“Iran cannot strike Israel,” Iraqi FM says at Davos

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on January 17, 2024. (X: @Davos)
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Updated 18 January 2024
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“Iran cannot strike Israel,” Iraqi FM says at Davos

  • Fouad Hussein told Asharq Al-Awsat that there is no Mossad in Iraq, contrary to Iran's claims
  • Says the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq will be done through negotiations 

Hours before Iraq filed a complaint against Iran to the Security Council, the Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein condemned, in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Iran’s attack on Irbil, considering the escalation “an attempt by Iran to export its internal problems.” 

Hussein, who was speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum held in Davos, said that “his country has taken political and diplomatic measures to respond to the Iranian bombardment that killed 4 civilians in Irbil on Monday evening,” denying Tehran’s claims about the presence of the Israeli Mossad in Iraq. 

He also linked the attack on the Iraqi Kurdistan region to the rising tensions between Tehran and Tel Aviv due to the war in Gaza, considering that “there are likely rules of engagement between the Iranians and the Israelis.” 

Regarding Baghdad’s interest in the withdrawal of US forces stationed in Iraqi military bases, Hussein said that his government seeks to reach a “negotiation process” with Washington, highlighting that “the Americans are ready to sit at the negotiation table but under normal circumstances.” 

The past few weeks witnessed an escalation against US interests in Iraq. Washington responded by targeting the headquarters of Iraqi factions with close ties to Iran.  

As for the Iraqi-Saudi relations, Hussein said that they are excellent, expressing his country’s aspiration “to strengthen economic cooperation and push Saudi investments towards Iraq.” 

Below is the full script of the discussion: 

Allow me to start with the Revolutionary Guard’s attack that targeted the Iraqi Kurdistan region on Monday evening, along with the official Iraqi condemnation that followed and the summoning of the Chargé d’Affaires of the Iranian Embassy. What additional measures is Iraq considering in response to this escalation? 

The measures that Iraq is taking are diplomatic, political and legal. When it comes to diplomatic measures, we have summoned the second-highest-ranking diplomat at the embassy (as the Iranian ambassador is in Tehran) and handed him a note of protest regarding the Iranian aggression against Iraq’s territory in Irbil and the killing of Iraqi citizens. 

We have recalled the Iraqi ambassador from Tehran to Baghdad. Based on the directives of the prime minister, the federal and regional governments have formed an investigation committee.

The head of the committee, who is the Iraqi national security adviser, will submit his report on Wednesday to the prime minister. According to what I have heard from the national security adviser, the owner of the house that was bombed, who is a well-known Kurdish-Iraqi businessman, was killed along with his daughter, while his other daughter and wife were injured. His guest, an Iraqi from Mosul, was killed as well. One Filipina worker, who was inside the house at the time of the attack, was also killed, while 3 other Filipina workers were injured and are receiving the necessary treatment at the hospital. As for the house, it was completely destroyed. 

In addition to the measures I have mentioned, we have filed a complaint to the United Nations Security Council. 

Iran says that it targeted an Israeli Mossad headquarters in Irbil. Does the Israeli intelligence agency really have a presence in Iraq? 

The Iranians blaming others is strange. They are witnessing problems, such as assassinations and terrorist attacks, inside their country due to the failure of the relevant bodies there, but they try to export these problems abroad. 

About a year ago, (Iran) bombed a residential house belonging to another Kurdish-Iraqi businessman with 12 rockets. An Iraqi governmental delegation went to Tehran back then with an investigation committee to prove that the house that was targeted was indeed a normal house, where the family of the businessman lived. 

(The Iranians) claimed that the house was a Mossad headquarters, but they were fully aware that their claim was false. They were promoting this false media campaign internally (to address) an internal campaign that started due to a terrorist attack that took place near Kermanshah. 

They, in fact, cannot confront Israel. So, they attack Irbil. There is no truth (to Iran’s claims in terms of the presence of a Mossad headquarters). This is an internal Iranian issue and they are exporting it abroad. They cannot confront Israel even though they are present in Syria and at the Israeli borders. 

If they wanted to attack Israel, they could have done that. They are present in Syria and south Lebanon. They have, as they say, rockets that can reach Israel from their territories. 

Why do they attack Irbil? Irbil is part of Iraq and Iraq is a neighboring and friendly country to Iran. They share significant historical, geographical, religious, cultural and economic relations. 

