iraqi prime minister visits syria

Iraqi PM Sudani, Syria's Assad hold talks on security, water in Damascus

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Reporting by Timour Azhari; Editing by Alexandra Hudson

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Iraqi PM Sudani and Syria’s Assad hold talks in Damascus

The two leaders say they discussed fighting drugs, return of refugees and lifting of Western sanctions imposed in Syria.

Iraq’s prime minister has held talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus during the first trip of its kind to the war-torn country since the 12-year conflict began.

Iraq and Syria have maintained close relations for years, even after many Arab countries withdrew their ambassadors from Damascus and Syria’s membership in the 22-member Arab League was suspended because of the brutal crackdown on protesters in 2011.

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Assad received Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who was heading a high-ranking delegation, at the presidential palace in Damascus on Sunday.

The two leaders later told reporters they discussed fighting cross-border drug trafficking, the return of Syrian refugees and the imperative of lifting punitive Western sanctions imposed on Syria.

They also talked about Israeli attacks on the war-torn country and water shortages in the Euphrates, a river which cuts through both countries, because of upstream damming in Turkey.

Al-Sudani said they discussed ways to combat drought conditions in both countries caused by a reduction in rainfall, climate change and upstream damming by Turkey.

“We need to cooperate to get our fair share of water,” Sudani said.

Al-Sudani’s office said the talks also covered how to collaborate to fight “terrorism”.

“We are facing several challenges, first and foremost that of terrorism,” Assad later said at a joint news conference with Sudani.

The two countries, where Iran enjoys wide influence, have a joint 600km-long (373-mile) border.

In June 2014, the ISIL (ISIS) armed group declared the establishment of a self-styled caliphate in wide areas under its control in Iraq and Syria.

After a years-long campaign that left tens of thousands dead in both countries, ISIL was defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in March 2019 in Syria. In recent years, Syrian government forces regained control of much of Syria with the help of Russia and Iran.

Earlier this year, Syria’s membership in the Arab League was reinstated and Assad attended the Arab summit that was held in Saudi Arabia in May.

Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Abdelwahed, reporting from Baghdad, said: “The significance of this visit lies in the fact that both leaders seem to be keen to build upon the momentum of this visit, to break the isolation the countries have been suffering from for years in the region.”

“Iraq has been a major supporter of Syria. It has supported Syria’s return to the Arab League. Iraq has also been calling on the international community to lift the sanctions imposed on Syria and also to facilitate entry of aid to the Syrian people,” Abdelwahed said.

Syria’s conflict, which started in March 2011, has killed half a million people and displaced half the country’s prewar population of 23 million, including more than 5 million who became refugees.

Iraq is hosting about 250,000 Syrian refugees.

“We are interested in working through official and government channels to solve the issue of refugees and guarantee a safe return for them as soon as the situation becomes stable in places where they reside,” al-Sudani said.

Al-Sudani was invited to visit Damascus during a trip by Syria’s Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad to Baghdad last month.

The Iraqi prime minister said countries around the world that have citizens in the al-Hol camp in northeast Syria should start working on repatriating them as Baghdad is doing.

Al-Hol camp holds about 51,000 people, including the wives, widows and other relatives of ISIL members. Most are Syrians and Iraqis, but there are around 8,000 women and children from 60 other nationalities who live in a part of the camp known as the Annex. They are generally considered the most diehard ISIL supporters among the camp residents. Many countries are refusing to repatriate their citizens out of concern that they might be a security threat.

Iraqi PM makes first visit to Syria since 2011, strengthening close ties between countries

Mohammed shia al-sudani and bashar al-assad discuss reopening key oil pipeline and returning syrian refugees.

Iraq's prime minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani and Syria's president Bashar al-Assad shake hands ahead of a press conference in Damascus on Sunday. Photograph: by Louai Beshara/AFP

Iraqi prime minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Monday ended a two-day visit to Damascus with the goal of improving bilateral relations between neighbouring countries that already enjoy close political and military ties.

This was the first visit by an Iraqi premier to Syria since antigovernment protests erupted in 2011. Iraq remained Syria’s loyal partner during the succeeding conflict while other Arab states recalled ambassadors and the Arab League suspended Syrian membership.

Mr Sudani called for the lifting of US and European sanctions on Syria and Iraqi-Syrian co-operation to defeat fugitive jihadi fighters from Islamic State (also known as Isis) which in 2014 established a cross-border caliphate in the two countries. He proposed joint efforts to combat drought and climate change and secure a “fair share of water” from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers which have been dammed at source by Turkey.

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad praised Iraq for standing by Syria. As the main regional ally of both Syria and Iraq, Iran fielded thousands of Iraqi militiamen to reinforce the overstretched Syrian army while it battled multiple militias sponsored by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar to topple Mr Assad. “During the war,” Mr Assad said. “Iraq offered the most precious thing that a person can offer, which is blood.”

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He also thanked Iraq for sending shelters, food, and medical aid following February’s large earthquakes in northwestern Syria and southeastern Turkey which killed 7,259 people in Syria and damaged urban and rural areas.

