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Iraq

Iraq Can Only Disarm Militias Once US Troops Leave The Country

Iraq will only be able to disarm its militias after US troops leave the country, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani told Reuters in an interview on Monday. Sudani’s comments come ahead of Iraq's highly anticipated parliamentary elections on 11 November. Sudani is balancing between Washington, which is critical for Iraq’s dollar transactions, and neighbouring Iran, which backs a constellation of mainly Shia militias called the Popular Mobilisation Forces. Sudani is courting public support ahead of elections as he seeks a second term in office.

US Issues ‘Final Warning’ To Baghdad Over Iraqi Resistance Factions

The US has issued its “final” and “most serious” warning to Iraq regarding the Iran-linked resistance factions in the country, according to Iraqi Defense Minister Thabit al-Abbasi. Abbasi said in an interview over the weekend that Washington’s latest message “concerns armed factions and includes a direct threat in the event that those factions carry out any operations in response to what Washington intends to do in the region near Iraq in the coming days.” No further details were provided on what exactly these US operations would entail. The minister said the message was relayed during a call with US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Hegseth ended the call by saying "This is your final warning... and you know very well how the current administration will respond," Abbasi went on to say.

Washington Prepares For Troop Withdrawal From Baghdad

The US army is preparing to start withdrawing troops from several sites in Iraq, including in the capital Baghdad, and will relocate them to the northern city of Erbil in the country’s autonomous Kurdistan region, according to Al-Sumeriya. An Iraqi government source told the outlet on 17 August that "the international coalition will withdraw from Ain al-Assad base, Baghdad airport, and the Joint Operations Command toward the city of Erbil." The source added that "the withdrawal of coalition forces will take place in September, in implementation of the agreement between Baghdad and Washington," noting that "the military trainers will remain in the country and have nothing to do with the withdrawal of international coalition forces."

Iran Security Chief In Baghdad For Talks On ‘Next Phase’ Of Resistance Axis

The Secretary-General of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, arrived in Baghdad for two days of meetings with Iraqi officials regarding the future of the Axis of Resistance and the political stability of Iraq and the region, Shafaq News Agency reported on 11 August. An informed source told Shafaq that, “Gathering the so-called Axis of Resistance in the region and rearranging its cards, along with Iraq's political role in calming the situation in the region during the next phase, are among the most important files that Larijani brought with him to Baghdad.” The secretary-general “stressed the need to employ tools and redistribute tasks after the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq according to the agreed-upon withdrawal schedule, and to find an official and protocol-based formula for this,” the source added.

Iraqi MPs Reject US Meddling In Law To Institutionalize Anti-ISIS Resistance

Iraqi lawmakers have fired back at Washington’s interference in a government bill to further institutionalize the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) into the state.  Mahdi al-Ameri, an Iraqi MP with ties to the PMU, told Rudaw on 5 August that they “will not submit to any external pressures regarding Iraq and Iraq's sovereignty,” adding that the law will serve all Iraqis.  “When we say Popular Mobilization Forces, we have Sunni, Shia, Christian, and Shabak PMUs. Even our Kurdish brothers are present in this institution. This is a security institution linked to the commander-in-chief of the armed forces,” he added.  The lawmaker stressed that there is a determination to pass the law despite US intervention. 

Chris Hedges: War Deja Vu

There are few differences between the lies told to ignite the war with Iraq and the lies told to ignite a war with Iran. The assessments of our intelligence agencies and international bodies are, as they were during the calls to invade Iraq, airily dismissed for hallucinations. All the old tropes have been resurrected to entice us into another military fiasco. A country that poses no threat to us, or to its neighbors, is on the verge of acquiring a Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) that imperils our existence. The country and its leaders embody pure evil. Freedom and democracy are at stake.

Iraqi Shiites Demand Expulsion Of US Troops After Israel Attacks Iran

The Israeli-Iranian War of 2025 has put Iraq in an extremely difficult situation. The country’s Shiite majority sympathizes with Iran and with the Palestinians, and resents Israel’s use of Iraqi airspace to attack their Shiite neighbor. On Sunday the Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Soudani met with Thomas Seiler, the European Union ambassador to Iraq. Al-Soudani said on that occasion that what he called “the recent Zionist aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran” represents “a direct threat to security and stability in Iraq and the region.” He said Israel’s attack on Iran was intended to disrupt diplomacy and that it flagrantly violated international laws and norms.

