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Arab World

Khamenei Says Iraq Can Play ‘Special Role’ in Pressuring US, Israel

06 November 2023, Iran, Tehran: Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (R) and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (L) meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and an accompanying delegation. (Iranian Supreme Leader's Office/dpa)
06 November 2023, Iran, Tehran: Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (R) and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (L) meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and an accompanying delegation. (Iranian Supreme Leader's Office/dpa)
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Khamenei Says Iraq Can Play ‘Special Role’ in Pressuring US, Israel

06 November 2023, Iran, Tehran: Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (R) and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (L) meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and an accompanying delegation. (Iranian Supreme Leader's Office/dpa)
06 November 2023, Iran, Tehran: Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (R) and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (L) meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and an accompanying delegation. (Iranian Supreme Leader's Office/dpa)

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Monday Iraq can play a “special role” in the region by coordinating with Iran to increase political pressure on the US and Israel to end the war in Gaza.

He made his comments during a meeting in Tehran with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who headed to Iran less than 24 hours after meeting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Baghdad. It was unclear whether the PM was carrying a US message to Tehran.

Blinken visited Iraq amid growing US concern about an uptick in attacks by pro-Iranian Iraqi armed groups on its bases in Iraq and Syria since the conflict in Israel broke out on Oct. 7.

Several political parties in Iraq have called on the government to sever diplomatic ties with Washington.

“As an important country in the region, Iraq can play a major role in putting political pressure on the US and the occupying regime to stop the massacre of people in Gaza and also in starting a new approach in the Arab and Muslim world,” Khamenei said during his meeting with the Iraqi PM.

He praised Iraq for the strong stance it has taken in supporting the people of Gaza.

He then noted that from the very first days of the Israeli attacks, all evidence pointed to the direct involvement of the US in the war. “The longer the current war goes on, the evidence showing the direct role of the US in directing the crimes of the Zionist regime in Gaza becomes more pronounced,” he said.

Khamenei noted that the US weapon supplies and political support to Israel, saying “the Americans are truly accomplices of the Zionists in the crimes that are being committed in Gaza.”

Sudani’s office said the PM stressed to Khamenei that Iraq is making every effort to stop the aggression against Gaza and allow the entry of aid into the enclave.

He lashed out at the international community that “has abandoned about its responsibilities” and done nothing to stop “brutal crimes, genocide, forced displacement, and the policy of starvation against the Palestinians.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told state TV on Monday that, “Over the past three days, we received a message from the Americans that they are looking for a ceasefire ... but in practice they have only supported mass killing and genocide in Gaza.”

“We hope the US will soon change its policy and stop supporting the occupying party,” he said, according to the official IRNA website.

Sudani also met with Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi in Tehran.

At a joint news conference with the PM, Raisi accused the United States and some European countries of “encouraging” Israel to kill and carry out “cruel acts” against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, reported AFP.

Raisi described the Israeli attacks as a “crime against humanity” and an example of mass genocide and infanticide.

“Unfortunately, the weapons, intelligence and financial aid of the Americans to the Zionist regime encourages killings and brutal actions against the Palestinian people,” he added.

Sudani, for his part, said Hamas’ Al-Aqsa Flood operation on October 7 was the outcome of Israel’s years of criminal policies against the oppressed people of Palestine.

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Arab World

Is Hamas Counting on Iran Talks to Resolve the Disarmament Crisis?

Palestinians inspect damage after an Israeli strike in Gaza City on Monday (Reuters)
Palestinians inspect damage after an Israeli strike in Gaza City on Monday (Reuters)
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Is Hamas Counting on Iran Talks to Resolve the Disarmament Crisis?

Palestinians inspect damage after an Israeli strike in Gaza City on Monday (Reuters)
Palestinians inspect damage after an Israeli strike in Gaza City on Monday (Reuters)

As Iranian officials link any halt in fighting with the US and Israel to all fronts of the so-called “axis of resistance,” with a focus on Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas and other Palestinian factions in Gaza are negotiating a disarmament plan while pushing to retain part of their arsenal.

