. military hit dozens of targets across Iraq and Syria on Friday and dozens more in Yemen on Saturday, targeting Iranian forces and Iran-backed militias. The strikes in Iraq and Syria were a direct reaction to an explosive drone attack Sunday that killed three American soldiers and wounded more than 40 others at a remote base in Jordan. Those targets included facilities for Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force, as well as infrastructure for Iran-backed militias that operate collectively as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.

  • U.S. hits Iraq militia sites and anti-ship missiles in Yemen

    The U.S. military struck three facilities in Iraq and two anti-ship missiles in Yemen operated by Iranian-backed militias that have continued to instigate attacks on U.S. personnel and ships in the region as the U.S. continues to try to keep the Israel-Hamas war from spilling over into a wider conflict. Both the strikes in Iraq and Yemen targeted sites that the U.S. has said are involved in the attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria and were threatening U.S. military and commercial vessels in the Red Sea

  • Deadly Iranian Strikes in Iraq and Pakistan Inflame Regional Tensions

    Iran hit its neighbors Pakistan and Iraq with missile strikes on Tuesday, prompting strong denunciations from both countries and raising fears that upheaval in the Middle East could spiral out of control.

    Since the war in Gaza began in October, Iran has used its proxy forces against Israel and its allies. But on Tuesday, it said its latest missile strikes had been in response to terrorist attacks within its borders.

  • Iraq seeks quick exit of US forces but no deadline set, PM says

    Iraq wants a quick and orderly negotiated exit of U.S-led military forces from its soil but has not set a deadline, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said, describing their presence as destabilising amid regional spillover from the Gaza war.

    Longstanding calls by mostly Shi'ite Muslim factions, many close to Iran, for the U.S-led coalition's departure have gained steam after a series of U.S. strikes on Iran-linked militant groups that are also part of Iraq's formal security forces.

  • Ancient Hajj routes protection planned by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iraq

    Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Iraq are developing a plan to protect Hajj routes that have been used over the centuries by pilgrims in the Arabian Peninsula. The initiative is being developed by the Kingdom’s Heritage Commission, the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage in Bahrain, and the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage in Iraq, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday. The plan was mooted at a recent workshop and encompasses the famous Zubaydah route from Iraq to Makkah.

  • Saudis, Iraq stand firm as COP28 targets fossil fuels

    Oil producers Saudi Arabia and Iraq stood their ground at UN climate talks on Sunday as they faced pressure to drop their opposition to a phase-out of fossil fuels at COP28 in Dubai. With less than 48 hours left before the conference's official end, COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber invited ministers to give their views in a "majlis" -- a traditional Gulf Arab meeting held in a circle. While Jaber called the gathering in an effort to produce a compromise, warning that "failure is not an option", countries held firm in their positions. The European Union and members of Pacific islands states threatened by rising seas reiterated their calls for a phase-out of fossil fuels.