State Of The Palestinian Resistance

16 months of brutal genocide and siege have done all but break the Palestinian resistance, which has steadfastly – if not miraculously – fended off and broken the ruthless siege of the Zionist entity. As an official death toll stands at 61,700 – with much more accurate estimates tallying the martyrs at over 300,000, “Israel” has yet again turned to slaughtering civilians. The Palestinian resistance has recruited at least 30,000 new fighters in Gaza, according to conservative estimates earlier this year. Three-quarters of the Resistance’s tunnels remain and the ambushing and fighting both Al-Qassam and Saraya al-Quds continue against an occupation that has mostly withdrawn its ground occupying troops in Gaza while mulling over sending robots into Gaza.

Iraqi MP Files Lawsuit Against Syrian President Over ‘Terrorist’ Past

Iraqi Member of Parliament Alaa al-Haidari has filed a lawsuit with the Iraqi Public Prosecution against the new Syrian President, Ahmad al-Sharaa, Shafaq News reported on 29 April. In a video statement from the Supreme Judicial Council building, Haidari said, “I filed the complaint against the terrorist Julani, known as Ahmad al-Sharaa,” who “was part of ISIS organizations in Iraqi territory.” This comes as the Syrian President received an official invitation from Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on 27 April to attend the Arab League Summit scheduled to be held next month in the capital, Baghdad.

Pentagon Demands Iraq Dismantle Resistance Factions, Iran Responds

Washington has demanded that Iraq disarm and dismantle Shia resistance factions in the country, the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar reported on 21 March. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued the demand to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani during a phone call last Sunday, The source stressed that “this issue is of special interest to the administration of [US] President Donald Trump.” Sudani informed the US side that his government is working to address this issue through ongoing dialogue with the armed factions, known collectively as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), the source added.

Trump: ‘Resume Kurdish Oil Exports Or Face Sanctions’

Officials in the government of US President Donald Trump say Iraq must allow Kurdish oil exports to restart or face sanctions alongside Iran, Reuters reported on 21 February, citing eight sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Washington wants oil exports from Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region to resume to offset a potential fall in Iranian oil exports. President Trump has pledged to cut oil exports from Iran to zero as part of a new "maximum pressure" campaign against the Islamic Republic. On Monday, Iraq's oil minister made a surprise announcement saying exports from Iraqi Kurdistan would resume next week. 

Sarah Adams And The Return Of The Iraq War Playbook

A network of former intelligence operatives has woven itself into the fabric of right-wing alternative media, amplifying anti-Muslim scare narratives that appear aimed at countering a noted decline in conservative support for Israel since October 7, 2023. Central to this effort is Sarah Adams, a figure promoting conspiracies about a supposed Palestinian-linked Al-Qaeda plot against the West. On December 12, 2024, Adams appeared on the Shawn Ryan Show for a two-hour interview that quickly amassed over 2.5 million views on YouTube. Shorter excerpts have gained further traction across social media platforms.

Al-Qaeda-Linked ‘Rebels’ In Syria Say They ‘Love Israel’

The United States spent billions over years arming and training militants in Syria, many linked to Al-Qaeda and ISIS. Current US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan admitted back in 2012 that “AQ [Al-Qaeda] is on our side in Syria”. In late November 2024, armed extremists took over Syria’s second-biggest city, Aleppo, in an operation sponsored by NATO member Turkey. Some of the Al-Qaeda-linked “rebels” that rule the Syrian provinces of Aleppo and Idlib told the Israeli media that they “love Israel”. They vowed to establish a new pro-Western regime in Syria.

Iran, Iraq Vow Support For Syria During Tripartite Summit In Baghdad

Tehran and Baghdad expressed support for Syria on 6 December during a press conference to discuss the recent expansion of extremist groups across the country, following meetings between the foreign ministers of the three states in the Iraqi capital. “There is an international duty to fight terrorism in Syria,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said during the press conference. The foreign minister thanked Baghdad for hosting the tripartite meeting in the Iraqi capital, where he “held important meetings with the presidencies in Iraq in which he talked about relations between the two countries and the situation in Syria."

Iraqi Abu Ghraib Torture Victims Win $42 Million In Lawsuit

Three Iraqi survivors of U.S. torture won a major victory in early November when a jury in the federal district court for the Eastern District of Virginia awarded each of them $3 million in compensatory damages and $11 million in punitive damages to be paid by American defense contractor CACI, which was responsible for the cruel and inhumane treatment that they endured in Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison more than two decades ago. The judgment is notable for several reasons. First, it is the first time that a U.S. defense contractor has ever been successfully sued for managing a torture program.
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