BAGHDAD: Iraqi security forces said Saturday they had broken up a drug trafficking ring and seized more than six million pills of the amphetamine-type stimulant captagon, making several arrests.
Iraq’s northwestern neighbor Syria is the Middle East’s main captagon producer.
Iraqi forces seized “around 6.2 million pills” from a warehouse in the southwest of the capital, the national security agency said in a statement, adding that the drugs were set for distribution “in areas of Baghdad and other provinces.”
Three Iraqis and four suspects from other Arab countries were arrested in connection with the trafficking network, it added.
The statement said security forces broke up a second drug ring after an Arab national was arrested “in possession of six kilos (13 pounds) of hashish,” while two accomplices were also detained.
All 10 accused “admitted to links with international drug trafficking networks,” it said.
Drug trafficking convictions can be punishable by the death penalty in Iraq.
Trade in captagon in the Middle East grew exponentially in 2021 to top $5 billion, posing an increasing health and security risk to the region, a report said earlier this month.
Captagon was the trade name of a drug initially patented in Germany in the early 1960s that contained an amphetamine-type stimulant called fenethylline used to treat attention deficit and narcolepsy among other conditions.
It was later banned and became an illicit drug almost exclusively produced and consumed in the Middle East.
Captagon is now a brand name, with its trademark logo sporting two interlocked “Cs,” or crescents, embossed on each tablet, for a drug that often contains little or no fenethylline and is close to what is known in other countries as “speed.”
The sale and use of drugs in Iraq has soared in recent years. Security forces have stepped up operations and make almost daily announcements of seizures or arrests.
In the first three months of this year, Iraqi security forces detained 18 suspected drug traffickers in the largely desert province of Anbar, which shares a long border with Syria, according to an official source.
More than three million captagon pills were seized in the same period.
Iraq seizes more than 6 million captagon pills in drug bust
https://arab.news/cdw7s
Iraq seizes more than 6 million captagon pills in drug bust
- Iraq’s northwestern neighbor Syria is the Middle East’s main captagon producer
- Trade in captagon in the Middle East grew exponentially in 2021 to top $5 billion
European, Iranian FMs to hold nuclear talks on Friday in Geneva
BRUSSELS, Belgium: Foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany together with the EU’s top diplomat will hold nuclear talks with their Iranian counterpart in Geneva on Friday, officials and diplomats said.
The meeting comes as European countries call for de-escalation in the face of Israel’s bombing campaign against Iran’s nuclear program — and as US President Donald Trump weighs up whether or not to join the strikes against Tehran.
“We will meet with the European delegation in Geneva on Friday,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a statement carried by state news agency IRNA.
European diplomats separately confirmed the planned talks, set to involve French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, as well as EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
Lammy was in Washington on Thursday, where he was due to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for talks focused on Iran, the State Department said.
Trump has said he is weighing up military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities as Israel pummels the country and Tehran responds with missile fire.
Israel has killed several top Iranian officials in its strikes and Araghchi’s adviser said that the minister was unfazed by fears he may be targeted next.
“Since it was announced that the Foreign Minister was heading to Geneva for negotiations with the European troika, I’ve received numerous messages expressing concern that the Zionist regime might target him,” Mohammad Hossein Ranjbaran said on X.
But he insisted that Araghchi “seeks martyrdom” and that “a major Israeli plot against him” had already been foiled “in Tehran just a few days ago.”
France, Germany, Britain and the European Union were all signatories of the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran which Trump sunk during his first term in office.
The EU’s Kallas, in coordination with European countries, has insisted that diplomacy remains the best path toward ensuring that Iran does not develop a nuclear bomb.
On Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said that European nations were planning to suggest a negotiated solution to end the Iran-Israel conflict. He has asked his foreign minister to draw up an initiative with “close partners” to that end.
Barrot has been in regular touch with his German and British counterparts since Israel launched massive air strikes against Iran on Friday.
Speaking in Paris after talks on the crisis on Thursday, Barrot said that the three nations “stand ready to bring our competence and experience on this matter.”
“We are ready to take part in negotiations aimed at obtaining from Iran a lasting rollback of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs,” he added.
The French top diplomat also underlined Iran’s “willingness to resume talks,” including with the United States “on condition there is a ceasefire.”
Israel says its air campaign is aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Iran had been enriching uranium to 60 percent — far above the 3.67-percent limit set by a 2015 deal with international powers, but still short of the 90-percent threshold needed for a nuclear warhead. Iran denies it is building nuclear weapons.
Israel says Iran fired cluster bomb-bearing missile
- Israeli military officials provided no further details
Iran fired at least one missile at Israel that scattered small bombs with the aim of increasing civilian casualties, the Israeli military said on Thursday, the first reported use of cluster munitions in the seven-day-old war.
Israeli military officials provided no further details.
Israeli news reports quoted the Israeli military as saying the missile’s warhead split open at an altitude of about 4 miles and released around 20 submunitions in a radius of around 5 miles over central Israel.