We used to defend Iran. We are the ones who repaired the bad relations between Iran and the Arab countries and, sometimes, between Iran and the European countries and the US. 

Iran is attacking an allied government. This is a strategic mistake and I think that whoever carried out this operation in Tehran will realize, after some time, that he made a strategic mistake when dealing with Iraq. 

Did the Israeli war against Gaza turn Iraq into a field where Iran and the US exchange messages? Is this what led the Iraqi government to announce its interest in the withdrawal of US forces? 

When relations become tense between Iran and another country, the tension is in fact between Iran and Washington. These negatively tense relations reflect on Iraq. So, there would be a conflict, but on the Iraqi scene. 

Today, the relations between Israel and Iran are tense and dangerous. However, the Iranians do not take the battle to Israel, as they have their interests. Therefore, for the sake of internal consumption, they transferred the battle to the Iraqi Kurdistan region or the Iraqi scene, which is a big mistake. 

What I get from this is that there are agreed-upon rules of engagement between the Israelis and Iranians. I think that the attack on Irbil, in the mind of some people in Tehran, was in response to what happened in Kerman, meaning the terrorist attack for which ISIS Khorasan claimed responsibility. 

If this group, which has intellectual, ideological and security conflicts with Iran, was responsible for the terrorist attack that martyred many people in Kerman, why is Iran exporting this problem to the Iraqi Kurdistan region? Or if this operation targeted the Israelis, as claimed by Iran, the Israelis are in their country. 

The Iranians claim that they are fighting the Israelis. Therefore, I feel that there are rules of engagement in place between them. However, for the sake of internal consumption, the Iranians bombed the militarily weak link, which is weak now because Iraq is a friend of Iran. They hit their friend and do not confront their enemy. 

Did you set a timeline for the US forces' withdrawal from Iraq? 

The Iraqi government confirms that this issue will be solved through negotiations, not by force. This is the main idea. We need negotiations that would lead us to achieve this objective with the agreement of both parties. We are currently still discussing the initiation of these negotiations with the US. 

As for the violence and counter-violence (that Iraq has witnessed recently), the Americans say that they will not sit at the negotiation table by force. They are ready to negotiate the US presence on Iraqi territories but under normal circumstances. 

We should resort to history here. The Americans came to Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi government. Therefore, we can very easily ask them to leave. However, this must be done based on a joint agreement. 

We need a negotiation process. We are currently in talks with the US to agree on the initiation of the said process and then announce it. We hope to reach an agreement swiftly. 

Some Kurdish and Sunni actors don’t seem to support a US withdrawal right now. Is there consensus among Iraqi components about this step? 

Some issues are national issues, and this is a reality. The Iraqi government is a coalition government. We have a political leadership represented by the State Administration Coalition, which formed this government and includes representatives of all the components through their parties. 

Therefore, when we start negotiations, we should tackle their content during the political leadership meeting. When we reach a consensus about the results, it would be a national decision through legal frameworks, meaning through the approval of the Iraqi government.  

We need approval, but we have a political framework to discuss these issues. 

The raison d’être of US troops in Iraq was to assist Iraqi forces in combating terrorism. Are Iraqi forces now able to confront the renewed terrorist threat? 

There’s an equation in place. It is true that US troops in Iraq and the International Coalition Forces were established to combat Daesh. They came to Iraq upon the government’s approval back then and without it, they wouldn’t have been able to enter Iraq. Thanks to the efforts of the Iraqi army, the Popular Mobilization Forces and the Peshmerga Forces, and the support of the coalition forces as well as other countries, including Iran, the people of Iraq were able to defeat Daesh and break what is called “the Daesh State.” 

Daesh ended and turned into a terrorist gang. A war against gangs doesn’t involve armies. It is an intelligence and information war. 

We are currently the ones initiating the attack against these gangs here and there, based on the military concept. We do not need additional forces, because the forces on the Iraqi scene, including the army, the Popular Mobilization Forces, the Peshmerga or the security forces in general, are sufficient. 

As a state, we need to be fully sovereign in terms of security. As for the friendly states, they can have a presence – if needed – on Iraqi territory for training and advice purposes, and with the approval of the Iraqi government. 

We don’t need combat troops. However, in order to reach the stage of these forces’ departure from Iraqi territory, we need negotiations. That’s the difference between the government’s proposal and the proposals made by some of the other groups. We believe in dialogue and negotiations, as, through them, we can reach an agreement for the withdrawal of these forces.  