The two leaders discussed combating production and export to the region by Syria and Lebanon of the addictive amphetamine Captagon and reopening the 41-year-old, 965km-long pipeline from Kirkuk in northern Iraq to the Syrian Mediterranean port of Banias which would give Iraq a new outlet for exporting its oil. The return home of the 280,000 Syrian refugees hosted by Iraq was also on their agenda.

“We are interested in working through official and government channels to solve the issue of refugees and guarantee a safe return for them as soon as the situation becomes stable in places where they reside,” Mr Sudani said.

He also urged countries to repatriate citizens detained in northern Syria’s al-Hol camp for wives, widows and children of Islamic State fighters. The camp holds about 50,000 inmates. While most are Syrians and Iraqis, there are 800 women and children from 60 other countries which have refused to reclaim them as they could be security threats.

Baghdad played key roles in healing the rift between Iran and its Gulf neighbours and ending the estrangement between Syria and Arab countries which formerly backed antigovernment militias. Iraq’s efforts were rewarded by the reconciliation announced in March by China between Iran and Saudi Arabia and Syria’s return to the Arab League in May.

Michael Jansen

Michael Jansen contributes news from and analysis of the Middle East to The Irish Times

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Iraqi pm sudani, syria's assad hold talks on security, water in damascus.

• Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below

By Timour Azhari

BAGHDAD (Reuters) -Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani held talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Sunday in the first such visit by an Iraqi premier since the outbreak of the Syrian war in 2011.

Assad and Sudani discussed securing their shared 600km border from security threats, including Islamic State militants, and agreed to enhance cooperation to reduce drug smuggling, they said during a joint news conference.

Sudani said they also discussed ways to combat drought conditions in both countries caused by a reduction in rainfall, climate change and upstream damming by Turkey.

"We need to cooperate to get our fair share of water," Sudani said.

Sudani said Iraq supported the lifting of sanctions on Syria, put in place and expanded by the U.S. and European countries since 2011.

Iraq and Syria, which have close economic, military and political ties to regional heavyweight Iran, maintained relations throughout Syria's civil war even as other Arab states withdrew their ambassadors and closed their embassies in Syria.

Baghdad and Damascus, along with Shi'ite armed groups backed by Iran, cooperated in the fight against Islamic State, which spread from Iraq into Syria and at one point controlled more than a third of both countries.

Farhad Alaaldin, foreign affairs adviser to the prime minister, said before the meeting that Sudani was set to discuss combatting the flow of the amphetamine Captagon and possibilities for reopening a Mediterranean oil export pipeline, which could help Iraq diversify its export routes.

Sudani's visit comes as other countries, including Saudi Arabia, rebuild relations with Damascus after years of tensions.

Syria was suspended from the Arab League in 2011 over Assad's brutal crackdown on protests and several Gulf states supported the armed opposition to his rule.

But Assad has regained control of most of Syria with military and economic support from Russia and Iran, Syria was readmitted to the Arab League in May, and regional countries are seeking dialogue with him to end drug smuggling and return millions of refugees.

Syria has agreed to help end drug trafficking across its borders with Jordan and Iraq.

Top Syrian officials and relatives of Assad have been put on sanctions lists in recent months in the United States, United Kingdom and European Union over their alleged ties to the trade.

The Syrian government denies involvement in the drug trade.

(Reporting by Timour Azhari; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)

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Iraqi PM visits Syria in first trip since Syrian war

Sunday, 16 Jul 2023

FILE PHOTO: Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, attends the Arab League Summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, May 19, 2023. Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via REUTERS

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani began an official visit to Syria on Sunday, the first by an Iraqi premier since the outbreak of the Syrian war in 2011, in a trip aimed at securing their shared border and bolstering economic ties.

Iraq and Syria, which have close economic, military and political ties to regional heavyweight Iran, maintained relations throughout Syria's civil war even as other Arab states withdrew their ambassadors and closed their embassies in Syria.

Baghdad and Damascus, along with Shi'ite armed groups backed by Iran, cooperated in the fight against militant group Islamic State, which spread from Iraq into Syria and at one point controlled more than a third of both countries.

Farhad Alaaldin, foreign affairs adviser to the prime minister, said Sudani was set to discuss combatting the flow of drugs, especially the amphetamine Captagon, and preventing the infiltration of Islamic State militants over their shared 600km border.

The prime minister would also discuss trade and economic cooperation and possibilities for reopening an oil export pipeline in the Mediterranean, which could help Iraq diversify its export routes, he said.

Sudani's visit comes as other countries, including Saudi Arabia, rebuild relations with Damascus after years of tensions.

Syria was suspended from the Arab League in 2011 over Assad's brutal crackdown on protests and several Gulf states supported the armed opposition to his rule.

But Assad has regained control of most of Syria with military and economic support from Russia and Iran, Syria was readmitted to the Arab League in May, and regional countries are seeking dialogue with him to end drug smuggling and return millions of refugees.

Syria has agreed to help end drug trafficking across its borders with Jordan and Iraq.