One of the small munitions struck a home in the central Israeli town of Azor, causing some damage, Times of Israel military correspondent Emanuel Fabian reported. There were no reports of casualties from the bomb.
Cluster bombs are controversial because they indiscriminately scatter submunitions, some of which can fail to explode and kill or injure long after a conflict ends.
The Israeli military released a graphic as a public warning of the dangers of unexploded ordnance.
“The terror regime seeks to harm civilians and even used weapons with wide dispersal in order to maximize the scope of the damage,” Israel’s military spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, told a briefing.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations and Israel’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“They are egregious weapons with their wide-area destruction, especially if used in a civilian populated area and could add to the unexploded ordnance left over from conflicts,” said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association advocacy group.
Noting that Iranian missiles can be imprecise, he said that Tehran should know that cluster munitions “are going to hit civilian targets rather than military targets.”
Iran and Israel declined to join a 2008 international ban on the production, stockpiling, transfer and use of cluster bombs that has been signed by 111 countries and 12 other entities. After extensive debate, the US in 2023 supplied Ukraine with cluster munitions for use against Russian occupation forces. Kyiv says Russian troops also have fired them. The three countries declined to join the Convention Against Cluster Munitions.
UK and Bahrain sign defense pact and £2bn investment deal
- The agreements were signed during an official visit to London by Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad, who held talks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Downing Street
- The leaders express concern about the escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran, and repeat prior calls for an immediate ceasefire agreement in Gaza
LONDON: Bahrain and the UK finalized two major agreements on Thursday during an official trip to London by Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa.
During a visit to No. 10 Downing Street for talks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the prince and his host oversaw the signing of a Strategic Investment and Collaboration Partnership, SIP2 for short, said to represent a renewed framework for two-way investment between their countries.
The agreement will enable £2 billion ($2.7 billion) of investment by Bahrain’s private sector in key UK sectors including financial services, technology, manufacturing and decarbonization, officials said. It was signed by Bahrain’s finance minister, Sheikh Salman bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, and the British chancellor of the exchequer, Rachel Reeves.
The second deal was a Defense Cooperation Accord which, according to officials, aims to enhance interoperability and joint training between the nations’ armed forces, building on the foundations of an already strong naval partnership. It was signed by defense ministers, Lt. Gen. Abdullah Al-Nuaimi and John Healey.
During his discussions with Starmer, Prince Salman reaffirmed the strength of relations between their countries, which he said continues to grow under the leaderships of King Hamad and King Charles, the Bahrain News Agency reported.
The leaders reviewed progress on a proposed UK-Gulf Cooperation Council free trade agreement, and the crown prince welcomed the UK’s decision to fully participate in the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement, following a joint invitation in December from founding signatories Bahrain and the US.
Regional and wider international developments featured prominently in the discussions between Prince Salman and Starmer, who both expressed concern about the recent escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran. They agreed on the urgent need to deescalate the conflict, ease tensions and resume dialogue.
They also reiterated previous calls for an immediate ceasefire agreement in Gaza, unimpeded humanitarian access to the territory, and the release of all hostages still held by Hamas.
Starmer congratulated Bahrain on its recent election as a nonpermanent member of the UN Security Council for a two-year term beginning in January 2026, and both leaders agreed to work closely to bolster their diplomatic efforts in the run-up to that.
Iran appoints new Revolutionary Guards intelligence chief
- He replaces Mohammed Kazemi
TEHRAN: Iran appointed a new chief of intelligence at its Revolutionary Guards on Thursday, the official Irna news agency said, after his predecessor was killed in an Israeli strike last week.
Major General Mohammad Pakpour, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps , appointed Brig. Gen. Majid Khadami as the new head of its intelligence division, Irna said.
He replaces Mohammed Kazemi, who was killed on Sunday alongside two other Revolutionary Guards officers — Hassan Mohaghegh and Mohsen Bagheri — in an Israeli strike.
Pakpour had himself been recently appointed after Israel killed his predecessor Hossein Salami in a strike on June 13.
“During the years that our martyred commanders Kazemi and Mohaqeq led the IRGC Intelligence, we witnessed significant growth in all aspects of intelligence within the IRGC,” said Pakpour.
Israel launched air strikes on nuclear and military sites in Iran last week, claiming that its arch enemy was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon, which Iran denies.
Israel killed several top Iranian officials, prompting a counter-attack by Iran, which on Thursday hit an Israeli hospital.
Upon his appointment by Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei last Friday, Pakpour threatened to open “the gates of hell” in retaliation for Israel’s attacks.
Top Israeli figures have openly talked about killing Khamenei.
Australia closes Iran embassy citing deteriorating security environment
SYDNEY: Australia has suspended operations at its embassy in Tehran due to the deteriorating security environment in Iran and has directed the departure of all Australian officials, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Friday.
Australia’s ambassador to Iran will remain in the region to support the government’s response to the crisis, Wong said.
“We are continuing planning to support Australians seeking to depart Iran, and we remain in close contact with other partner countries,” Wong said in a statement.
