An Iran-aligned militia told the Iraqi government that any attempt to disarm it by force would trigger internal strife, The National reported on Friday. The warning comes as Washington presses Baghdad to rein in armed groups.
Geopolitics
Iraq has reached a final agreement with the United States on the withdrawal of the anti-ISIS coalition, Al Zaidi said, according to The National. Prime Minister al-Sudani is seeking legal cover to bring the weapons of Iran-backed militias under state control, and officials from Iraq, Jordan, Syria and the Kurdistan region met to discuss border security.
Geopolitics
Turkey's parliament approved the law dissolving the PKK in the early hours of Tuesday. In the Kurdish southeast, the conditional pardons drew relief and doubt.
Geopolitics
Turkey's parliament passed a law on Monday letting PKK fighters who disarm return to civilian life. Its leadership called the terms deficient.
Geopolitics
American forces are preparing to complete their withdrawal from Iraq's Kurdistan region by the end of September, The National reported on Monday. The step would close the final phase of the US-led coalition presence in Iraq.
Geopolitics
Iran has told Gulf states it would hit their energy infrastructure if the United States attacks Iranian territory again. A Saudi official said on Thursday that Riyadh expects coordinated attacks by Yemen's Houthis and Iraqi militias.
Geopolitics
Iraq's leadership told Iran-backed armed groups to give up their weapons by 30 September or face terrorism charges. Al Hadath reported that at a special meeting with Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi the same groups warned they intend to attack neighbouring countries within 48 hours.
Geopolitics
Iraq's oil exports fell from 100 million barrels in February to around 32 million in May and June, according to Oil Ministry figures shown to The National and cited by the Jerusalem Post on Wednesday. Baghdad is struggling to cover public sector salaries as the Strait of Hormuz crisis deepens.
Economy
Nechirvan Barzani, leader of Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government, met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Monday, the first such visit by a KRG leader to Damascus since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, Daily Sabah and The National reported. According to sources cited by The Hindu, the talks concerned a deal on Syria's Kurds, with the integration of the YPG into the new Syrian state at the centre.
Geopolitics
Seven OPEC+ states agreed on Sunday to lift oil production by 188,000 barrels per day in September, the sixth monthly increase in a row. The step finishes unwinding the voluntary cuts the group agreed in 2023.
Economy
The National reported on Sunday that unusual movements of US forces in Iraqi Kurdistan have prompted questions about an early drawdown. The report ties the movements to speculation that the US withdrawal could come sooner than planned.
Geopolitics
The Tehran Times said a joint US-Saudi air attack on Popular Mobilisation Forces positions in Iraq, launched in the early hours of Wednesday, was a strategic miscalculation rather than a display of strength. The National reported separately that Iraq's Al Zaidi faces an "impossible" task in disarming Iran-backed militias.
Geopolitics
US and Israeli forces could open a bombing campaign against Iranian power plants and refineries as early as this weekend, CBS News reported on Friday. Both governments are also weighing a land blockade of Iran involving its neighbours.
Geopolitics
Saudi Arabia held the first planning session on Thursday for a proposed maritime defence coalition to secure the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden, and Bloomberg reported that Saudi ships are now avoiding the chokepoint and sailing around Africa. Tehran Times reported that the Ansarullah leader spoke to hundreds of thousands in Sana'a's Sab'een Square on Friday as Yemen locked in its naval blockade, while The National linked a growing Houthi presence in Iraq to an attack on the kingdom.
Geopolitics
US Central Command says it struck dozens of Revolutionary Guard targets across Iran in a two-hour wave overnight into Thursday, the first American strikes in more than five days. Iran answered with missile attacks on US bases in Jordan and Kuwait, where one person was killed. Mediators in Islamabad say talks to end the five-month war are still running.
Geopolitics
US and Saudi aircraft bombed bases of Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces on Wednesday, killing at least 20 fighters by the PMF's own count and marking the first joint Saudi-American operation of the five-month war with Iran. Hours later US Central Command opened what it called a heavy wave of strikes on dozens of IRGC targets inside Iran, retaliating for Iranian missile fire on US bases in Jordan. Baghdad has since postponed a planned prime ministerial visit to Riyadh.
Geopolitics
Iran's Revolutionary Guard fired ballistic missiles at US positions in Jordan on Wednesday, the 152nd day of the war, ending a short pause in hostilities. Jordan's military said it shot down five missiles and reported no casualties or damage. Hours later the Pentagon said it had completed a heavy series of strikes on dozens of IRGC targets inside Iran, while US and Saudi aircraft also hit Iran-aligned militia sites in Iraq.
Geopolitics
US and Saudi fighter aircraft struck bases of Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces across several provinces on Wednesday, killing at least 20 fighters according to the PMF. Washington and Riyadh said the strikes answered drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities launched from Iraqi territory; the Iraqi groups deny involvement. Baghdad called the raids a violation of its sovereignty, cancelled a planned visit to Saudi Arabia and convened its National Security Council.
Geopolitics
Brent crude rose by roughly 8 percent to about $91 a barrel on Wednesday after Iran's Revolutionary Guard fired ballistic missiles at US forces in Jordan and US and Saudi forces struck Iran-aligned groups in eastern Iraq. Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains far below normal, and US crude inventories fell by 7.2 million barrels last week. Japan and other Asian buyers are turning to Canadian crude shipped through the Trans Mountain pipeline to cut their Gulf exposure.
Economy
Tehran has turned down Oman's proposal for joint regional management of the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian official told Reuters, ending hopes of a quick diplomatic exit from a war that has disrupted Gulf shipping for months. CENTCOM says it has redirected 20 commercial vessels, disabled two and boarded two since resuming its naval blockade of Iranian ports on 14 July, while Washington sanctioned what it calls Iran's Hormuz 'extortion network'. The Revolutionary Guards say they stopped three oil tankers in the strait and retain full control of the waterway.
Geopolitics
Iran fired ballistic missiles at a US military base in Jordan on Tuesday, breaking a pause of several days in the exchange with Washington; CENTCOM says its forces intercepted them. A day later US and Saudi fighter aircraft struck Iran-aligned logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq, after Saudi air defences shot down drones aimed at oil facilities. The Iraqi Popular Mobilisation Forces say eight of their members were killed.
Geopolitics
Ankara called the energy alliance with Baghdad a historic step: Turkish Petroleum is to take a stake in the BP-run Kirkuk oilfield, which could bring Turkiye one million barrels of Iraqi oil a day, according to Al Jazeera. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi officials also signed agreements on Tuesday deepening cooperation on security, defence, trade and infrastructure.
Economy
Saudi Arabia says it shot down drones launched from Iraqi territory at oil facilities in its Eastern Province and at Riyadh, blaming Iran-backed militias and reserving the right to respond. Yemen's Houthis separately claimed drone strikes on the pipeline infrastructure carrying crude from eastern Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea port of Yanbu. Shipping data show traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb strait has fallen by 56 percent since the Houthis declared an embargo on Saudi-linked vessels on July 20.
Geopolitics