Top Syrian officials and relatives of Assad have been put on sanctions lists in recent months in the United States, United Kingdom and European Union over their alleged ties to the trade.

The Syrian government denies involvement in the drug trade.

(Reporting by Timour Azhari; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)

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Iraqi pm visits syria in first trip since syrian conflict.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani began an official visit to Syria on Sunday, the first by an Iraqi premier since the outbreak of the Syrian conflict in 2011, in a trip aimed at securing their shared border and bolstering economic ties.

Iraq and Syria, which have close economic, military and political ties to regional heavyweight Iran , maintained relations throughout Syria's civil war even as other Arab states withdrew their ambassadors and closed their embassies in Syria.

Baghdad and Damascus, along with Shia armed groups backed by Iran , cooperated in the fight against militant group Islamic State, which spread from Iraq into Syria and at one point controlled more than a third of both countries.

Farhad Alaaldin, foreign affairs adviser to the prime minister, said Sudani was set to discuss combatting the flow of drugs, especially t he amphetamine Captagon , and preventing the infiltration of Islamic State militants over their shared 600km border.

The prime minister would also discuss trade and economic cooperation and possibilities for reopening an oil export pipeline in the Mediterranean, which could help Iraq diversify its export routes, he said.

Can the US disrupt Syria's lucrative Captagon drug empire?

Sudani's visit comes as other countries, including Saudi Arabia, rebuild relations with the Syrian regime after years of tensions.

Syria was suspended from the Arab League in 2011 over Assad's brutal crackdown on protests and several Gulf states supported the armed opposition to his rule.

But Assad has regained control of most of Syria with military and economic support from Russia and Iran, Syria was readmitted to the Arab League in May, and regional countries are seeking dialogue with him to end drug smuggling and return millions of refugees.

Syria has agreed to help end drug trafficking across its borders with Jordan and Iraq.

Top Syrian officials and relatives of Assad have been put on sanctions lists in recent months in the United States, United Kingdom and European Union over their alleged ties to the trade.

The Syrian regime denies involvement in the drug trade.

(Reuters and The New Arab Staff)

• Mohammed Shia al-Sudani
• Bashar al-Assad

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Iraqi PM Visits Syria for First Time Since Civil War

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani arrived in Damascus Sunday for his first state visit since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011.

While most other Arab states ended their diplomatic relations over Syrian President Bashar Assad’s brutality, Iraq has continuously maintained relations with Syria. Syria was suspended from the Arab League in 2011 but readmitted in May, as many countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, began to reopen dialogue.

Iraq and Syria share close ties with Iran and are seeking to strengthen their own political and economic ties, particularly around their shared 600-kilometer border. According to Farhad Alaaldin, foreign affairs adviser to PM Sudani, the agenda for this visit includes cooperation to combat the drug trade and the infiltration of Islamic State fighters over the countries’ borders.

Other Arab countries that have restarted relations with Syria also hope to work to end drug smuggling in the region, as well as discuss the return of millions of refugees.

Alaaldin said that Sudani and Assad are also set to discuss a new trade partnership, including the option of reopening a Mediterranean oil export pipeline.

Iraqi PM visits Syria in first trip since Syrian war

The iraqi prime minister began an official visit to syria on sunday, for the first time since the outbreak of the syrian war..

Syrian drug trafficking 

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Iraqi Prime Minister's US visit overshadowed by Iran's attack on Israel

Prime minister mohammed shia al sudani's had wanted to focus on new economic opportunities, iraqi prime minister visits washington amid soaring middle east tensions.

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As tensions soar in the Middle East following Iran's attack against Israel, the Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani's visit to Washington takes on profound significance with geopolitical ramifications.

President Joe Biden is hosting Mr Al Sudani at the White House on Monday at the start of a week-long visit that was supposed to focus on expanding bilateral ties and new economic opportunities when US forces eventually leave Iraq.

But Saturday's attack, during which Iran fired 300 drones and missiles through Iraqi airspace towards Israel, will change the focus of Mr Al Sudani's visit.

The events "will cast their shadow heavily on the visit, prompting the White House to impose very strict conditions on the Iraqi Prime Minister”, the political analyst Ihsan Al Shammari, who leads the Iraqi Political Thinking Centre think tank in Baghdad, told The National .

Israel, the US and UK shot down most of the drones and missiles, and Iran has said it considers its military action against Israel "completed", provided Israel does not strike back.

Tehran said Saturday's action was in retaliation for Israel's April 1 missile attack on Iran's embassy compound in Damascus that killed two senior Iranian commanders and other officers.

Mr Al Sudani took office in October 2022 as the nominee from the Iran-aligned Co-ordination Framework – the largest political group in the Iraqi parliament with 138 out of 329 seats.

Mr Biden needs Mr Al Sudani to rein in Iran-backed armed groups, who until early February had conducted scores of attacks on US troops in Iraq and Syria. The attacks have stopped for now after negotiations between Baghdad and Washington.

“The US will look very anxiously at the Prime Minister’s inability to control these armed factions, and also, even the guarantees he holds, I believe, will not be very reliable given what happened [on Saturday],” Mr Al Shammari said.