How many US troops are in Iraq today? 

I think there are 2,500 US troops, not more.  

Between 2003 and 2011, the number of US troops deployed in Iraq at certain stages reached 160,000 US soldiers. Today, we are talking about a small number. 

Moreover, if we look at the Americans in Iraqi camps – there are no US camps – we find that their average age is not that of combat soldiers. They are experts, advisers or trainers. 

There are multiple investment projects between Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and trade between the two countries has risen to about $1 billion annually. How do you evaluate the relations between Riyadh and Baghdad today? 

Political relations between Iraq and Saudi Arabia today are excellent. By the way, we played a major role in restoring the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran. We are happy with that, as Iran is a neighboring country with which we share our borders. Whenever the relationship between the Arab States surrounding Iraq and Iran is good, it is in Iraq’s interest. 

Tensions in the region affect Iraq negatively, and good relations affect Iraq positively. Iraq’s security depends on the region’s security. 

The relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iraq is excellent. We started discussing how to cooperate in the fields of trade and economy. Furthermore, we always cooperate with Saudi Arabia to coordinate positions on oil issues within the framework of OPEC, as well as at the international level and within the League of Arab States. 

We look forward to developing the relations between both countries, establishing strong economic relations, and to Saudi companies investing in Iraq, since we need foreign investments to build the Iraqi economy. 

There is regular communication between Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as well as between the Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and I. We will both meet here in Davos in a few days. 

The Iraqi Prime Minister visited Damascus last July. It was the highest-level Arab visit after Damascus returned to the League of Arab States. Tell us about the Iraqi-Syrian relations today. 

The Syrian-Iraqi relations have not been interrupted, as have relations between many Arab States and Syria. 

During previous meetings of the League of Arab States, we were keen on proposing Syria’s return. Iraq was also among the countries that called for Syria’s return to international forums, so the Syrian government could be an actor in the negotiations and achieve a state of stability on its territories. 

Moreover, destabilizing Syria affects Iraq negatively. 

We should not forget that “Daesh” established its so-called “Daesh State” on Iraqi and Syrian territories, and at a certain point, controlled around 50 percent of the Syrian territories and one-third of the Iraqi territories. 

Stability in Syria positively reflects on the security situation in Iraq. There are multiple terrorist organizations in Syria, while in the Al-Hol camp and Syrian prisons near the Iraqi border, there are thousands of Daesh militants. If these people were released or were able to escape, many of them would definitely try to cross the border into Iraq and undermine Iraq’s security and stability. 

From this perspective and the humanitarian perspective, we call for the stability of Syria. We know that the Syrian crisis is a local, national, regional and international crisis that involves different actors. There are not only two teams but several teams in the same arena. Solving this crisis requires cooperation at the Arab, regional and global levels. 

As for the humanitarian side of things, there are around eight million Syrians who are either displaced or refugees, while Syria’s economy has been completely destroyed. Syrians are facing a tragedy due to inflation, the “deteriorating” economic situation, the “scarcity” of electricity and the “absence” of services. We stand in solidarity with the Syrian people, hoping they will overcome this tragedy. Therefore, we “strive” to interact with others in order to create a state of stability in Syria. 

 

• This was originally published in Asharq Al-Awsat 


US says supports gas deals with Kurdistan region after Iraq lawsuit

Updated 56 min 52 sec ago
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US says supports gas deals with Kurdistan region after Iraq lawsuit

  • “We encourage Baghdad and Irbil to work together to expand domestic gas production as soon as possible

WASHINGTON: The United States said Tuesday it supported American energy companies’ contracts with Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region after the Iraqi government filed a lawsuit against them.
Regional prime minister Masrour Barzani announced the signing of the two deals valued at tens of billions of dollars during a visit to Washington, in which he met Friday with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rubio in his meeting “commended” the deals with US companies, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters.
“We encourage Baghdad and Irbil to work together to expand domestic gas production as soon as possible. These types of economic partnerships will benefit both the American and Iraqi peoples and help Iraq move toward energy independence,” she said.
“We also believe that US and Iraqi interests are best served by having a strong, resilient Iraqi Kurdistan region within a sovereign and prosperous federal Iraq
“As far as the nature of the lawsuits, obviously we are looking forward to continuing these kinds of deals. We expect these kinds of deals to flourish, and expect and would hope that they would be facilitated,” she said.
 

