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Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party Says It Will Boycott Parliamentary Election 

Members of the Peshmerga are seen on the outskirts of Kirkuk with a poster of Masoud Barzani in the background. (EPA file photo)
Members of the Peshmerga are seen on the outskirts of Kirkuk with a poster of Masoud Barzani in the background. (EPA file photo)
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Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party Says It Will Boycott Parliamentary Election 

Members of the Peshmerga are seen on the outskirts of Kirkuk with a poster of Masoud Barzani in the background. (EPA file photo)
Members of the Peshmerga are seen on the outskirts of Kirkuk with a poster of Masoud Barzani in the background. (EPA file photo)

The ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) said on Monday it would boycott a parliamentary election in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq scheduled to be held in June in protest over a ruling issued by the federal supreme court.

The northern region's dominant KDP, which is headed by Masoud Barzani, said in a statement that Iraq’s federal court had violated the constitution and undermined regional authorities following a ruling in February that amended the Kurdish region's election law.

Iraq's federal supreme court ruled to cancel 11 seats reserved for minority groups, reducing the number of regional parliament seats to 100.

The February ruling also changed the electoral system to divide the Kurdistan region into four constituencies instead of the single-constituency system adopted in the previous elections in 2018, prompting the KDP to reject it as unconstitutional.

The federal court ruling also gave authority to the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) to organize and oversee regional elections instead of the Kurdish regional election commission.

The ruling by the federal court came after a lawsuit by KDP's historic rival and junior coalition partner in government, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), according to a court document seen by Reuters and the party's lawyers.

A prominent member of the KDP told Asharq Al-Awsat that the boycott decision was taken after the party “realized that the federal supreme court had become a political player.”

He hoped that the move would “succeed in addressing the unconstitutional standing of this court and remove its legitimacy before we slip into a more centralized system.”

He warned that the boycott could lead to the postponement of the elections, through intra-Kurdish agreement, urging “Shiite and Sunni partners to amend the path taken by the court.”

The KDP has for month accused the federal supreme court of yielding to political agendas of some influential Shiite forces. It charges that the majority of its rulings against Kurdistan are politically motivated against the region’s constitutional standing.

US Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowski expressed concern over the KDP decision to boycott the elections.

“We are concerned by KDP’s announcement to boycott the Iraqi Kurdistan Region elections. We urge the Government of Iraq & the Kurdistan Regional Government to ensure that elections are free, fair, transparent, & credible.” Romanowski said on social media platform X on Monday.

The PUK is committed to holding Kurdistan parliamentary elections on June 10, PUK spokesman Saadi Ahmed said in a statement following the PDK decision.

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Arab World

Lebanese Army Faces Criticism over Delay in Enforcing Monopoly on Arms

Lebanese Army Commander Rodolphe Haikal and troops inspect the border with Israel. (Army Command)
Lebanese Army Commander Rodolphe Haikal and troops inspect the border with Israel. (Army Command)
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Lebanese Army Faces Criticism over Delay in Enforcing Monopoly on Arms

Lebanese Army Commander Rodolphe Haikal and troops inspect the border with Israel. (Army Command)
Lebanese Army Commander Rodolphe Haikal and troops inspect the border with Israel. (Army Command)

Several Lebanese MPs from the Change parliamentary bloc and independent lawmakers launched a wave of criticism against Lebanese Army Commander General Rodolphe Haikal, suggesting that the army has been lenient in implementing government decisions regarding the disarmament of Hezbollah north of the Litani River.

The criticism prompted counter-reactions from other officials expressing solidarity with the army and voicing support for its role.

On Saturday, Haikal said that “Israeli attacks targeting Lebanon and its citizens are hindering the implementation of the army’s plan”.

He stressed that the “command makes its decisions in line with the complex circumstances on the ground, with the primary goal of preserving Lebanon, safeguarding its unity, and maintaining the military institution”.

He added that the “army is operating under severe internal and external pressure and with limited resources, while exerting every effort to protect domestic stability and national unity”.

Independent MPs and lawmakers from the Change bloc criticized Haikal.

MP Michel Moawad said the army’s stance contradicts its constitutional role and could undermine efforts by the government and the international community to move Lebanon out of the war and reinforce a clear separation between the state and Hezbollah.

MP Mark Daou also expressed surprise at the stance of the Lebanese army command, saying it should have clearly affirmed its commitment to government decisions and explicitly stated that the military wing of Hezbollah is now an outlaw under those decisions.

MP Waddah Sadek said the Lebanese army command is not a political body that expresses opinions on developments or proposes solutions. Rather, he stressed, it is responsible for an institution tasked with implementing the decisions of the executive authority, including the recent government’s decision declaring Hezbollah an outlaw.