The Iranian attack, he added, will probably increase the pressure on the Prime Minister and could “complicate the negotiations and it may also greatly embarrass” him.

While attacks against US forces in Iraq and Syria have abated, Iranian proxies in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Lebanon have continued to attack Israel.

“Obviously, the attacks and further complication of the Middle East is going to distract from the positive image and context that the two countries have been trying to present in their bilateral relationship,” Sarhang Hamasaeed, Director of Middle East Programmes at the United States Institute of Peace, told The National.

But, he noted, that while Iran’s attack may take up considerable oxygen, it also presents an opportunity for Washington and Baghdad to “reaffirm directly the interest of the two countries”.

Balancing act

A key goal for Mr Al Sudani's visit is to secure an agreement on the withdrawal of foreign troops from his country, a decade after they arrived in Iraq to fight ISIS. He also wants more US companies to set up shop in Iraq.

Experts say Mr Al Sudani, a rare ally of both Washington and Tehran, is engaged in a difficult balancing act.

“He's under pressure from some internal elements to ensure that the US agrees to withdraw its troops,” Richard Schmierer, chairman of the board of the Middle East Policy Council and State Department official for more than three decades, told The National .

“But on the other hand, he is also responsible for Iraqi security and he knows that the absence of US security support would be very detrimental to his ability to provide security to his people.

“Squaring that circle, I think, will be a challenge.”

In an op-ed published last week, Mr Al Sudani said his visit is aimed at putting US-Iraqi relations “on a new, more sustainable foundation”.

“We welcome the opportunity to work with the United States to defuse crises and reduce tensions in the Middle East,” he wrote in Foreign Affairs.

“Yet we are intent on avoiding becoming caught in the conflict between two of our partners, Iran and the United States.”

Funeral for militants killed in US strike in Iraq – in pictures

Members of Iraq's Hashd Al Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation), carry portraits of people killed in US strikes in western Iraq. AFP

A senior State Department official said a discussion on the future bilateral defence and security relationship was “likely to be a very important part" of talks.

The official said the leaders will discuss potential for investments in areas including energy and water.

Baghdad is largely dependent on Iran for its energy needs and is facing an uncertain future with regard to water security due to the effects of climate change.

The White House said the visit is aimed at reinforcing “the strong bilateral partnership” between the two countries and will allow the two sides to consult on a wide range of issues, including the “evolution of the military mission” to fight ISIS.

“The leaders will reaffirm their commitment to the Strategic Framework Agreement and deepen their shared vision for a secure, sovereign, and prosperous Iraq fully integrated into the broader region,” a White House statement said.

Mr Al Sudani has been critical of the Biden administration’s continued political and military support of Israel and its right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“It’s not just the Iraqi government, but the entire region has been dismayed by the way the Biden administration conducted itself in terms of this war – they completely left Benjamin Netanyahu in the driver's seat and exercised no leadership whatsoever,” Abbas Kadhim, director of the Iraq initiative at the Atlantic Council, told The National.

Mr Al Sudani also wants to create separate bilateral agreements with each of the countries taking part in the US-led international anti-ISIS coalition in Iraq.

“Rather than a one-stop-shop with a whole coalition that does everything, they want to unpack that and have bilateral agreements with each government,” Mr Kadhim explains.

“Will this solve the issue of troops in Iraq? Of course not.”

About 2,500 US troops remain in Iraq in an advise-and-assist capacity with the aim of preventing the resurgence of ISIS. Hundreds of troops from European countries are also in Iraq as part of the coalition.

Mr Biden, meanwhile, is also under pressure.

Earlier this month, eight Senate and House Republicans wrote to him, criticising his decision to host Mr Al Sudani, saying the meeting was “inappropriate” and that it would undermine US support for Israel and other allies in the region.

“Hosting the Iraqi prime minister … amplifies the message of your ongoing campaign to undermine Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu: the Biden administration is interested in appeasing Iran, not supporting our allies,” stated the letter, led by senators Rick Scott and Tom Cotton.

President Biden's decision to host the Iraqi Prime Minister shows he’s more interested in appeasing Iran than supporting Israel. pic.twitter.com/jRerD1VYdo — Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) March 29, 2024

The politicians said Mr Al Sudani’s visit should be conditional on his administration resuming funding for the Kurdistan region and reducing Iran’s influence on the country.

Mr Schmierer said the war in Gaza has complicated US-Iraqi relations and efforts to withdraw American troops.

Security concerns will also complicate any economic aspirations in energy as well as potential investments in the private sector.

“I think the Prime Minister is going to have to balance many balls in the air,” Mr Schmierer said.

“This idea that Iran somehow has great leverage on Iraq is, I think, oversimplifying, as [Mr Al Sudani] does need to make sure he retains good relations with the Kurdish Regional Government and probably more importantly, with his Arab neighbours.”

Willy Lowry contributed to this report from Washington

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Iraq militant group says it is resuming attacks on US forces as base in Syria is targeted

First attack on US forces since early February comes day after Iraq’s prime minister returns from US visit

An Iraqi militant group has said it will resume attacks on US forces in the country, as it appeared to claim responsibility for a strike on an American military base in north-eastern Syria which saw at least five rockets launched from the Iraqi town of Zummar.

