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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

Reports: US to Withdraw All Troops from Syria

A US Army patrol in the Syrian city of Qamishli (Reuters file photo)
A US Army patrol in the Syrian city of Qamishli (Reuters file photo)
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Reports: US to Withdraw All Troops from Syria

A US Army patrol in the Syrian city of Qamishli (Reuters file photo)
A US Army patrol in the Syrian city of Qamishli (Reuters file photo)

The United States is planning to withdraw all of its 1,000 troops from Syria over the next two months, according to US media reports.

Washington will end its presence in the country after the Syrian government extended its control over the country and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces once key to fighting ISIS pledged to integrate into the state, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Television network CBS also reported on the plan, citing unnamed US officials.

The decision comes after US forces recently withdrew from some bases
in Syria including Al-Tanf and Al-Shadadi, which were used in the US-led international coalition's fight against ISIS, AFP reported.

The US is building up its military capabilities near Iran, where officials have vowed to respond to any attack by laying siege to American military outposts in the region.

US media reported Wednesday that Washington will be ready to launch strikes against Iran as early as this weekend, though Trump has reportedly not made a final decision yet.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Arab World

Canada Eases Sanctions on Syria

13 February 2026, Bavaria, Munich: Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, arrives at the Bavarian Hof for the 62nd Munich Security Conference. Photo: Felix Hörhager/dpa
13 February 2026, Bavaria, Munich: Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, arrives at the Bavarian Hof for the 62nd Munich Security Conference. Photo: Felix Hörhager/dpa
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Canada Eases Sanctions on Syria

13 February 2026, Bavaria, Munich: Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, arrives at the Bavarian Hof for the 62nd Munich Security Conference. Photo: Felix Hörhager/dpa
13 February 2026, Bavaria, Munich: Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, arrives at the Bavarian Hof for the 62nd Munich Security Conference. Photo: Felix Hörhager/dpa

Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand said on Wednesday that Canada had amended its economic sanctions on Syria ‌to ease ‌restrictions related ‌to the ⁠import and export ⁠of goods, investment activities and the provision of financial and other ⁠services, according to Reuters.

"The amendments also ‌remove ‌24 entities and ‌one individual from ‌the Syria Regulations to reduce barriers to economic activity and ‌to enable transactions with state-affiliated entities ⁠in ⁠key sectors critical to Syria’s recovery," Anand said in a statement.

Arab World

Tetteh: Despite UN Engagement, No Progress in Libya Roadmap

Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya Hanna Tetteh Getty)
Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya Hanna Tetteh Getty)
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Tetteh: Despite UN Engagement, No Progress in Libya Roadmap

Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya Hanna Tetteh Getty)
Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya Hanna Tetteh Getty)

The UN’s top envoy for Libya, Hanna Tetteh, has informed the Security Council that despite active United Nations engagement, the Libyan House of Representatives and the High Council of State have failed to make progress on the first steps of the agreed political roadmap, including establishing a mechanism to select the board of the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) and advancing electoral legislation.

Briefing the Council in New York on Wednesday, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General said: “Their inability to use their agreed mechanism and follow-on unilateral actions has further eroded their credibility."

Tetteh added that Libyan public perceptions reflect a growing belief that the bodies are “unable or unwilling” to deliver.

She told Council members that she has begun consultations with key actors on an alternative two-step approach aimed at restoring momentum. Should a smaller group of Libyan representatives fail to agree on the roadmap’s milestones, she warned, a broader convening would be required. “We cannot wait indefinitely,” she emphasized.

The UN envoy also issued a stark warning about escalating tensions within Libya’s judicial system.

She said “contradictory, parallel judicial decisions put into jeopardy the unity of the legal and judicial systems,” cautioning that the situation “is a red line that if crossed can undermine the unity of the state.”

She urged Libyan leaders to refrain from further escalatory steps and called on the Council to hold accountable those taking actions that threaten to fracture the judiciary.

Tetteh also warned that transnational criminal networks continue to expand, turning Libya into a major transit hub for drug trafficking and sustaining illicit economies linked to corruption and armed groups.