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Iraqi Armed Factions End Truce with American Forces

Members of the Nujaba movement are seen at a rally in Baghdad in support of the people in Gaza on October 8. (AFP)
Members of the Nujaba movement are seen at a rally in Baghdad in support of the people in Gaza on October 8. (AFP)
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Iraqi Armed Factions End Truce with American Forces

Members of the Nujaba movement are seen at a rally in Baghdad in support of the people in Gaza on October 8. (AFP)
Members of the Nujaba movement are seen at a rally in Baghdad in support of the people in Gaza on October 8. (AFP)

The “Coordination of the Iraqi Resistance” announced the end of the deadline for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.

In a statement on Wednesday, it added that it will resolve this file “through all available means.”

It made its announcement hours after Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned of a war without restraints against Israel and threatened to open a front on the Mediterranean.

Before his remarks, Asharq Al-Awsat had revealed that Iraqi factions were ready to fight in Lebanon should a wide-scale war erupt there and should Hezbollah agree to their involvement.

The Coordination of the Iraqi Resistance said it had held an extraordinary meeting to review the developments in the region and Iraq in order to inform the people of “what is going on around them.”

It stated that it reviewed the deadline granted by the Iraqi government to the US forces to pull out from the country four months ago.

The armed factions have been committed to a truce with the American troops and refrained from launching attacks against them in wake of the assassination of a leading member of the Nujaba movement in an American strike in Baghdad in January.

Various factions, such as the Nujaba and Hezbollah Brigades, had expressed their opposition to the truce.

The Coordination of the Iraqi Resistance underscored on Wednesday the need to forge ahead in “achieving the country’s sovereignty given the enemy’s stalling and intransigence that is aimed at maintaining its occupation and control over its security and economic decisions.”

The Coordination underlined its determination to end the American military deployment in Iraq.

“The Iraqi people and resistance, loyal politicians, tribal members and MPs are capable of ending this file by using all means at their disposal in order to restore security and stability and achieve complete sovereignty,” it stressed.

In wake of the announcement, activists close to the ruling pro-Iran Coordination Framework spoke of the return of resistance operations without specifying the target of these operations.

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Baku Seeking to Diffuse Tensions between Israel, Türkiye in Syria

Turkish troops return after a joint US-Türkiye patrol in northern Syria, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Akcakale, Türkiye, September 8, 2019. (Reuters)
Turkish troops return after a joint US-Türkiye patrol in northern Syria, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Akcakale, Türkiye, September 8, 2019. (Reuters)
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Baku Seeking to Diffuse Tensions between Israel, Türkiye in Syria

Turkish troops return after a joint US-Türkiye patrol in northern Syria, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Akcakale, Türkiye, September 8, 2019. (Reuters)
Turkish troops return after a joint US-Türkiye patrol in northern Syria, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Akcakale, Türkiye, September 8, 2019. (Reuters)

With growing influence after its recapture of Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenian separatists in 2023, Azerbaijan is using its close ties with Israel and Türkiye to defuse tensions between the regional foes in Syria.

Azerbaijan’s top foreign policy adviser Hikmet Hajiyev told AFP that Baku has hosted more than three rounds of talks between Türkiye and Israel, who are both operating in Syria to reduce what they see as security threats.

“Azerbaijan is making diplomatic efforts for an agreement,” Hajiyev told Turkish journalists in Baku on a visit organized by the Istanbul-based Global Journalism Council. “Both Türkiye and Israel trust us.”

The overthrow of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad sparked security concerns in Israel.

It has since staged hundreds of strikes deep inside Syria, the latest on Friday, to allegedly stop advanced weapons falling into the hands of Syria’s extremists and to protect the Druze minority.

Israel has accused Ankara of seeking to turn Syria into a Turkish protectorate, raising fears of a confrontation.

In Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev is considered a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He has consistently aligned himself with Ankara’s positions on key international matters, including the Syrian issue.

Azerbaijan also enjoys good relations with Israel, which is very reliant on Azerbaijani oil, and is a major arms supplier to Baku.

And now Baku, which has established contacts with Syria’s new rulers, is pushing quiet diplomacy by facilitating technical talks between Türkiye and Israel.

“We are successful if the two parties agree on a common model that respects each other’s concerns,” Farid Shafiyev, chairman of the Baku-based Center for Analysis of International Relations, told AFP.

“Syria, and especially its northern territories, is the Turkish security concern,” he said.

Türkiye wants to control northern Syria but also to “have a stronger presence” around the Palmyra and T4 airbases to ensure security around Damascus, he added.

In facilitating Türkiye-Israel dialogue on Syria, Azerbaijan is playing a “strategic role,” said Zaur Mammadov, chairman of Baku Political Scientists Club.

“(It) reflects Azerbaijan’s growing influence as a mediator... among regional actors,” he said.

Azerbaijan fought two wars with arch-foe Armenia for control of the disputed Karabakh region -- one in the 1990s and another in 2020 -- before it managed to seize the entire area in a 24-hour offensive in September 2023.