 


Israeli troops fire warning shots as Palestinians overwhelm new Gaza food center

Updated 28 May 2025
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Israeli troops fire warning shots as Palestinians overwhelm new Gaza food center

  • The UN and other humanitarian organizations have rejected the new system, saying it won’t be able to meet the needs of Gaza’s 2.3 million people

MUWASI, Gaza Strip: Chaos erupted on the second day of aid operations by a new US-backed group in Gaza as desperate Palestinians overwhelmed a center distributing food on Tuesday, breaking through fences. Nearby Israeli troops fired warning shots, sending people fleeing in panic.
An AP journalist heard Israeli tank and gunfire and saw a military helicopter firing flares. The Israeli military said its troops fired the warning shots in the area outside the center and that “control over the situation was established.”
At least three injured Palestinians were seen by The Associated Press being brought from the scene, one of them bleeding from his leg.
The distribution hub outside Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah had been opened the day before by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has been slated by Israel to take over aid operations. The UN and other humanitarian organizations have rejected the new system, saying it won’t be able to meet the needs of Gaza’s 2.3 million people and allows Israel to use food as a weapon to control the population. They have also warned of the risk of friction between Israeli troops and people seeking supplies.
Palestinians have become desperate for food after nearly three months of Israeli blockade pushed Gaza to the brink of famine.
Palestinians walk miles for food, finding chaos
Palestinians at the scene told AP that small numbers of people made their way to the GHF center Tuesday morning and received food boxes. As word spread, large numbers of men, women and children walked for several miles from the sprawling tent camps along Gaza’s Mediterranean coast. To reach the hub, they had to pass through nearby Israeli military positions.
By the afternoon, hundreds of thousands were massed at the hub. Videos show the crowds funneled in long lines through chain-link fence passages. Two people said each person was searched and had their faces scanned for identification before being allowed to receive the boxes. Crowds swelled and turmoil erupted, with people tearing down fences and grabbing boxes. The staff at the site were forced to flee, they said.
The AP journalist positioned some distance away heard gunfire and rounds of tank fire. Smoke could be seen rising from where one round impacted. He saw a military helicopter overhead firing flares.
“There was no order, the people rushed to take, there was shooting, and we fled,” said Hosni Abu Amra, who had been waiting to receive aid. “We fled without taking anything that would help us get through this hunger.”
“It was chaos,” said Ahmed Abu Taha, who said he heard gunfire and saw Israeli military aircraft overhead. “People were panicked.”
Crowds were seen running from the site. A few managed to secure aid boxes — containing basic items like sugar, flour, pasta and tahini — but the vast majority left empty-handed.
US-backed group says they ‘fell back’ to ensure safety
In a statement, GHF said that because of the large number of Palestinians seeking aid, staff at the hub followed the group’s safety protocols and “fell back” to allow them to dissipate, then later resumed operations.
A spokesperson for the group told the AP that no shots were fired from GHF. Speaking on condition of anonymity in line with the group’s rules, the spokesperson said the protocols aim at “avoiding loss of life, which is exactly what happened.”
GHF uses armed private contractors to guard the hubs and the transportation of supplies. The hub is also close to Israeli military positions in the Morag Corridor, a band of territory across the breadth of Gaza that divides Rafah from the rest of the territory.
GHF has set up four hubs around Gaza to distribute food, two of which began operating on Monday — both of them in the Rafah area.
The UN and other humanitarian groups have refused to participate in GHF’s system, saying it violates humanitarian principles. They say it can be used by Israel to forcibly displace the population by requiring them to move near the few distribution hubs or else face starvation – a violation of international law. They have also opposed the use of facial recognition to vet recipients.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday commented on the turmoil at the Rafah center, saying, “There was some loss of control momentarily … happily we brought it under control.”
He repeated that Israel plans to move Gaza’s entire population to a “sterile zone” at the southern end of the territory while troops fight Hamas elsewhere.
UN says it has been struggling to transport aid
Israel has said the new system is necessary because it claims Hamas has been siphoning off supplies that reach Gaza. The UN has denied that any significant diversion takes place.
Throughout the war, the UN and other aid groups have conducted a massive operation distributing food, medicine and other supplies to wherever Palestinians are located. Israel says GHF will replace that network, but the past week has allowed a trickle of aid to enter Gaza for the UN to distribute.
COGAT, the Israeli military agency in charge of coordinating aid, said on Tuesday that 400 trucks of supplies, mainly food, was waiting on the Gaza side of the main crossing from Israel, but that the UN had not collected them. It said Israel has extended the times for collection and expanded the routes that the UN can use inside Gaza.
Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office OCHA, told reporters in Geneva that agencies have struggled to pick up the supplies “because of the insecure routes that are being assigned to us by the Israeli authorities to use.” He said the amount of aid allowed the past week was “vastly insufficient.”