Sunday’s strike against US forces is the first since early February, when Iranian-backed groups in Iraq stopped their attacks against US troops.

It comes one day after Iraq’s prime minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, returned from a visit to the United States and met with Joe Biden at the White House.

Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah said Iraqi armed groups had decided to resume attacks on the US presence in the country after seeing little progress on talks to achieve the exit of American troops during al-Sudani’s visit to Washington.

“What happened a short while ago is the beginning,” the group said.

Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, said several rockets had been fired “from Iraqi territory at the Kharab al-Jir base” in north-east Syria, where US forces are stationed.

A statement from the Iraqi security forces accused “outlaw elements of having targeted a base of the international coalition with rockets in the heart of Syrian territory”, at about 9.50pm local time.

Iraqi forces responded to the attack by launching a major search operation in northern Nineveh province which found the vehicle used in the attack, they said in a statement.

The security forces burned the vehicle involved, the statement added.

After a series of rocket attacks and drone strikes by pro-Iran armed factions against US soldiers deployed in the Middle East in the early part of the year, there had been several weeks of calm.

In January, a drone attack killed three US soldiers in the Jordanian desert on the Syrian border. In response, the US military struck dozens of targets in Syria and Iraq , aiming for pro-Iran forces, and drawing criticism from the governments of both countries.

The United States has about 2,500 soldiers stationed in Iraq and nearly 900 across the border in Syria as part of an international coalition created in 2014 to fight the Islamic State group.

Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report

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Biden to meet Iraqi PM as Middle East tensions soar

U S President Joe Biden will meet Iraq's Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani at the White House Monday, after Iran's attack on Israel sent tensions soaring across the Middle East.

Sudani's trip to Washington, his first since taking office in October 2022, was originally expected to focus on the presence of US troops in Iraq as part of an anti-jihadist coalition.

But the meeting will now be dominated by the fractious situation in the region after Iraq's neighbor Iran launched a massive missile and drone assault on Israel on Saturday.

US forces based near the northern Iraq city of Erbil were involved in the operation to counter Iran's attack on Israel, using a Patriot missile battery to shoot down an Iranian ballistic missile.

"This official visit occurs at a delicate and sensitive time in the relations with the United States, as well as in the context of regional conditions," a statement from Sudani's office said ahead of his departure on Saturday.

The White House said in March that Biden and Sudani would discuss "our shared commitment to the lasting defeat of ISIS and evolution of the military mission."

Iraq has been trying to stay out of regional tensions amid the six-month war waged by Israel against Iran-backed Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza, following Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel.

Armed groups linked to Iran, including some based in Iraq, have since carried out a series of attacks on facilities belonging to the United States, which is Israel's main ally.

Iraq, hoping not to be consumed by US-Iran hostility, strongly protested a US drone strike in February that killed an Iraqi militia leader, carried out in retaliation for an attack that killed three US service members in Jordan.

But tensions have since subsided between Washington and Baghdad, and they resumed talks on the future of the US-led coalition.

Iraqi authorities have voiced hope for drawing up a timeline to reduce the presence of US forces.

A US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, but Washington withdrew most of its troops by 2011.

But US forces were redeployed in 2014 as part of a campaign to defeat the Islamic State extremist group, better known as ISIS, which had seized vast swathes of Iraq and Syria.

The United States currently has some 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in neighboring Syria as part of the coalition.

Rockets Fired From Iraq Towards US Military Base in Syria, Security Sources Say

MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) -At least five rockets were launched from Iraq's town of Zummar towards a U.S. military base in northeastern Syria on Sunday, two Iraqi security sources and a U.S. official told Reuters.

The attack against U.S. forces is the first since early February when Iranian-backed groups in Iraq stopped their attacks against U.S. troops.

It comes a day after Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani returned from a visit to the United States, where he met with President Joe Biden at the White House.

War in Israel and Gaza

A post on a Telegram group affiliated with Kataib Hezbollah said armed factions in Iraq had decided to resume attacks after a near-three month pause after seeing little progress on talks to end the U.S.-led military coalition in the country.

Another popular Telegram group close to Kataib Hezbollah, Sabreen News, later said there had been no official statement by the Iran-backed faction.

A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said more than five rockets were fired from Iraq towards troops at a coalition base in Rumalyn, Syria, but no U.S. personnel were injured.

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The official referred to it as a "failed rocket attack," but it was not immediately clear if the rockets had failed to hit the base or been destroyed before they reached. It was also not clear if the base was the target itself.

Following that, the official said, an aircraft from the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq and Syria carried out a strike against the launcher.

Two security sources and a senior army officer in Iraq said a small truck with a rocket launcher fixed on the back had been parked in Zummar, a town on the border with Syria.

An army officer said the destroyed truck was seized for further investigation and initial investigation showed it was destroyed by an air strike.

"We are communicating with the coalition forces in Iraq to share information on this attack," the officer added.

