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Iraqi PM May Visit Russia Before US Trip

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani walks on to the podium to address world leaders during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 22, 2023 in New York City. (Getty Images/AFP)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani walks on to the podium to address world leaders during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 22, 2023 in New York City. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Iraqi PM May Visit Russia Before US Trip

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani walks on to the podium to address world leaders during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 22, 2023 in New York City. (Getty Images/AFP)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani walks on to the podium to address world leaders during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 22, 2023 in New York City. (Getty Images/AFP)

Russian and Chinese officials have intensified their talks with their Iraqi counterparts in wake of the announcement that Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani was invited to visit the White House.

The Iraqi delegation at the United Nations General Assembly had received the invitation from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was meeting with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein when the invitation was made. He informed him that “Moscow was ready to welcome Sudani within a few weeks.”

In fact, Russia had first invited Sudani to visit Moscow back in July, said a statement by the Russian Ambassador in Baghdad Elbrus Kutrashev.

Russia was keen on confirming the invitation as Iran upped its pressure on Iraqi officials “over issues that Sudani should bring up when he meets US President Joe Biden” at the White House.

A joint statement by Lavrov and Hussein said Sudani’s visit to Moscow would be an opportunity to discuss political and economic issues of common interest.

A leading member of the pro-Iran Coordination Framework in Iraq told Asharq Al-Awsat that Moscow has increased its activity in the country in recent months.

It is in alignment with Tehran over the need to “neutralize” western investment projects in the region, explained the official.

Back in January, Hussein said relations between Iraq and Russia were strong in spite of the sanctions on Moscow and the criticism against it over its conflict with Ukraine.

Some 50 Russian companies operate in Iraq in developing oil fields and exploring and drilling for oil.

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Israel’s Retaliatory Responses to Houthis Must Begin by Drawing Intelligence Plan

A person inspects damage at the site where a projectile fired from Yemen landed in Tel Aviv on December 21, 2024 (EPA)
A person inspects damage at the site where a projectile fired from Yemen landed in Tel Aviv on December 21, 2024 (EPA)
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Israel’s Retaliatory Responses to Houthis Must Begin by Drawing Intelligence Plan

A person inspects damage at the site where a projectile fired from Yemen landed in Tel Aviv on December 21, 2024 (EPA)
A person inspects damage at the site where a projectile fired from Yemen landed in Tel Aviv on December 21, 2024 (EPA)

Israel is considering options to respond to repeated attacks fired from Yemen in the past few days, the latest of which was a Houthi missile strike that injured more than a dozen people in Tel Aviv.
But military experts say Israel should first consider an intelligence plan for confronting the new front after it faced significant difficulties in both defending against and responding to the Houthi attacks.
On Saturday morning, Houthis launched a missile that triggered sirens throughout central Israel at 3:44 am. It was the second attack since Thursday.
Israel's military said the projectile landed in Tel Aviv's southern Jaffa area, adding that attempts to intercept a missile from Yemen failed.
“The incident is still being thoroughly investigated,” the army said, adding that following initial investigations by the Israeli Air Force and Home Front Command, “some of the conclusions have already been implemented, both regarding interception and early warning.”
Israeli military experts say the recent Houthi attacks have revealed serious security gaps in Israel's air defense systems.
“The pressing question now is why none of the other of Israel’s air defense layers managed to intercept the warhead,” wrote Yedioth Ahronoth's Ron Ben-Yishai. “The likely explanation is the late detection and the flat trajectory, which prevented the operation of all available defense apparatus.”
He said these incidents might expose a critical vulnerability in the army’s air defense system protecting Israel’s civilian and military home front.
According to Ben-Yishai, two main reasons might explain Saturday’s interception failure.
The first is that the missile was launched in a “flattened” ballistic trajectory, possibly from an unexpected direction.
As a result, Israeli defenses may not have identified it in time, leading to its late discovery and insufficient time for interceptors to operate.
He said the second, and more likely scenario is that Iran has developed a maneuverable warhead.
Such a warhead separates from the missile during the final third of its trajectory and maneuvers mid-flight—executing pre-programmed course changes—to hit its designated target, he wrote.
And while Israel has launched initial investigations into the failure of Israeli defense systems to intercept the missiles, it is now examining the nature, date and location of its response.
When Houthis launched their first missile attack on Israel last Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned them, saying, “The Houthis will learn the hard way.”
But Israeli political analyst Avi Ashkenazi wrote in the Maariv newspaper that Israel should look at reality with open eyes and say out loud that it cannot deal with the Houthi threat from Yemen, and has failed to face them.
Last Thursday, 14 Israeli Air Force fighter jets, alongside refuelers and spy planes, flew some 2,000 kilometers and dropped over 60 munitions on Houthi “military targets” along Yemen’s western coast and near the capital Sanaa.
The targets included fuel and oil depots, two power stations, and eight tugboats used at the Houthi-controlled ports.
But the Maariv newspaper warned about the increasing involvement of Iran in supporting the Houthi forces.
“Iran has invested more in the Houthis in recent weeks following the collapse of the Shiite axis, making the Houthi movement a leader of this axis,” the newspaper noted.
Underscoring the failures of Israel’s air defense systems, Maariv said the “Arrow” missile defense system, Israel's main line of defense against ballistic missiles, had failed four times in a row to intercept missiles, including three launched from Yemen and one from Lebanon.
Yedioth Ahronoth's Ben-Yishai also warned that the threat posed by maneuvering warheads on Iran's heavy, long-range missiles would become existential for Israel should Iran succeed in developing nuclear warheads for these missiles.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Channel 12 said that in recent months, the Middle East has changed beyond recognition.
The channel said that for the first time in more than half a century, a direct and threat-free air corridor has been opened to Iran through the Middle East. Israel will benefit from this corridor to launch almost daily attacks on the border crossings between Syria and Lebanon, it said.
Channel 12 also reported that according to the Israeli military, the new threat-free corridor will help Israel launch a future attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.
“From Israel's perspective, the fall of the Assad regime and the collapse of the Iranian ring of fire are changing the balance of power in the Middle East,” the report added.