Iraq Says Announcement on Date for End to US-Led Coalition Mission Postponed

 Iraqi fishermen prepare to get on a boat in the Shatt al-Arab river, formed at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in Iraq's southern city of Basra, on August 12, 2024. (AFP)
Iraqi fishermen prepare to get on a boat in the Shatt al-Arab river, formed at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in Iraq's southern city of Basra, on August 12, 2024. (AFP)
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Iraq Says Announcement on Date for End to US-Led Coalition Mission Postponed

 Iraqi fishermen prepare to get on a boat in the Shatt al-Arab river, formed at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in Iraq's southern city of Basra, on August 12, 2024. (AFP)
Iraqi fishermen prepare to get on a boat in the Shatt al-Arab river, formed at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in Iraq's southern city of Basra, on August 12, 2024. (AFP)

Iraq's foreign ministry said on Thursday that an announcement on an end date for the US-led coalition's mission has been postponed due to the "latest developments." It did not identify the developments.

The US-Iraq Higher Military Commission, comprising officials from both countries, discussed details of withdrawing advisers from military sites, the foreign ministry said in a statement said.

It said the only remaining issues before reaching a deal on ending the coalition's presence in Iraq were agreement on an announcement date, logical aspects and other details.

A rare ally of both the US and Iran, Iraq hosts 2,500 US troops and has Iran-backed militias linked to its security forces. It has witnessed escalating tit-for-tat attacks since the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza erupted in October.

On Aug. 5, at least five US personnel were injured in an attack against a military base in Iraq.

Iraq wants troops from the US-led military coalition to begin withdrawing in September and to formally end the coalition's work by September 2025, Iraqi sources have said, with some US forces likely to remain in a newly negotiated advisory capacity.



Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Syrian Youth Will Resist Incoming Government

A defaced portrait of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen in Damascus, Syria, 18 December 2024 (issued 22 December 2024). (EPA)
A defaced portrait of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen in Damascus, Syria, 18 December 2024 (issued 22 December 2024). (EPA)
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Syrian Youth Will Resist Incoming Government

A defaced portrait of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen in Damascus, Syria, 18 December 2024 (issued 22 December 2024). (EPA)
A defaced portrait of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen in Damascus, Syria, 18 December 2024 (issued 22 December 2024). (EPA)

Iran's supreme leader on Sunday said that young Syrians will resist the new government emerging after the overthrow of President Bashar sl-Assad as he again accused the United States and Israel of sowing chaos in the country.

Iran had provided crucial support to Assad throughout Syria's nearly 14-year civil war, which erupted after he launched a violent crackdown on a popular uprising against his family's decades-long rule. Syria had long served as a key conduit for Iranian aid to Lebanon's armed group Hezbollah.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in an address on Sunday that the “young Syrian has nothing to lose" and suffers from insecurity following Assad's fall.

“What can he do? He should stand with strong will against those who designed and those who implemented the insecurity," Khamenei said. “God willing, he will overcome them.”

He accused the United States and Israel of plotting against Assad's government in order to seize resources, saying: “Now they feel victory, the Americans, the Zionist regime and those who accompanied them.”

Iran and its armed proxies in the region have suffered a series of major setbacks over the past year, with Israel battering Hamas in Gaza and landing heavy blows on Hezbollah before they agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon last month.

Khamenei denied that such groups were proxies of Iran, saying they fought because of their own beliefs and that Tehran did not depend on them. “If one day we plan to take action, we do not need proxy force,” he said.