Iraq Seeks to Ease Tensions ahead of PM’s Meeting with Biden 

Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Nechervan Barzani (right), Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (center) and former Kurdish President Masoud Barzani. (AFP file photo) 
Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Nechervan Barzani (right), Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (center) and former Kurdish President Masoud Barzani. (AFP file photo) 
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Iraq Seeks to Ease Tensions ahead of PM’s Meeting with Biden 

Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Nechervan Barzani (right), Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (center) and former Kurdish President Masoud Barzani. (AFP file photo) 
Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Nechervan Barzani (right), Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (center) and former Kurdish President Masoud Barzani. (AFP file photo) 

The State Administration Coalition in Iraq announced its complete support to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's upcoming visit to the United States where he will meet with President Joe Biden.

Sudani sponsored the coalition’s meeting that was held at the government palace and attended by Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish political leaders. The meeting was also notably attended by a prominent leader of the armed factions, Abu Alaa al-Walae, demonstrating that the truce between the government and groups remains in place.

Sudani is set to discuss several key issues related to Iraq’s ties with the US that have been nothing short of tumultuous since the US invasion 21 years ago.

The PM is seeking to resolve internal disputes so that he can dedicate himself to facing the Americans, who are banking on these disputes to continue to maintain influence in Iraq.

An informed Iraqi source told Asharq Al-Awsat that officials at the State Administration Coalition meeting held frank discussions over the future of relations between Iraq and Washington and the US-led anti-ISIS coalition.

The meeting clearly backed Sudani’s visit to the US and focused on security and relations between Baghdad and Washington whereby the state would be allowed to impose its control over all aspects of the country.

Sudani is hoping that his visit will be more successful than those carried out by previous PMs, who had headed to the US with various agendas and goals.

His predecessor Mustafa al-Kadhimi had paid two visits to the US during his relatively short two-and-a-half-year tenure.

Separately, Kurdish forces expressed their support to the outcomes of the visit carried out by Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Nechervan Barzani to Baghdad.

Barzani met with several senior officials, including Sudani.

Iraqi President Abdullatif Rashid stressed on Monday the need for cooperation between the Baghdad and Erbil governments so that they can overcome all disputes.

He also underlined the need for parliamentary elections to be held in Kurdistan.

Barzani and his accompanying delegation met with members of the pro-Iran Shiite Coordination Framework and the State Administration Coalition.



Local Peace Efforts in Yemen Outpace UN Performance

UN steps in late as local efforts succeed in reopening Yemen roads (UN)
UN steps in late as local efforts succeed in reopening Yemen roads (UN)
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Local Peace Efforts in Yemen Outpace UN Performance

UN steps in late as local efforts succeed in reopening Yemen roads (UN)
UN steps in late as local efforts succeed in reopening Yemen roads (UN)

Local peace initiatives in Yemen have made notable strides in recent years, eclipsing the stalled efforts of United Nations mediators since the collapse of the Kuwait-hosted peace talks in mid-2016, which were derailed by the Iran-aligned Houthis.

These efforts have achieved key breakthroughs, particularly in facilitating prisoner exchanges and reopening roads between provinces – areas where UN-led negotiations have largely faltered.

Since the Houthis seized the capital and toppled the internationally recognized government in late 2014, UN envoys have made limited headway. The only tangible outcome was the 2018 Stockholm Agreement, which sought to halt fighting around the strategic Red Sea port of Hodeidah – a deal that analysts say primarily benefited the Houthis.

A separate nationwide ceasefire was brokered through regional diplomacy in 2022, but it remains fragile and at risk of collapse amid repeated violations by Houthi forces.

In the realm of prisoner swaps, local initiatives have far outpaced the UN's achievements. While the United Nations has overseen the release of around 2,500 detainees from both government and Houthi sides, grassroots negotiators have facilitated the exchange of more than 11,000 prisoners, along with the recovery of dozens of bodies.

As interest in UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg’s visits and initiatives wanes among Yemenis, local politicians and activists say few expect him to achieve any real breakthrough.

Many believe Grundberg now waits for regional powers to lead negotiations and merely lends UN legitimacy to any resulting agreements.

While the UN-led process remains stalled, local initiatives have delivered meaningful gains, particularly in reopening roads long blockaded by Houthi forces. The rebels had used road closures to punish civilians and restrict the movement of goods into areas under their control.

Activists credit local mediators with playing a pivotal role in easing the Houthi-imposed siege on Taiz by reopening the key road linking the city center to the eastern suburb of Al-Hawban — a move widely seen as a humanitarian relief.

The momentum of these local efforts continued with the reopening of a major route connecting the southern port city of Aden to Houthi-held areas through the provinces of Al-Dhale and Ibb, restoring a vital commercial and civilian artery.

With no new rounds of UN-sponsored talks since the collapse of the Kuwait negotiations, Yemen’s grassroots peace initiatives are rekindling hopes for further breakthroughs beyond road openings and prisoner swaps.

Local mediators are now pushing the Houthis to reopen Al-Fakher road in Al-Dhale province, which leads to the neighboring city of Ibb.

They are also working to reopen a vital route linking Abyan and Al-Bayda provinces through the mountainous Thura Pass — a road that would cut travel time between the two regions by half.

The UN has expressed support for these local initiatives aimed at restoring road links across a country fractured by nearly a decade of conflict.

Grundberg’s office said it recently dispatched a delegation to Al-Dhale, where officials met with government representatives and security leaders to discuss the latest proposal to reopen the main route connecting the capital Sanaa with the southern port city of Aden via Al-Dhale.