Side Effects of Iran's Retaliatory Strike on Israel: Iraqi Kurdistan now wants security talks in Iran after years of tensions

Side Effects of Iran's Retaliatory Strike on Israel: Iraqi Kurdistan now wants security talks in Iran after years of tensions

    Monday, May 06, 2024   No comments

It may escape many, but the connection between Iran’s strike on Israel in retaliation for the latter’s attack on its diplomatic building in Syria is forcing many of Iran’s neighbors to pay attention to Iran. 

First, there were the media reports that revealed that UAE asked the US not to use any of its assets in the country to attack Iran or its assets in the region. US government moved military equipment to Qatar, which will be under renewed pressure also to make similar demand given its proximity to Iran. UAE demand from US make it a neutral party in any military confrontation in the region which would devastate its economic standing and the infrastructure it has built for decades. Simply put: UAE, and Dubai in particular, have built too many glass buildings for it to through stones at its neighbors or to allow others to throw stones from inside UAE.

Now, comes Iraqi Kurdistan: for years, they benefited from the shield provided to them by the US military and ignored Iran’s requests to reign in armed factions operating from its territories. Iran has struck Kurdish regions in the past; but now that Iran struck US bases in Iraq four years ago and Israel targets weeks ago, Kurdish leaders are reaching out to Iranian leaders to seek security arrangements.

The President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR), Nechirvan Barzani, visited Tehran on 6 May for security talks with Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi. 

During the meeting, Raisi stressed the necessity of disarming groups hostile to the Islamic Revolution and not having them present on Iraqi territory.

Raisi stated, “We expect the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government [KRG] to categorically prevent any exploitation of the region’s soil against Iran by the Israeli enemy and anti-revolutionary elements.”

The relationship between Tehran and Erbil has been strained by Kurdish militant groups that use the KRG as a base to attack Iran, and Iranian claims that Israel’s intelligence service, the Mossad, maintains covert bases in the Kurdish region.

Iran has struck Kurdish militant training camps and Mossad headquarters, including in Erbil, with missiles in the past year.

The Iranian president explained that “Iran has no objection to expanding cooperation with the Iraqi Kurdistan region on security grounds,” adding, “We consider the long border between the two sides to be a valuable opportunity to improve the level of relations, but security is the basis for any cooperation or development in relations.”

Barzani expressed his commitment to the entire security agreement between Iran and Iraq.

He stated that “respect for our relations with Iran and its support for us in difficult times is a red line that we will not cross.”

Dilshad Shahab, the spokesperson for the Kurdistan Region presidency, said that President Barzani wants to reaffirm to Erbil’s allies that the IKR will never become a source of threat to the interests of its neighbors, especially Iran.

“It is no secret that there has been a kind of coldness in these [Erbil–Tehran] relations in recent times; we want to be assured that the common interests of both sides outweigh the obstacles that may arise,” Shahab told Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman.

During his visit to Tehran, Barzani met with a number of Iranian officials, led by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Khamenei.

The foreign ministers of Iran and Egypt discuss developments in the region and efforts to stop the genocide in the Gaza Strip

The foreign ministers of Iran and Egypt discuss developments in the region and efforts to stop the genocide in the Gaza Strip

    Saturday, May 04, 2024   No comments

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Hassan Shoukry and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian affirmed their countries' complete rejection of the Israeli occupation's ground military operations in Rafah.

During their meeting in Gambia, on the sidelines of the Islamic Summit Conference, the two sides discussed the latest developments in the region, especially the situation in Palestine and the Gaza Strip, and the current efforts to stop the crimes of the occupying entity against the Palestinian people, in addition to discussing the latest developments in their efforts to improve bilateral relations.

 In this context, Amir Abdullahian thanked Egypt for its efforts to stop the genocide in the Gaza Strip, reiterated his country’s readiness to send humanitarian aid, and called on Cairo to facilitate matters in this area.

