Report: Israel Sets 35 Strike Targets in Iraq as Sudani Seeks to Rein in Factions

Iraqi PM Mohammed Shia al-Sudani meets with Hikma movement leader Ammar al-Hakim. (Iraqi government media)
Iraqi PM Mohammed Shia al-Sudani meets with Hikma movement leader Ammar al-Hakim. (Iraqi government media)
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Report: Israel Sets 35 Strike Targets in Iraq as Sudani Seeks to Rein in Factions

Iraqi PM Mohammed Shia al-Sudani meets with Hikma movement leader Ammar al-Hakim. (Iraqi government media)
Iraqi PM Mohammed Shia al-Sudani meets with Hikma movement leader Ammar al-Hakim. (Iraqi government media)

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has asked Shiite figures to mediate with Iran-backed armed factions to prevent them from getting involved in the war between fellow Iran-aligned Hezbollah in Lebanon and Israel, Iraqi sources said on Tuesday.

The PM launched the efforts after information circulated within the ruling Coordination Framework revealed that Israel had set 35 targets it may strike in Iraq.

The targets may be hit at any moment, and they include political and faction leaders, said a source.

The Iraqi factions have vowed to retaliate to Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut last week. They announced that they were ready to fight alongside the group in southern Lebanon.

An Iraqi government spokesman had said that the local parties have managed to avoid an escalation, but political circles warned the fears persist that the factions may be dragged to war with Israel.

On Monday, the factions struck the Victoria Base Complex near Baghdad International Airport. The government is concerned that the United States and Israel may retaliate to the attack inside Iraq itself.

Sudani has been working on reining the factions. He recently tasked three influential figures, including a political religious official, with carrying out urgent contacts and meetings with the leaders of armed factions to persuade them to distance themselves from the conflict in Lebanon.

The PM held a regular meeting with the State Administration coalition, which includes the majority of political leaders, to discuss the latest developments in the region and their impact on Iraq, said a government statement.

It stressed the unity of Iraq’s position and its political forces, as well as their backing of the government’s stance on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Sources said Sudani selected head of the Hikma movement Ammar al-Hakim to act as mediator with the armed factions to stop the escalation.

Despite his efforts, another source doubted that the factions would comply with Sudani or any other figure.

“They realize that the situation is dangerous, but they also believe that this is an existential battle aimed at striking at the very heart of the Axis of Resistance” that comprises Hezbollah and other Iran-backed armed factions in the region.



EU Official Hold Talks in Algeria on ‘New Pact for Mediterranean’

European Commission Director-General for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf Stefano Sannino. (EU)
European Commission Director-General for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf Stefano Sannino. (EU)
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EU Official Hold Talks in Algeria on ‘New Pact for Mediterranean’

European Commission Director-General for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf Stefano Sannino. (EU)
European Commission Director-General for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf Stefano Sannino. (EU)

The European Commission’s Director-General for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf, Stefano Sannino, made an official visit to Algiers on Tuesday to discuss with senior Algerian officials the reviving of their “Partnership Agreement” and a plan to engage the partner countries of the Southern Neighborhood in the New Pact for the Mediterranean.

In a statement, the European Commission said Sannino will stay in Algeria until April 24.

“This mission is firmly in line with the consultations conducted on the New Pact for the Mediterranean, which the European Commission will adopt in the coming months, with a view to promoting a more integrated and supportive approach to regional cooperation,” the statement said.

During this visit, Sannino will hold talks with representatives of several Algerian ministerial departments, including Foreign Affairs, Energy, Finance, and Culture.

He will also take part, on Wednesday, in the opening of a conference on “New Investment Dynamics and Prospects for Cooperation” between the European Union in Algeria, jointly organized by the Delegation of the European Union in Algeria and the Algerian Investment Promotion Agency (AAPI), in the presence of representatives of the Algerian Economic Renewal Council (CREA) and the business community in Algeria.

The visit will provide a valuable opportunity to reaffirm the EU’s commitment to revitalizing bilateral cooperation with Algeria, within the broader and strategically articulated framework of the New Pact for the Mediterranean, the Commission said.

It added that the EU “aspires to a partnership that goes beyond the very strong existing relations, particularly in the energy sector, to build other strategic complementarities for sustainable and inclusive growth, in a changing geopolitical context and facing shared challenges such as reindustrialization, economic competitiveness, and the green transition.”

The visit comes as Algeria’s Foreign and Commerce ministries hold talks with the North Africa Unit at the Directorate-General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission, aimed at reviving their “Partnership Agreement” signed in 2002.

The new Agenda for the Mediterranean was launched by the European Union in 2021 to strengthen the strategic partnership with its Southern Neighborhood partners in trade and renewable energies, upgrading facilities and infrastructure, and managing migration and counter-terrorism issues.