Israel and the United States insist on full disarmament. The al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, reject that demand.

A two-week ceasefire announced by Washington and Tehran, meant to pave the way for a final deal, has raised questions over whether Hamas will use it to delay or reshape disarmament.

Field sources in Hamas and other factions say they fear Israel could escalate again in Gaza, increasing targeted killings and possibly striking new targets, whether the war with Iran ends temporarily or permanently.

Two field sources from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad said there are signs of Israeli escalation, but without large-scale ground operations, adding that factions are on heightened alert.

Limited reliance

A senior Hamas official said the group’s stance is rooted in “national constants,” including keeping its weapons to deter any aggression, a duty it cannot abandon.

He described Iran’s call to link all fronts as “important,” but said Hamas does not fully rely on it and sees no such option for now. Israel and the United States, he said, have worked for more than two years to separate the fronts.

Three Hamas sources said the group had previously counted on linking fronts, during talks on Lebanon and Yemen and during the 12-day war on Iran in June 2025, but “circumstances imposed a different reality.”

A Hamas source in Gaza said tying Gaza talks to other fronts had failed before, leaving no clear reliance on that approach now.

He added Iran’s position may relate more to Lebanon than Gaza, stressing that relying on it is misplaced, as Israel and the US would reject it, as they have before.

“What Hamas is relying on now is its own position, alongside the Palestinian factions, as it enters the most difficult phase of negotiations,” he said.

Two Hamas sources said the group’s strategy is to remove any pretext for Israel to resume the war, while rejecting proposals from the “Board of Peace” or mediators as fixed terms without amendments.

Core demands

Hamas and other factions said they had told mediators in a unified position that they want “full Israeli commitment” to the first phase before moving to the second, including the issue of weapons.

They also demand that reconstruction and aid not be tied to other files, a full Israeli withdrawal, a complete halt to violations, guarantees against interference in Palestinian political affairs, particularly governance in Gaza, and an end to restrictions on movement through the Rafah crossing and on the entry of goods.

New meetings between Hamas and mediators are expected early next week as disarmament talks continue.

A senior Hamas delegation met in Cairo about a week ago with Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza at the “Board of Peace,” for the second time in two weeks.

The group’s leadership also met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier this week on the same issue.

Arab World

Lebanon Rejects Iran Negotiating on Its Behalf

People gather at the scene of an Israeli airstrike in the Corniche al-Mazraa neighborhood of Beirut, Lebanon 08 April 2026. (EPA)
People gather at the scene of an Israeli airstrike in the Corniche al-Mazraa neighborhood of Beirut, Lebanon 08 April 2026. (EPA)
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Lebanon Rejects Iran Negotiating on Its Behalf

People gather at the scene of an Israeli airstrike in the Corniche al-Mazraa neighborhood of Beirut, Lebanon 08 April 2026. (EPA)
People gather at the scene of an Israeli airstrike in the Corniche al-Mazraa neighborhood of Beirut, Lebanon 08 April 2026. (EPA)

Lebanon was left outside contacts that produced a US-Iran ceasefire deal, despite reports it would be included and moves by Iran and Hezbollah suggesting otherwise.

Hezbollah halted its military operations before the deal was announced early on Wednesday, while Lebanese officials scrambled to contact countries involved in the issue to clarify the situation.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam told Asharq Al-Awsat that Lebanon would not accept anyone negotiating on its behalf.

President Joseph Aoun welcomed the US-Iran announcement of a 15-day ceasefire and praised efforts by all parties that helped secure the agreement, particularly Pakistan, Egypt, and Türkiye.

He said he hoped it would mark a first step toward a final, comprehensive deal that addresses the drivers of conflict in the region, safeguarding the sovereignty of all states.

