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Nechervan Barzani Visits Tehran in New Effort to Delay Kurdistan Elections

President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region Nechervan Barzani meets with Iraqi National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji in Baghdad last week. (Kurdistan Region Presidency)
President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region Nechervan Barzani meets with Iraqi National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji in Baghdad last week. (Kurdistan Region Presidency)
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Nechervan Barzani Visits Tehran in New Effort to Delay Kurdistan Elections

President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region Nechervan Barzani meets with Iraqi National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji in Baghdad last week. (Kurdistan Region Presidency)
President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region Nechervan Barzani meets with Iraqi National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji in Baghdad last week. (Kurdistan Region Presidency)

President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region Nechervan Barzani arrived in Tehran on Sunday on a visit described by a source from the pro-Iran Coordination Framework as a “last-ditch effort to postpone elections in the Region and maintain its unity.”

Iranian media said he is expected to meet with President Ebrahim Raisi, parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

The source from the Framework said his visit is part of the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP) effort to postpone the elections so that it has time to introduce amendments to the Baghdad Federal Supreme Court’s rulings related to the shares of minorities and the body that will oversee the polls, reported the Arab World Press.

Barzani will demand that Tehran pressure their ally, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), headed by Bafel Talabani, to agree on postponing the elections, added the source.

For their part, the Iranians wants to discuss “Israeli organizations that are present in Kurdistan and that are constantly targeting their country’s security.”

They believe that Nechervan Barzani is “approaching them from a weak position, meaning this is a golden opportunity to negotiate with him over the Israeli organizations and Iranian armed groups, which are opposed to Tehran, that are present in Kurdistan,” continued the source.

In return, the Iranians will talk to the PUK to persuade it to postpone the elections, which are set for June 10.

Kurdish Iraqi MP Rezan Sheikh Dler had previously warned that holding the elections on time would effectively lead to the division of Kurdistan into two administrations.

The PUK had declared in March that it would be boycotting the elections in protest against the Federal Supreme Court’s rulings.

Member of the PUK’s leadership council Jabar Yawar told Arab World Press that Kurdistan’s political disputes will be on Nechervan Barzani’s agenda in Tehran.

He will also discuss economic and border security issues with Iranian officials, he added.

“The Iranian have often played in role in resolving disputes between Kurdish parties and between the Kurdish region and federal government” in Baghdad, he remarked.

This is Nechervan Barzani’s fifth visit to Tehran in less than a year.

Electoral campaigns are expected to kick off in Kurdistan later this week.

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Arab World

Syrian President Sharaa Meets with EU Chief von der Leyen

Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad Al-Shaibani (R) receives European Council President Antonio Costa (C) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, during an official visit to the People's Palace in the Syrian capital Damascus on January 9, 2026. (AFP)
Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad Al-Shaibani (R) receives European Council President Antonio Costa (C) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, during an official visit to the People's Palace in the Syrian capital Damascus on January 9, 2026. (AFP)
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Syrian President Sharaa Meets with EU Chief von der Leyen

Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad Al-Shaibani (R) receives European Council President Antonio Costa (C) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, during an official visit to the People's Palace in the Syrian capital Damascus on January 9, 2026. (AFP)
Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad Al-Shaibani (R) receives European Council President Antonio Costa (C) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, during an official visit to the People's Palace in the Syrian capital Damascus on January 9, 2026. (AFP)

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa met with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Friday, state media said, as she became the highest ranking EU official to visit since longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad was ousted.

Von der Leyen is conducting a regional tour alongside Antonio Costa, who heads the European Council.

Their visit follows days of deadly clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters in the north Syrian city of Aleppo.

Arab World

Türkiye Calls on SDF to ‘Renounce Terrorism’, Abandon Separatism

Thick smoke rises from areas of fighting between the Syrian army and the SDF in Aleppo (EPA) 
Thick smoke rises from areas of fighting between the Syrian army and the SDF in Aleppo (EPA) 
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Türkiye Calls on SDF to ‘Renounce Terrorism’, Abandon Separatism

Thick smoke rises from areas of fighting between the Syrian army and the SDF in Aleppo (EPA) 
Thick smoke rises from areas of fighting between the Syrian army and the SDF in Aleppo (EPA) 

Türkiye has urged the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to renounce terrorism and abandon what it described as separatist ambitions that threaten Syria’s unity, while signaling it is prepared to support the Syrian army in Aleppo should Damascus request assistance.

