in Iraq
Voice of America
Iraq Has Complicated Relationship with Groups Clashing with US Forces
BEIRUT — A U.S. strike in Baghdad that killed a commander of the powerful Kataib Hezbollah paramilitary group this week highlighted the ambiguous status of the country's Iran-allied armed factions. Some operate simultaneously as a part of the official security forces and outside of state control.
That has put the government of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in an increasingly delicate position as it attempts to balance between its relations with the United States and with...
Categories: Iraq
Iran Foreign Minister Says Iran, US Have Exchanged Messages in Recent Weeks
BEIRUT — Iran and the United States have exchanged messages throughout Israel's 4-month-old war on Hamas in Gaza, including about Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, the Iranian foreign minister said Saturday.
"During this war and in the recent weeks, there was an exchange of messages between Iran and America," Hossein Amirabdollahian said through a translator at a news conference capping a daylong visit to Beirut.
He said the United States had asked Tehran to request Hezbollah,...
Categories: Iraq
Israeli Drone Strike in Lebanon Kills 2
BEIRUT — An Israeli drone struck a car near Lebanon’s southern port city of Sidon on Saturday, killing at least two people and wounding two others, security officials said.
The strike came as tensions across the Middle East grow with the Israel-Hamas war, a drone attack last month that killed three U.S. troops in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border, and attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels on vessels passing through the Red Sea.
The drone strike near the coastal town...
Categories: Iraq
US-Led Coalition Blocks Attacks at Conoco Oil Field in Syria
beirut — Air defense systems operated by U.S.-led coalition troops based in eastern Syria halted six drone attacks targeting their base at the Conoco oil field on Saturday, a security source said.
The source did not tell Reuters if there were any casualties from the attacks.
Coalition troops and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who together fight remnants of the Islamic State group, have faced increased attacks by Iran-backed groups in Syria and Iraq since Hamas'...
Categories: Iraq
Iran Asks FIFA to Ban Israel Over War in Gaza
Tehran, Iran — Iran's football federation said Saturday it has asked world football's governing body, FIFA, to suspend Israel's football federation over the country's war in Gaza.
In an announcement posted on the Iranian football federation's website, Iran asked FIFA to "completely suspend" the Israeli federation "from all activities related to football."
The request also asks for "immediate and serious measures" by FIFA and its...
Categories: Iraq
Red Sea Tensions Threaten Saudi Mega-Project
jeddah, saudi arabia — The Red Sea warfare that has made one of the world’s busiest shipping routes hazardous for vessels poses an additional risk for Saudi Arabia, which has committed billions of dollars to developing a commercial and tourist center in Jeddah, on the sea’s eastern coast.
Authorities worry that if the weekslong shower of Houthi missiles and drone attacks is not contained, it could eventually drive away the investors and visitors that are key to the ambitious project.
The...
Categories: Iraq
Residents of Town Near Gaza Start Coming Back
Four months after the Hamas attacks on Israeli communities bordering Gaza, some of the estimated 125,000 Israelis displaced from those areas are returning to their homes. Others, however, say they still don’t feel safe and are not sure when they will go back. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Sderot. Video: Ricki Rosen
This video contains graphic images and may not be suitable for all viewers.
Categories: Iraq
Iran-Backed Militants Vow Vengeance After US Kills Commander in Iraq
Tensions were building in the Middle East on Thursday, a day after the US took out a commander of an Iranian-backed militant group in a drone strike in Baghdad. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has more.
Categories: Iraq
4 Months After Hamas Attack, Israelis Struggle with Trauma, Question Future
Four months after the October 7 Hamas terror attack in southern Israel, Israelis are still grappling with the consequences of the intrusion on their territory, the trauma to their families, and concerns about the future. VOA’s Celia Mendoza reports from Jerusalem.
Camera: Celia Mendoza
Categories: Iraq
Biden Says Israel’s Response in Gaza is ‘Over the Top’
white house — President Joe Biden on Thursday gave his sharpest criticism yet of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s military campaign, which has killed more than 27,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in Gaza.
“I’m of the view, as you know, that the conduct of the response in Gaza, in the Gaza Strip, has been over the top,” Biden said in response to a reporter’s question at the White House.
Biden said he has been “pushing very hard” for a temporary cease-fire in...
Categories: Iraq
US Defends Airstrikes as Iraqi Anger Mounts
Pentagon — The United States is giving no indication of relenting after its latest airstrike in Iraq — targeting an Iranian-backed militia commander in downtown Baghdad — sparked renewed anger and fresh calls for the removal of U.S. troops from the country.
Instead, officials in Washington on Thursday defended Tuesday’s strike and warned that the U.S. would not hesitate to act again should its forces come under further attacks.
"We fully respect Iraq’s sovereignty,” White House...
Categories: Iraq
Journalists Face More Danger, Restrictions While Covering West Bank
Since the October 7 Hamas terror attack, reporting on the West Bank has been more challenging and riskier than ever. VOA’s Celia Mendoza reports from Jerusalem.
Categories: Iraq
UN Chief Warns of 'Gigantic Tragedy' if Israeli Military Expands Fight to Rafah
united nations — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres renewed his appeal Thursday for a humanitarian cease-fire before a "gigantic tragedy" develops in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where Israel's military is reported to be planning to expand its offensive.
"Looking into the situation in Rafah, where you have now more than half the population of Gaza that were pushed there — they didn't go because they wanted to, they were pushed there," Guterres told...
Categories: Iraq
Iran Foreign Minister Expected in Lebanon, Syria in Coming Days
dubai — Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian will travel to Lebanon and Syria to discuss various regional issues, Iranian and Syrian media reported on Thursday.
Iranian media said he would be in Lebanon on Friday. Syrian daily Al-Watan, which is close to the government, said Amirabdollahian would be in Damascus "early next week" for a visit with senior officials.
Al-Watan said the foreign minister would discuss current developments, including Israeli attacks on...
Categories: Iraq
Meta Removes Instagram, Facebook Accounts of Iran's Khamenei
San Francisco — Meta on Thursday said it had removed the Facebook and Instagram accounts of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for violating its content policy.
"We have removed these accounts for repeatedly violating our Dangerous Organizations and Individuals policy," a Meta spokesperson told AFP.
Though Meta did not mention the Israel-Hamas war, the company has been under pressure to ban the leader ever since the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel.
After the...
Categories: Iraq
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