Iraq Parliament Hosts Regional Countries Conference

Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi speaks in Washington at the US Institute of Peace. AFP file photo
Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi speaks in Washington at the US Institute of Peace. AFP file photo
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Iraq Parliament Hosts Regional Countries Conference

Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi speaks in Washington at the US Institute of Peace. AFP file photo
Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi speaks in Washington at the US Institute of Peace. AFP file photo

Baghdad will host on Saturday senior officials from neighboring countries, as it seeks to reclaim its status in the region.

The one-day summit will bring together parliament heads from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Turkey, Jordan and Syria.

The conference, which will be hosted by Iraqi Speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi, will for the first time bring together rival states.

Al-Halbusi has in the past months visited many of the countries attending the conference.

He said on Friday that Iraq was "honored by the presence of its neighbors in Baghdad."

Hours earlier, he had welcomed Syria's parliament chief Hammudeh Sabbagh, who landed in the Iraqi capital on Thursday night. 

Iran's Speaker Ali Larijani said he would not attend the summit. But Tehran would be represented by a member of the Iranian parliament’s foreign affairs committee.

Head of the parliamentary National Axis alliance in Iraq MP Mohammed al-Karbouli told Asharq Al-Awsat that hosting the conference is a strong message that “Iraq is regaining its leadership role in the Arab world and the region.”

“It also stresses the important role that the young (Iraqi) speaker is playing,” he said.

Several other lawmakers from different blocs also hailed Baghdad’s hosting of the conference.



Trump Says there Could Be a Gaza Deal Next Week

US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on board Air Force One on the way to New Jersey, US, July 4, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on board Air Force One on the way to New Jersey, US, July 4, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
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Trump Says there Could Be a Gaza Deal Next Week

US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on board Air Force One on the way to New Jersey, US, July 4, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on board Air Force One on the way to New Jersey, US, July 4, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard

President Donald Trump said on Friday it was good that Hamas said it had responded in "a positive spirit" to a US-brokered Gaza ceasefire proposal.

He told reporters aboard Air Force One there could be a deal on a Gaza ceasefire by next week but that he had not been briefed on the current state of negotiations.

Hamas announced on Friday that it has completed its internal consultations, as well as discussions with Palestinian factions and forces, regarding the latest ceasefire proposal put forward by mediators to end the assault on the Gaza Strip.

In a press statement, the movement confirmed that it had submitted its response to the mediators, describing it as positive. Hamas also expressed its readiness to immediately engage in serious negotiations on the mechanism for implementing the proposed framework.

A Palestinian official familiar with the matter told Reuters that Hamas had submitted its response to the US-brokered ceasefire proposal, describing it as positive and likely to facilitate reaching an agreement.