 The Iranian minister also appreciated Egypt's condemnation of the Israeli aggression against the Iranian consulate in Syria. The exchange of delegations between religious institutions in Iran and Egypt was considered beneficial for bilateral relations, based on the agreement of the presidents of the two countries.

 In turn, Shoukry hoped that the ongoing political efforts within the framework of the negotiations would lead to stopping the war and realizing the rights of the Palestinian people, reiterating his condemnation of Israel’s targeting of the Iranian consulate in Syria.

 Shoukry also welcomed the implementation of an agreement between the presidents of Iran and Egypt to exchange delegations between religious institutions, stressing Al-Azhar’s determination to engage in dialogue between sects and strengthen popular and tourism relations.

 He pointed out that his country "attaches great importance to dialogue and continuing contacts with Iran, considering the two countries are great civilizations."

 In conclusion, the two ministers expressed their hope that holding the Islamic Cooperation Summit in Gambia will strengthen the solidarity and unity of the Islamic world in supporting the Palestinian people and resolving the region’s issues and problems.

The meeting was conformed by Egyptian Foriegn Ministry spokesperson who released a statement saying,

Sameh Shoukry meets with his Iranian counterpart, Amir Abdollahian, on the sidelines of the activities of the 15th session of the Islamic Summit Conference...The two sides touched upon the most important topics on the summit’s agenda, most notably the ongoing war in Gaza and ways to end the war and alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people.

Media Review: “Anxiety and painful waiting.” What did the White House witness while anticipating the Iranian response?

Media Review: “Anxiety and painful waiting.” What did the White House witness while anticipating the Iranian response?

    Monday, April 22, 2024   No comments

The Wall Street Journal wrote, in a lengthy report, about what the White House witnessed in the United States on the night of the Iranian response to the Israeli attack on Iranian diplomatic mission in Syria, covering what preceded that night and what followed.

Under the title “Inside the White House’s frantic scramble to avoid a comprehensive war in the Middle East,” the newspaper confirmed that what it described as the “painful wait” during the Iranian response was one of the tense moments, in a crisis that lasted 19 days, experienced by the US President, Joe Biden, and his security team. The nationalist.

Biden and his administration officials found themselves “uninformed or unsure of what both Iran and Israel are planning at critical times,” during that waiting period, according to the newspaper.

The matter began with an aggression launched by the occupation against the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital, Damascus, without consulting the United States, and ended with an American-European alliance, with Arab participation, that mobilized to confront the Iranian response, and American calls to “Israel” to avoid launching another attack.

The Wall Street Journal returned in its report to April 1, the day the crisis erupted due to Israel’s targeting of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, and its assassination of the commander of the Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Mohammad Reza Zahedi.

The newspaper indicated that an Israeli official alerted his American counterpart that the strike was underway, only a few minutes before the raid, while officials in Washington said that the warnings did not include any information about the targeted party, or the site that was struck.

Following the aggression on Damascus, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, Michael Herzog, the Israeli “defense attaché” in the White House, the US National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, and other senior White House officials held a video meeting with Israeli officials, according to what was reported. The newspaper.

Shortly after learning of the strike on the consulate, the White House also learned of another Israeli attack that targeted a relief team affiliated with the “Global Central Kitchen.”

Following this, and specifically on the 4th of this month, Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “in a tense phone call,” that “international support for Israel is declining,” after the relief team was targeted, according to officials.

Biden told Netanyahu that “Israel needs to allow more humanitarian aid to enter and reduce losses among Palestinian civilians,” adding that his country “will judge Israel based on its actions,” according to what the newspaper quoted officials as saying.

But, at the same time, he assured the Israeli Prime Minister that Washington supports Tel Aviv against Tehran. In this context, Biden ordered the US Department of Defense to “intensify its efforts to protect Israel,” and the US Army activated top-secret plans to assist it in crises.

On the 10th of next month, while Biden was hosting the Japanese Prime Minister at the White House, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pulled him aside in order to obtain a permit allowing the redirection of the destroyer USS Carney, which was heading at the time towards its main port. In Florida.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the USS Carney joined another American destroyer, the USS Arleigh Burke, in the eastern Mediterranean, near Israel, so that there was sufficient capacity to track missiles coming to the region and shoot them down. , using SM-3 interceptor missiles, which had not been used before to shoot down a ballistic missile in combat.

The USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier, located in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen, was also moved near Israel in a way that would be able to launch combat aircraft.

In addition, a team of American military personnel secretly went to Tel Aviv, with the aim of working in the missile defense operations center, with their Israeli counterparts, according to what the newspaper reported.

With the expectation that Iran would use drones, a large force of F-15E fighter aircraft arrived in the region, where other F-16 aircraft stationed in the region also participated. In addition, plans have been made for Saudi and Jordanian aircraft, as reported by the newspaper.

Meanwhile, Biden's senior aides made phone calls, imploring other governments to ask Iran not to respond. CIA Director William Burns also asked his counterparts in European intelligence services, the capitals of the Middle East and Turkey to urge Iran to refrain from responding, according to the newspaper.

On the 11th of this month, the Supreme Commander of the US Central Command, Michael Corella, arrived in Israel. While Kurella wanted to remain in Israel during the Iranian response, the Defense Minister ordered him to leave, “for fear that Washington would appear complicit in any Israeli attack.”

Instead of participating from within the occupied territories, Kurella continued to participate in the deliberations from Jordan, according to what was reported by the Wall Street Journal.

By the time Biden arrived in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on the evening of April 12 for the weekend, the Iranian response was coming into focus, and “Biden suddenly returned to Washington, D.C., that evening,” according to the newspaper.

Anticipation prevailed among Biden and his national security team on the 13th of this month, as anxiety increased among observers in the White House Situations Room, coinciding with the appearance of 30 Iranian ballistic missiles heading towards “Israel”, then 60 missiles, then more than 100 missiles.

Iranian cruise missiles and a squadron of drones were also in the air, and their arrival at their targets was timed to coincide with the arrival of the ballistic missiles.

As the Iranian response began, on the night of Saturday and Sunday, American officials in the Situation Room and the Pentagon tracked the three waves of weapons that left Iranian airspace, crossed Iraq and Jordan, and headed towards “Israel.”

According to what the Wall Street Journal quoted officials in the US administration, the scale of the response was a shock to them, despite the advance warning they received, as a senior official expressed his belief that the level of response was “higher than expected.”

In the face of this massive barrage of Iranian missiles and drones, Biden and his aides feared that the reinforced defenses that they, along with the Israelis, had spent more than a week preparing would be overwhelmed, according to what the Wall Street Journal confirmed.

Later, American officials said that the scale of the Iranian response, which represented Tehran’s most direct attack on “Israel” ever, “matches the worst scenarios of American spy agencies,” according to the newspaper.

Following the Iranian response, the White House “is seeking to restrain its ally,” according to what the Wall Street Journal indicated.

In this context, the newspaper indicated that Biden and Netanyahu had an extensive phone call, in which Biden advised the Israeli Prime Minister, who was with the “war government,” to “think about his next step carefully, and win” (referring to American attempts to mitigate the impact of The Iranian response to “Israel” and preventing the latter from launching an attack that would expand the war).

Media Matters: Clash of views about Gaza, Palestine, human rights abuses, and Iranian retaliation on attack on its diplomatic mission in Syria

Media Matters: Clash of views about Gaza, Palestine, human rights abuses, and Iranian retaliation on attack on its diplomatic mission in Syria

    Sunday, April 21, 2024   No comments

One of the most representative clashes between two worldviews: Iranian worldview versus Western worldview as represented in Piers Morgan's interview, debate with Iranian Professor Seyed Mohammad Marandi.

Morgan repeating the fabricated story of 40 babies beheaded by Hamas, to justify to mass killings in Gaza, and Mirandi referencing the investigative journalists and NGO reports that challenged the narrative of beheadings, and finding that Israeli forces have committed sexual violence and torture against Palestinians, turned Morgan flustered and rude. 