Israeli strike on south Lebanon kills one: ministry

Updated 27 May 2025
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Israeli strike on south Lebanon kills one: ministry

  • The ministry said an “Israeli enemy strike” on a motorcycle killed one man in Yater
  • The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli strike on south Lebanon killed one man on Tuesday, the latest attack despite a ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.

In a statement, the ministry said an “Israeli enemy strike” on a motorcycle killed one man in Yater, in south Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil district.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack, which came after it said it killed a Hezbollah member in south Lebanon’s Majdal Zoun on Monday.

Israel has continued to launch strikes on its northern neighbor despite the November truce that sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, including two months of full-blown war.

Under the terms of the ceasefire deal, only UN peacekeepers and the Lebanese army should be deployed in southern Lebanon, though Israel has kept its forces in five areas it has declared strategic.

Lebanon has called on the international community to pressure Israel to end its attacks and withdraw all its troops.


UN says it has no information over Gaza aid group deliveries

Updated 28 May 2025
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UN says it has no information over Gaza aid group deliveries

GENEVA: The United Nations said on Tuesday it had no information on whether the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed aid group, had actually delivered any supplies inside the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

The little-known group, which has stirred controversy since surfacing in early May, announced on Monday it had begun distributing truckloads of food in the Gaza Strip.

But officials from the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, and UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said they were unaware whether any aid had actually been distributed.

The UN and international aid agencies have said they will not cooperate with the GHF, amid accusations it is working with Israel without any Palestinian involvement.

“It is a distraction from what is actually needed, which is a reopening of all the crossings in to Gaza; a secure environment within Gaza; and faster facilitation of permissions and final approvals of all the emergency supplies that we have just outside the border that need to get in,” OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke told a press briefing in Geneva.

UNRWA spokeswoman Juliette Touma told journalists aid to Gaza was still “very, very far” from what was needed: a minimum of 500 to 600 trucks per day loaded with food, medical aid, fuel, water and other basic supplies, she said, speaking via video-link from Amman.

Israel, which recently stepped up its offensive against militant group Hamas, drew international condemnation after implementing a blockade on March 2 that has sparked severe food and medical shortages.

Humanitarian aid has begun trickling back into Gaza in recent days after Israel lifted the 11-week blockade.

Touma said no UNRWA supplies had gone in since March 2, while Laerke said he had no information on how many UN trucks had passed through the Kerem Shalom crossing in the last 24 hours, partly because Israel does not allow them to have a fixed presence there.


Israeli forces raid foreign exchange stores across West Bank

Updated 27 May 2025
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Israeli forces raid foreign exchange stores across West Bank

  • One killed, eight other people were injured by Israeli forces during a raid in Nablus

RAMALLAH: Israeli forces raided foreign exchange stores in several West Bank cities including Ramallah and Nablus on Tuesday, accusing their parent company of “connections with terrorist organizations,” according to an army closure notice.

“Israeli forces are taking action against Al-Khaleej Exchange Company due to its connections with terrorist organizations,” a leaflet left at the company’s Ramallah location read.

An AFP journalist present at the scene reported several army vehicles at the store’s entrance while soldiers came out carrying items covered by a cloth.

Two army vehicles escorted one of the store’s employees away from the premises.

In the northern West Bank city of Nablus, Israeli forces raided a second foreign exchange store belonging to the Al-Khaleej company, as well as a gold store, according to another AFP journalist.

Some Palestinian residents of Nablus were seen clashing with the army during the raid, throwing objects at troops.

The Ramallah-based Ministry of Health said one man was killed and eight other people were injured by Israeli forces’ live ammunition during a raid in Nablus on Tuesday.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said it treated 20 people for tear gas inhalation and three others who were injured by rubber bullets.

The Palestinian movement Hamas condemned the raids on foreign exchange shops.

“These assaults on economic institutions, accompanied by the looting of large sums of money and the confiscation of property, are an extension of the piracy policies adopted by the (Israeli) government,” the group said in a statement, adding that the targeted companies were “operating within the law.”