The Iraqi Security Media Cell, an official body responsible for disseminating security information, said in a statement that Iraqi forces had launched "a wide-ranging search and inspection operation" targeting the perpetrators near the Syrian border, pledging to bring them to justice.

The attacks came after a huge blast at a military base in Iraq early on Saturday killed a member of an Iraqi security force that includes Iran-backed groups. The force commander said it was an attack while the army said it was investigating and there were no warplanes in the sky at the time.

(Reporting by Jamal al-Badrani in Mosul, Ahmed Rasheed, Timour Azhari in Baghdad and Idrees Ali in Washington; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Chizu Nomiyama, Diane Craft and Lincoln Feast.)

Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters .

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Iraq’s prime minister heads to Michigan to meet Arab Americans at a tense time for the Middle East

Iraq’s Prime Minister Shia al-Sudani listens during a meeting with President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, April 15, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

People peek in the windows outside the Islamic Institute of America in Dearborn Heights, Mich., hoping to see Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)

Officials from Iraq traveling with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani arrive at Detroit Metro Airport in Detroit, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)

State Rep. Alabas Farhat, D-Dearborn, waits to greet Iraqi officials arriving, Thursday, April 18, 2024, at Detroit Metro Airport in Detroit. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)

People gather outside the Islamic Institute of America in Dearborn Heights, Mich., hoping to see Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)

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LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The leader of Iraq traveled to Michigan on Thursday following a sit-down with President Joe Biden to meet with the state’s large Iraqi community and update them on escalating tensions in the Middle East following Iran’s weekend aerial assault on Israel.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s trip to both Washington and Michigan to discuss U.S.-Iraq relations had been planned well before Saturday’s drone and missile launches from Iran-backed groups. The visit has been thrust into the spotlight as tensions in the region escalate following the strike, which included drone and missile launches that overflew Iraqi airspace and others that were launched from Iraq by Iran-backed groups.

Michigan holds one of the largest populations of Iraqis in the nation and many local Democrats have pushed back against U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza following the Hamas attack on Oct. 7. The state holds the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the country.

The Iraqi prime minister was met by Wayne County Executive Warren Evans upon arrival Thursday in addition to multiple leaders within the area’s Arab American community, including Deputy Wayne County Executive Assad I. Turfe and Dearborn’s state Rep. Alabas Farhat.

A motorcade of over 40 cars then traveled to a mosque in Dearborn Heights where the prime minister met with Iraqi community members and officials to give an update on his meeting with Biden talking about the economic relations between Iraq and the U.S.

Local Wayne County leaders emphasized that the meeting had been planned before this weekend’s developments, saying that a goal of the trip was to build relationships in a community that holds the largest Iraqi population outside of the Middle East.

There are just over 90,000 residents in Michigan of Iraqi descent, the largest of any state, according to the most recent U.S. Census. In Wayne County, home to the cities of Detroit and Dearborn, 7.8% of residents identified of Middle Eastern and North African ancestry, alone or in any combination, the highest percentage of any U.S. county.

The concentration of those residents in the outskirts of Detroit has led to multiple visits to the area from officials engaged in Middle Eastern relations.

Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to Biden, traveled to metro Detroit in March to meet with Lebanese Americans and discuss efforts to prevent the conflict from expanding along Israel’s northern border, where Hezbollah operates. Multiple White House officials also traveled to Dearborn in February to meet with Arab American leaders to discuss the conflict.

Fears over the war expanding grew over the weekend following the strikes and the developments have raised further questions about the viability of the two-decade American military presence in Iraq. However, a U.S. Patriot battery in Irbil, Iraq, which is designed to protect against missiles, did shoot down at least one Iranian ballistic missile, according to American officials — one of dozens of missiles and drones destroyed by U.S. forces alongside Israeli efforts to defeat the attack.

Hamada reported from Houston.

U.S. Military Base in Syria Struck by Rockets Fired From Iraq

A military base in Syria belonging to a U.S.-led coalition came under rocket-fire late on Sunday, the government-affiliated Iraqi Security Media Cell said in a statement. At least one rocket landed at the base, said Rami Abdulrahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights in an interview with Al-Arabiya.

It wasn’t immediately clear if there were any casualties. U.S. Central Command, which oversees American forces in the Middle East, is yet to comment.

The attacks are the first against U.S. bases in the region since early February, when Washington struck Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria. That was in response for a drone assault that killed three American soldiers in Jordan and was blamed by the U.S. on an umbrella group called the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.

Iran backs a number of anti-U.S. and anti-Israel militias in Iraq and Syria and they ramped up attacks on American bases after the Israel-Hamas war began in October.

Iraqi forces are conducting a search operation west of Nineveh, near the Syrian border, to try to capture the perpetrators of the latest attack, according to Iraqi Security Media Cell.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq didn’t explicitly claim responsibility for the strike, but in a statement on Telegram the militant group said it decided to resume military operations against American troops after Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani visited the White House and met President Joe Biden this month. The group gave Al-Sudani three months to negotiate the departure of the roughly 2,000 U.S. forces in Iraq.

“What happened a short while ago is the beginning that must be escalated,” according to the group’s statement.