The army command is required to implement government decisions immediately. It does not have the authority to assess them, according to Sadek.

The criticism of the army also drew backlash from other MPs.

Former MP Fares Souaid said attacks on the military at this stage are irresponsible, stressing that any mistakes should be addressed within state institutions rather than through public criticism of a body that safeguards civil peace.

Meanwhile, Lebanon and France postponed an international conference to support the Lebanese Army and Internal Security Forces that had been scheduled in Paris on March 5, citing unsuitable conditions amid the ongoing regional tensions linked to the Iranian–US–Israeli confrontation.

Arab World

US Only Guarantees Security of Beirut Airport, Road Leading to it

Departures area inside Beirut–Rafik Hariri International Airport, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 4, 2026. (Reuters)
Departures area inside Beirut–Rafik Hariri International Airport, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 4, 2026. (Reuters)
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US Only Guarantees Security of Beirut Airport, Road Leading to it

Departures area inside Beirut–Rafik Hariri International Airport, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 4, 2026. (Reuters)
Departures area inside Beirut–Rafik Hariri International Airport, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 4, 2026. (Reuters)

An official Lebanese source revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the only guarantee the United States has offered Lebanon in the latest war with Israel is the safety of Rafik Hariri International Airport and the road leading to it.

The Americans “are not responding to Lebanese contacts because they have grown convinced that the Lebanese authorities are incapable of meeting their pledges,” it added.

The source said Washington informed Lebanese officials that “lessons are learned from implementing decisions, not taking them,” a reference to the government’s decision last week to ban Hezbollah’s military and security activities.

Lebanon was dragged into conflict with Israel after Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel last week in support of Iran, its main backer.

Lebanon's health minister Rakan Nassereddine said on Sunday that Israeli strikes on Lebanon had killed 394 people over the past week, including 83 children and 42 women.

Arab World

HRW Accuses Israel of 'Unlawfully' Using White Phosphorus in New Lebanon Attacks

A picture taken from Israel, along the border with southern Lebanon on March 4, 2024, shows smoke billowing following Israeli bombardment on the Lebanese village of Markaba. Jalaa Marey, AFP
A picture taken from Israel, along the border with southern Lebanon on March 4, 2024, shows smoke billowing following Israeli bombardment on the Lebanese village of Markaba. Jalaa Marey, AFP
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HRW Accuses Israel of 'Unlawfully' Using White Phosphorus in New Lebanon Attacks

A picture taken from Israel, along the border with southern Lebanon on March 4, 2024, shows smoke billowing following Israeli bombardment on the Lebanese village of Markaba. Jalaa Marey, AFP
A picture taken from Israel, along the border with southern Lebanon on March 4, 2024, shows smoke billowing following Israeli bombardment on the Lebanese village of Markaba. Jalaa Marey, AFP

Human Rights Watch on Monday accused Israel of "unlawfully" using white phosphorus over residential parts of a southern Lebanese town last week.

"The Israeli military unlawfully used artillery-fired white phosphorus munitions over homes on March 3, 2026, in the southern Lebanese town of Yohmor," the New York-based rights group said in a report.

HRW added that it "verified and geolocated seven images showing airburst white phosphorus munitions being deployed over a residential part of the town and civil defense workers responding to fires in at least two homes and one car in that area".

White phosphorus, a substance that ignites on contact with oxygen, can be used to create smokescreens and to illuminate battlefields, said AFP.

But the munition can also be used as an incendiary weapon and can cause fires, horrific burns, respiratory damage, organ failure and death.

Israel -- which kept up strikes targeting Hezbollah despite a 2024 ceasefire -- launched multiple waves of strikes across Lebanon since last week and sent ground troops into border areas after the Iran-backed group attacked it.

The Israeli army has since repeatedly called on people living south of the Litani River, around 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the Israeli border, to leave.

At least 394 people have been killed in Israeli attacks, Lebanese authorities said, registering more than half a million people as displaced.

"The Israeli military's unlawful use of white phosphorus over residential areas is extremely alarming and will have dire consequences for civilians," Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at HRW, was quoted saying in the report.

"Israel should immediately halt this practice and states providing Israel with weapons, including white phosphorus munitions, should immediately suspend military assistance and arms sales and push Israel to stop firing such munitions in residential areas," he added.

Lebanese authorities and HRW have over the past years accused Israel of using controversial white phosphorus rounds, in attacks authorities say have harmed civilians and the environment.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency on Sunday said Israeli forces targeted the towns of Khiam and Tal Nahas, near the border with Israel, "with artillery and phosphorus shelling".

Last month, Lebanon accused Israel of spraying the herbicide glyphosate on the Lebanese side of their shared border, with President Joseph Aoun decrying it as a "crime against the environment".