Regional

Iraq wants Iran-backed factions to lay down weapons, foreign minister says

Published

2 years ago

January 17, 2025

Iraq is trying to convince powerful armed factions in the country that have fought U.S. forces and fired rockets and drones at Israel to lay down their weapons or join official security forces, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said.

The push comes with a backdrop of seismic shifts in the Middle East that have seen Iran’s armed allies in Gaza and Lebanon heavily degraded and Syria’s government overthrown by rebels, Reuters reported.

The push comes with a backdrop of seismic shifts in the Middle East that have seen Iran’s armed allies in Gaza and Lebanon heavily degraded and Syria’s government overthrown by rebels.

The incoming U.S. Trump administration promises to pile more pressure on Tehran, which has long backed a number of political parties and an array of armed factions in Iraq.

Some Baghdad officials are concerned the status quo there may be upended next, but Hussein played this down in an interview with Reuters during an official visit to London.

“We don’t think that Iraq is the next,” Hussein said.

The government was in talks to rein in the groups while continuing to walk the tightrope between its ties to both Washington and Tehran, he said.

Iraq’s balancing act has been tested by Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups’ attacks on Israel and on U.S. troops in the country they say are in solidarity with Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war.

A promised Gaza ceasefire has the government breathing a sight of relief, though uncertainty prevails over how the country may fare after Donald Trump becomes U.S. president.

During the last Trump presidency, relations grew tense as he ordered the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in 2020, leading to an Iranian ballistic missile attack on an Iraqi base housing U.S. forces.

“We hope that we can continue this good relationship with Washington,” Hussein said. “It is too early now to talk about which policy President Trump is going to follow for Iraq or Iran.”

With Iraq trying to chart a diplomatic third-way, Hussein said Baghdad was ready to help diffuse tensions between Washington and Tehran if asked and noted previous mediation between Saudi Arabia and Iran that paved the way for their normalization of relations in 2023.

SYRIA

Armed revolution in neighbouring Syria has been viewed with concern.

The Islamist rebels now in power in Damascus were among the Sunni Muslim militants that entered Shia-majority Iraq from Syria after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, fuelling years of sectarian war.

Islamic State crossed the same way a decade later and undertook bloody massacres before being beaten back by a U.S.-led international military coalition and Iraqi security forces and Iran-aligned factions.

Iraq will only be reassured about Syria when it sees an inclusive political process, Hussein said, adding Baghdad would supply the country with grain and oil once it could be assured it would go to all Syrians.

Baghdad was in talks with Syria’s foreign minister over a visit to Iraq, he said.

“We are worried about the ISIS, so we are in contact with the Syrian side to talk about these things, but at the end to have a stable Syria means to have the representative of all components in the political process.”

Baghdad and Washington last year agreed to end the U.S-led coalition’s work by September 2026 and transition to bilateral military ties, but Hussein said that the developments in Syria would have to be watched.

“In the first place, we are thinking about security of Iraq and stability in Iraq. If there will be a threat to our country, of course it will be a different story,” he said.

“But until this moment we don’t see a threat.”

Regional

Saudi Arabia says debris from intercepted missiles falls in Mecca region

The missiles were launched towards the region and intercepted and destroyed, Saudi Arabia’s civil defence said in a statement.

Published

20 hours ago

November 12, 2026

Ariana News

Saudi Arabia said debris from two ballistic missiles intercepted by its air defences fell in the Mecca ‌region on Wednesday, as the kingdom and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis continued to trade attacks in an escalating conflict.

Saudi state television identified the locations as Sabuhah village, about 35 km (22 miles) northeast of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, and Wadi al-Maghmas, about 21 km east of the ⁠mosque, Reuters reported.

The missiles were launched towards the region and intercepted and destroyed, Saudi Arabia’s civil defence said in a statement.

The Houthis have repeatedly denied Saudi accusations that they target Mecca and Medina, Islam’s two holiest cities, saying their military operations are directed at military and strategic targets elsewhere in Saudi Arabia.

Mecca, home to sites sacred to Muslims worldwide, is the focal point of the annual hajj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, which ‌millions ⁠of Muslims undertake each year.

“This hostile targeting of civilian objects constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and reflects the dangerous hostile approach pursued by the Houthi militia,” Saudi Arabia’s civil defence said early on Thursday.

The Houthis seized ⁠Yemen’s capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting Saudi Arabia to intervene militarily the following year in support of the internationally recognised government.

A UN-brokered truce in 2022 largely froze ⁠the conflict, but hostilities resumed earlier this year, with the Houthis launching missile and drone attacks on Saudi territory and Riyadh carrying out airstrikes ⁠in Yemen.

The latest escalation has threatened the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key shipping route linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Regional

Iran defends two-day proposal for peace talks after US rejects conditions

Iran defended a proposal on Monday to restart peace talks in as few as two days as the ‌most reasonable offer on the table, after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called some of Iran’s conditions “outrageous and ridiculous”.

Published

4 days ago

November 9, 2026

Ariana News

“Is it unreasonable that Iran demands that US illegal sanctions ⁠and its naval blockade must be lifted before negotiations start and that the war should end on all fronts?” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told a weekly press conference in response to Rubio’s remarks.

Iran defended a proposal on Monday to restart peace talks in as few as two days as the ‌most reasonable offer on the table, after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called some of Iran’s conditions “outrageous and ridiculous”.

Regional

Explosions heard in areas in southern Iran, Iranian media report

Earlier on Saturday, Tasnim news agency ‌said ⁠two missiles struck Qeshm Island with no official information on possible damage.

Published

5 days ago

November 8, 2026

Ariana News

Explosions were heard on Saturday evening in several areas in southern Iran, including on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state television reported.

Iran’s state TV suggested that the explosions might be linked to ‌Iranian military activities in the strategic waterway, which has become subject to repeated attacks on commercial shipping since the war erupted between the US and Iran in February.

It said Iranian officials have not confirmed any missile strikes on the areas, while the semi-official Tasnim news agency cited a source as saying that the explosions heard on Qeshm ⁠Island were not related to missile strikes.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy said early on Sunday that two oil tankers were on fire after hitting mines as they attempted to pass through an “unauthorized route” in the strait. It was not immediately clear if the incidents referred to by the IRGC were linked to the sound of explosions heard in southern Iranian areas.

Iran has hit vessels it says have violated its restrictions on passage through the waterway, as it seeks to assert control over the strait and exert pressure on Washington.

Earlier on Saturday, Tasnim news agency ‌said ⁠two missiles struck Qeshm Island with no official information on possible damage.

The reported explosions come days after the US carried out strikes on the island. A US official said those strikes were limited and not a resumption of major combat operations.

The US military said on Saturday evening that its forces disabled a commercial ⁠vessel that tried to get through the US blockade of Iran.

The US Central Command said one of its aircraft fired at the vessel’s stern and disabled the ship after it attempted to violate the ⁠blockade.

Countries in the region had been anticipating that US President Donald Trump, who has held off on strikes on Iran during the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s midterm elections, could ⁠restart attacks once the voting was over. Iran has repeatedly said it would respond to new attacks by striking at US and Israeli targets in neighboring countries.