Iraq’s National Wisdom Movement Seeks Calm with Washington after Nujaba’s Threat 

Head of Iraq’s National Wisdom Movement Ammar al-Hakim meets with US Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowski on Monday. (National Wisdom Movement)
Head of Iraq’s National Wisdom Movement Ammar al-Hakim meets with US Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowski on Monday. (National Wisdom Movement)
TT

Iraq’s National Wisdom Movement Seeks Calm with Washington after Nujaba’s Threat 

Head of Iraq’s National Wisdom Movement Ammar al-Hakim meets with US Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowski on Monday. (National Wisdom Movement)
Head of Iraq’s National Wisdom Movement Ammar al-Hakim meets with US Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowski on Monday. (National Wisdom Movement)

Head of Iraq’s National Wisdom Movement and one of the most prominent members of the pro-Iran Coordination Framework, Ammar al-Hakim condemned on Monday “attempts to destabilize the country through resorting to the use of arms.”

He made his remarks during a meeting with US Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowski a day after Secretary-General of the Iran-aligned Nujaba movement Akram al-Kaabi warned Washington that the suspension of attacks against American troops was the “calm before the storm.”

The Nujaba had recently declared that it was suspending attacks against the US forces deployed in Iraq. In January, a US strike in Baghdad killed Mushtaq Taleb al-Saidi, a leading member of the Nujaba who was involved in planning and carrying out attacks against American personnel in Iraq and Syria.

In a statement after meeting Romanowski, Hakim underscored his support for the “security agencies that are carrying out their duties in pursuing the sides responsible for these rejected criminal acts.”

He said he welcomed the resumption of the second round of bilateral negotiations between Baghdad and the US to end the mission of the international coalition fighting the ISIS terrorist group.

He renewed his support to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's government in running the negotiations with the US-Iraq Higher Military Commission.

Hakim also condemned before the ambassador Israel's war on Gaza, urging the need to stop it as soon as possible and delivering humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people.

Kaabi had made light of the negotiations between Baghdad and Washington, saying that while the “Islamic Resistance” does not reject them, “we assert that the American occupier is a liar, treacherous and arrogant.”

He added that it would be “delusional” to believe that the US would “yield and withdraw from Iraq through negotiations.”

He stressed that the current calm “was only a temporary tactic aimed at redeployment and mobilization.”

Furthermore, he alleged that certain sides, which he did not name, “have provided the American forces with information about the resistance and their positions.”



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
TT

US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.