The interview is available on a number of Internet sites, and embedded from a couple of sites below.

  

Qatar's threat to abandon mediation between Hamas and Israel opens the door for an increased role for Iran and Turkey

Qatar's threat to abandon mediation between Hamas and Israel opens the door for an increased role for Iran and Turkey

    Sunday, April 21, 2024   No comments

With Qatar announcing its intention to re-evaluate the mediation role it plays between Hamas and Israel and the US pressure on Qatar to force it to coerce Hamas to accept the deal of face terrorism charges for its fund transferred to Hamas, other states opened their door to Hamas political leaders.

After Iran's official reception of Palestinian leaders, now Turkish leaders formally welcomed the head of Hamas in Ankara.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's reception of the head of the political bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Ismail Haniyeh, on Saturday sparked the anger of Israeli politicians and newspapers.

 It also signals an end or a diminished roles for Qatar and Egypt in any future negotiations to not only end the war, but also to arrange for post war Gaza and Palestine. It also reveals new realignments and emerging future coalitions in the new Middle East, after Jordan participated in the first direct military confrontation between Iran and Israel--as noted by some observers.

Andreas Craig, an expert on Middle East affairs at King's College in London, pointed out that Doha played a "decisive role" in concluding the truce last November, and it is "dissatisfied that everyone, especially Israel, does not acknowledge this."

However, in his opinion, it is unlikely that it will “withdraw from mediation efforts” after it “took control of the relationship” with Hamas, and he said that Qatar is “indispensable” in mediation efforts.

Qatar has become the main communication channel with Hamas, which has maintained its political office in Doha since 2012.

On the other hand, Dorsey believes that “if Qatar withdraws from the talks, it will be subject to more pressure to expel Hamas from its lands.”

The expert wondered if the political office moved to Iran: “To whom will the Americans and Israelis turn to reach Hamas?”

Unlike Jordan, which admitted to shooting down Iran's missile heading to targets in Israel, Turkey, despite it being a member of NATO, came strong in refuting any insinuation that it participated in the interception of the missiles. 

The Anti-Disinformation Center of the Turkish Presidency’s Communications Department said in a statement on Saturday evening that the allegations in this regard “do not reflect reality.”

The statement pointed out that the allegations related to the radar base in Koracik, which were circulated following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s meeting with the head of the Hamas Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, on Saturday, had previously been denied by the Anti-Disinformation Center.

The statement stressed that “the allegations are baseless, and were deliberately put forward for circulation again.”

“Information taken from the radar system in Koracek is only shared with Allies within the framework of NATO procedures,” the statement read.

He stressed that “it is not possible to share this information with countries that are not NATO allies, such as Israel.”

He added: “Turkey has always stood by the just cause of our Palestinian brothers and will continue to do so in all circumstances,” and stressed the need not to pay attention to “misinformation campaigns.”

Pakistan: Iran has the right to respond to the targeting of its consulate in Damascus

Pakistan: Iran has the right to respond to the targeting of its consulate in Damascus

    Wednesday, April 17, 2024   No comments

Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif stressed - today, Tuesday - that Iran has the right to respond to the Israeli raid that targeted the consular section of the Tehran embassy in Damascus, commenting on the Iranian attack that targeted Israel last Saturday in response to the bombing of its consulate.

Asif warned that the growing tension in the region may affect other countries, including Pakistan, and believed that the furnace of war may spread to countries that support Israel, in his speech to Pakistan's Geo News TV.

He stressed that his country does not want tensions to escalate in the region, but stressed that the genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip must stop.

On the other hand, the minister stressed that his country is in a position that allows it to complete the natural gas pipeline project with Iran, and that it is determined to do so.

He stated that Pakistan is extending the part of the pipeline extending from the Jaffdar region to the Iranian border on its territory.

Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi is scheduled to visit Pakistan on April 22, according to Pakistani media.

The first flow of Iranian gas to Pakistan was expected to begin in January 2015 after the two countries agreed on this, but no progress was made on the pipeline due to international sanctions against Iran and opposition from the United States.