The call comes as fighting continues between Syrian government forces and the SDF in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh districts of Aleppo, where the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) form the core of the SDF.

Speaking in Ankara, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the group must “abandon terrorism and give up efforts aimed at dividing Syria,” stressing that the region is in urgent need of peace and stability.

At a joint press conference with Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi following talks on Thursday, Fidan said the SDF’s determination to hold on to its positions “at any cost” has become the single greatest obstacle to restoring stability in Syria. He argued that this rigid stance is detached from the political realities of Syria and the wider region, adding that the time has come for national unity.

Fidan also accused the SDF of aligning itself with Israel, warning that it risked becoming an instrument of Israel’s “divide and rule” strategy in the region. “Instead of contributing to unity, the SDF has chosen a path that undermines regional stability,” he stated.

Separately, a Turkish Defense Ministry official said Türkiye stands ready to assist the Syrian government in its counterterrorism efforts in Aleppo if formally requested. Speaking during the ministry’s weekly briefing, the official said the current operation is being carried out solely by the Syrian army but emphasized that Ankara would provide support if asked, in line with its commitment to Syria’s territorial integrity and unity.

The official added that Ankara is closely monitoring developments across Syria, noting that security in Syria directly affects Türkiye’s own national security. He remarked that the Aleppo operation was launched to restore public order following alleged SDF attacks on civilians and security personnel that resulted in casualties.

Political Divisions

The pro-Kurdish Democracy and Equality of Peoples Party (DEM) called on Türkiye to play a constructive role by encouraging dialogue, democratic integration, and coexistence among Syria’s diverse communities. Party spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan accused Ankara of indirectly fueling the fighting through allied armed factions operating in the area.

By contrast, opposition Victory Party leader Ümit Özdağ warned that the March 10 agreement amounted to a “political trap” for Türkiye, arguing that integrating the SDF into state institutions would legitimize the group, expand Israeli influence in Syria, and risk plunging the country back into civil war.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Kurdish Union urged Ankara to support Kurdish communities alongside Turkmen, saying attacks on Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo were aimed at sabotaging dialogue and a political settlement.

 

 

 

Arab World

Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Attacks Kill 13 Including 5 Children

Rubble lies at the site of Thursday's Israeli strike on a house, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2026. (Reuters)
Rubble lies at the site of Thursday's Israeli strike on a house, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2026. (Reuters)
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Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Attacks Kill 13 Including 5 Children

Rubble lies at the site of Thursday's Israeli strike on a house, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2026. (Reuters)
Rubble lies at the site of Thursday's Israeli strike on a house, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2026. (Reuters)

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli attacks in the Palestinian territory on Thursday killed at least 13 people, including five children, despite a ceasefire that has largely halted the fighting.

Four people, including three children, were killed when a drone struck a tent sheltering displaced people in southern Gaza, agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

In the north of the Gaza Strip, an 11-year-old girl was killed near the Jabalia refugee camp and a strike on a school killed one person, while a drone near Khan Younis in the south killed a man, the agency added.

Two more Gazans, including a child, were killed in other attacks, reported the agency, which operates under Hamas authority.

Later on Thursday evening, four more people were killed in an Israeli air strike that targeted a house in an eastern area of Gaza City, Bassal said, adding that rescue work to search for several people who were missing had begun.

"The death toll has risen to 13 as a result of Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip since this morning in a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement," Bassal said.

In a statement Friday morning, the Israeli military said it "precisely struck Hamas terrorists and terror infrastructure in the southern and northern Gaza Strip" in response to a "failed projectile" launch.

"The projectile that was launched from the Gaza Strip constitutes a violation of the ceasefire agreement," the statement added.

Since October 10, a fragile US-sponsored truce in Gaza has largely halted the fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas, but both sides have alleged frequent violations.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told AFP that the strikes in Gaza on Thursday "confirm the Israeli occupation's renunciation of its commitment to the ceasefire".

Israeli forces have killed at least 425 Palestinians in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect, according to Gaza's health ministry.

At least 21 people were killed on November 22 in Israeli strikes, making it one of the deadliest days in Gaza since the ceasefire came into effect.

The Israeli military said gunmen have killed three of its soldiers during the same period.