The attack followed an explosion on a base in Iraq this weekend controlled by the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of Iran-allied militias, killing one person and injuring eight, the Associated Press reported. The U.S. said it wasn’t behind that incident.

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Turkey, Iraq, UAE, Qatar ink $20B transportation deal during Erdogan visit

ANKARA — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made his first visit to Baghdad in nearly 13 years Monday, when he signed an agreement between Turkey, Iraq, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on a major transport project linking Iraq to Europe.

Erdogan met with Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani in the Iraqi capital, the first stop of his daylong Iraq visit, which also took him to Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan Region.

“I believe that my visit and the agreements that were just signed will mark a new turning point in relations between the two countries,” Erdogan said, speaking at a joint presser with Sudani.

The highlight of the visit was the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the so-called “ Development Road Project ” between Turkish and Iraqi officials as well as representatives from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Qatar and the Emirates stand out as two potential sponsors of the estimated $20 billion transportation link spanning 1,275 kilometers (792 miles) from the oil-rich southern Iraqi province of Basra to Turkey via road and railway.

During the visit, Iraq and Turkey also signed a Strategic Framework Agreement for Joint Cooperation in a bid to pave the way for further collaboration on several issues, in addition to 24 memoranda of understanding covering various fields including energy, trade and water sharing.

Sudani said at the presser that under the framework deal on sharing water from the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, a longstanding point of dispute between Ankara and Baghdad, the two countries would implement joint projects including the modernization of Iraqi irrigation systems.

“The agreement will last for 10 years and will ensure the joint and equal management of water resources,” he added. Iraqi authorities have long charged that the dams Turkey built on the rivers are causing a decline in water levels on the Iraqi side, exacerbating the country’s drought problem. Ankara argues that Iraqi authorities need to stop up their country's irrigation technology for more effective water usage.

Sajad Jiyad, a political analyst based in Baghdad and fellow at the Century Foundation, described the visit as a good start. “The signing ceremony for the project, I think, showed the high-level interests in this project and that all four countries are very keen on getting the project up and running as soon as possible,” he told Al-Monitor.

Erdogan’s visit comes after the Iraqi government, in a surprise move, partly acceded to a longstanding Turkish demand in March by banning the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Headquartered in the northern Iraqi mountains, the outlawed militants have been fighting for Kurdish self-rule inside Turkey since the early 1980s and are considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

Security front

Turkey’s ongoing military operation series, dubbed “Claw Lock,” against PKK positions in northern Iraq that began in 2019 has also caused strain between Ankara and Baghdad. Baghdad argues that the Turkish military presence and operations on Iraqi soil violate the country’s sovereignty.

Analysts believe Baghdad banning the PKK reflects the central Iraqi government’s desire to have a greater say in Turkish operations.

Ahead of the visit last week, the Turkish Defense Ministry reaffirmed its resolve to expand military operations in northern Iraq. Ankara is also seeking to establish a joint operation center with Baghdad.

Speaking at the press conference, Erdogan reiterated his country’s request for Iraq to designate the militant group as a terrorist organization. Sudani reiterated that his government would not allow Iraqi soil to be used for attacks on a neighboring country.

The last time Erdogan visited Iraq was in 2011. Bilgay Duman, Iraq studies coordinator at the Ankara-based think tank Center for Middle East Studies, believes the long break between the Turkish president’s visits stemmed from political differences and security disagreements.

“Turkey and Iraq were in a sense supporting different sides in the Syrian civil war,” Duman told Al-Monitor. While Turkey has supported Syrian rebels fighting against President Bashar al-Assad’s government, the Iraqi central government has taken a closer position with the Syrian regime along with its allies Iran and Russia, according to Duman. “This was a result of the increasing Iranian influence in Iraq,” he noted.

But after the elections held in 2021, “the Iraqi central government has begun to seek a more balanced foreign policy, and Turkey stands out as one of the countries that will help it to ensure this balanced policy,” he added.

This developing story has been updated since initial publication.

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Qatar’s mediation efforts in Israel-Hamas war come under fire

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When U.S. officials needed to negotiate with the Taliban to bring an end to the Afghanistan war, they turned to Qatar.

With Russia continuing its campaign in Ukraine, Qatar has become the main facilitator for what little communication there is between the two sides.

In past years, this tiny desert nation has captured outsized attention largely because of the splashy real estate projects it bankrolls with proceeds from the world’s largest gas field. It’s also home to one of the United States’ most strategically important military air bases in the Middle East.

But increasingly during the past six months of the war in Gaza, Qatar’s role as a mediator has come under scrutiny.

Doha has had limited success forging an agreement to stop the fighting and release Israeli hostages, spurring a rush of criticism from U.S. lawmakers and Israeli officials.

A new round of Gaza cease-fire negotiations that began over the weekend had Egypt instead of Qatar in the leading role.

Qatar says it’s reassessing its role. This weekend, Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said during a visit to Israel that the Qataris expected “more commitment and more seriousness” in negotiations from both sides.