Aoun said violence was not an effective means to resolve disputes and that governments should work to ensure a free and dignified life for their people, not push them toward futile and needless death.

He added that the Lebanese state would continue efforts to ensure any regional calm extends to Lebanon on a firm and lasting basis.

Aoun affirmed that the efforts are in line with principles agreed upon by the Lebanese: full sovereignty over all territory, liberation from any occupation, and the exclusive right to wage war, maintain peace, and use legitimate force, resting with constitutional institutions alone.

Responsibility for any negotiations to secure Lebanon’s national interest lies solely with the Lebanese state, he said.

Berri: Lebanon included

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told Asharq Al-Awsat that Lebanon was covered by the ceasefire agreement with Iran, but said Israel had not complied with it across Lebanon so far, in breach of the deal.

Berri said the agreement clearly included Lebanon and that this was what should be implemented. He said he had contacted the Pakistani side to inform it of Tel Aviv’s failure to abide by the ceasefire and asked it to engage the United States to pressure Israel.

He said he remained in contact with several parties involved and had received assurances that Lebanon was part of the agreement, though he did not rule out that Israel could seek to “undermine this agreement as the party most harmed by it.”

Salam: The state alone negotiates

In his first comment on the ceasefire and the debate over whether Lebanon was included, Salam said: “No one negotiates over Lebanon except the Lebanese state.”

He declined to elaborate on ongoing contacts to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon, saying only that the state was carrying out its duties and mobilizing all its capabilities to pull the country out of a crisis imposed on it.

“With the announcement of an agreement between the US and Iran, through appreciated Pakistani efforts, we are intensifying our contacts and our political and diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon,” said Salam.

“I also stress that no one negotiates in the name of Lebanon except the Lebanese state, through its constitutional institutions, in a way that safeguards its sovereignty and the interests of its people,” he added.

Foreign Ministry: One voice

For its part, Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry welcomed the announcement of the two-week ceasefire between Iran and the US as a step toward de-escalation and regional stability, but stressed that no party has the right to negotiate on the country’s behalf.

“Lebanon unequivocally affirms that it speaks with one voice — its own — and that no party has the right to negotiate on its behalf except the Lebanese state,” the ministry said in a statement.

“Any such action constitutes a direct violation of its sovereignty and national decision-making,” it added, noting that Lebanon has previously announced its readiness for direct negotiations with Israel, with civilian participation and under international auspices.

The ministry reiterated that Lebanon’s sovereignty is indivisible and not negotiable, and that its national choices, security, and political future are determined exclusively by its constitutional institutions, free from any external interference.

Arab World

Iran Guards Threaten Response if Israel Does Not Cease Lebanon ‘Aggression’

First responders work at the site of an Israeli airstrike that struck an apartment building in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP)
First responders work at the site of an Israeli airstrike that struck an apartment building in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP)
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Iran Guards Threaten Response if Israel Does Not Cease Lebanon ‘Aggression’

First responders work at the site of an Israeli airstrike that struck an apartment building in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP)
First responders work at the site of an Israeli airstrike that struck an apartment building in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP)

Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned on Wednesday they would respond if Israel did not cease attacks on Lebanon as deadly strikes killed hundreds of people a day after a ceasefire was agreed between the United States and Iran.

"We issue a firm warning to the United States, which violates treaties, and to its Zionist ally, its executioner: if the aggression against beloved Lebanon does not cease immediately, we will fulfil our duty and deliver a response," the Guards said in a statement carried on state TV, using a reference to Israel.

Israel says the US-Iran truce does not include Lebanon, which was drawn into the war after Iran-backed group Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel.

Israeli strikes hit several dense commercial and residential areas in central Beirut without warning on Wednesday afternoon, hours after the ceasefire was announced. Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 250 people were killed and 700 were wounded.

US President Donald Trump told PBS News Hour that Lebanon was not included in the deal because of Hezbollah. When asked about Israel’s latest strikes, he said, "That’s a separate skirmish."