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.



Israel Says it Intercepted a Missile Launched from Yemen

A Houthi militia member mans a machine gun on a vehicle while on patrol in Sanaa, Yemen, 20 July 2025. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
A Houthi militia member mans a machine gun on a vehicle while on patrol in Sanaa, Yemen, 20 July 2025. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
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Israel Says it Intercepted a Missile Launched from Yemen

A Houthi militia member mans a machine gun on a vehicle while on patrol in Sanaa, Yemen, 20 July 2025. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
A Houthi militia member mans a machine gun on a vehicle while on patrol in Sanaa, Yemen, 20 July 2025. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB

The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen toward Israel that triggered sirens across several areas in the country, Reuters reported.

The launch from Yemen follows an Israeli military attack on Houthi targets in Yemen's Hodeidah port on Monday in its latest assault on the Iran-backed militants, who have been striking ships bound for Israel and launching missiles against it.