In a phone call Monday to Qatar’s Prince Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, President Biden said both Egypt and Qatar would work to ensure “full implementation” of any agreement between Hamas and Israel, according to a White House readout.

Biden also urged the Qatari leader to “exert all efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas as this is now the only obstacle to an immediate cease-fire and relief for the people of Gaza,” while thanking the prince and his team “for their tireless efforts to secure the release of all hostages.”

Hamas’ negotiating team left Cairo on Monday, according to state-owned Egyptian station Al-Qahera News, which quoted what it described as a high-level Egyptian source who said that the Hamas team would return at an undisclosed time with a written response to the proposals.

That comes as pressure builds from some sectors of Congress that object to the continued presence of Hamas headquarters in Qatar. Several Republican and Democratic lawmakers have told Qatar that if Hamas continues to refuse deals offered by mediators, the group does not deserve safe harbor in the Qatari capital.

“Qatar’s harboring and support have led Hamas to believe that it can kill and kidnap Americans with impunity,” said Republican Sens. Ted Budd of North Carolina and Joni Ernst of Iowa. “This must end now. We urge the Biden administration to demand that Qatar expel Hamas from Doha immediately.”

Failure to do so, they said in a letter, would prompt them to demand Qatar be “held accountable.”

They echoed an earlier statement from Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), who head the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Cardin and Risch similarly urged Qatar to eject Hamas if the militant group continued to refuse to accept a deal.

Israeli officials also accuse Qatar of being a problematic interlocutor, despite its central role in negotiating a temporary truce in November that led to the release of detainees on both sides.

“Qatar is giving safe haven to Hamas leaders, funding trillions of dollars, buying their ideology in the United States, buying their way all over the world,” Israel’s economy minister, Nir Barkat, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV earlier this month.

At the behest of the Obama administration and Israel in 2012, Qatar agreed to accept Hamas offices in Doha. In 2018, with Netanyahu’s blessing, Qatar started providing monthly payments in the tens of millions of dollars to Hamas for the day-to-day running of the Gaza Strip, including public sector salaries.

Doha has also taken the lead in other thorny conflicts, hosting negotiations with the Taliban that led to an agreement culminating in the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Because of that role, the Biden administration designated the Persian Gulf emirate as a major non-NATO ally.

“From Qatar’s perspective, they are the only ones who have been able to bring any hostages home,” said Khaled Elgindy, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. He was referring to the release negotiated in November of more than 100 hostages seized by Hamas in its Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, in exchange for several hundred Palestinians being held in Israeli jails.

But, Elgindy said, the “political optics” for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, if he has to rely too much on Qatar, could be negative in Israel. Egypt, the first Arab state to have a peace treaty with Israel, could be a more palatable intermediary, he added.

Egyptian commentators criticize Qatar’s close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood movement, which Cairo has long sought to root out at home. They argue that Doha’s pro-Hamas stance has increased the militant group’s intransigence. In an interview with Sky News Arabia last week, Ashraf Abu Al-Hol, editor of the mostly-state-owned Egyptian daily Al-Ahram, said Qatari media’s glorification of Hamas’ exploits on the battlefield in Gaza is “making the military leadership of Hamas stubborn in its positions.”

Biden administration officials say they continue to regard Qatar as a valuable partner in negotiations, including the most urgent current talks over a Gaza cease-fire and release of hostages. But they have also warned Doha and others that more restrictions on dealing with Hamas may be coming, especially if countries don’t put pressure on Hamas.

“It no longer can be business as usual with Hamas and … any country who may have a relationship with Hamas, influence with Hamas, needs to send a very clear message,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said last week.

The central question, said Salman Shaikh, founder of the peace-building organization the Shaikh Group and the former director of the Brooking Institution’s Doha Center, is if a party could give sanctuary or support to one side and still act as a mediator.

“By that logic, can the U.S. ever be an effective mediator when it comes to the Middle East?” he asked, referring to Washington’s financial and political support for Israel.

“Mediation is a key part of Qatar’s foreign policy. Do we want them to act as a player or a mediator and facilitator? They’ve proved to be more effective than anyone else, at least initially,” Shaikh said.

Other observers say that whether Egypt or Qatar lead the negotiations is irrelevant.

“The bigger issue is the fundamental divide between Israel and Hamas. They just don’t agree on terms,” said Michael Hanna, the U.S. director of the International Crisis Group, which focuses on conflict prevention.

“And that’s not going to change, whether Qatar is involved or not, or whether Egypt is playing a more central role as the primary interlocutor between the international community and Hamas.”

Bulos reported from Doha and Wilkinson from Washington.

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Nabih Bulos is the Middle East bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times. Since 2012, he has covered the aftermath of the “Arab Spring” revolution as well as the Islamic State’s resurgence and the campaign to defeat it. His work has taken him to Syria, Iraq, Libya, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Yemen as well as on the migrant trail through the Balkans and northern Europe. A Fulbright scholar, Bulos is also a concert violinist who has performed with Daniel Barenboim, Valeri Gergyev and Bono.

Tracy Wilkinson covers foreign affairs from the Los Angeles Times’ Washington, D.C., bureau.

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