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Iraq, Jordan Reopen Border Crossing

Iraqi flags fly at the Iraqi Trebil border crossing on the Iraq-Jordan border on August 30, 2017. (AP)
Iraqi flags fly at the Iraqi Trebil border crossing on the Iraq-Jordan border on August 30, 2017. (AP)
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Iraq, Jordan Reopen Border Crossing

Iraqi flags fly at the Iraqi Trebil border crossing on the Iraq-Jordan border on August 30, 2017. (AP)
Iraqi flags fly at the Iraqi Trebil border crossing on the Iraq-Jordan border on August 30, 2017. (AP)

Iraq and Jordan have inaugurated a joint industrial area on the border between the neighboring countries.

The ceremony on the Iraq-Jordan border was attended by Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi and his Jordanian counterpart Omar Razzaz.

Saturday's meeting was also attended by top officials as the former neighbors boost their relations following the defeat of the ISIS terrorist group that controlled areas in Iraq bordering Jordan.

The border crossing was formally reopened Saturday.

As part of the agreement between the two countries that was signed in late December, Iraq will supply Jordan with oil a day at a lower price.

Under the deal, Iraq would sell 10,000 barrels per day of oil to Jordan at a special price, transported by tanker from its Kirkuk oilfields, the Jordanian prime minister’s office said in a statement. It did not say what the price was or when the oil would be exported.

Iraqi goods imported via Jordan’s Aqaba port on the Red Sea would meanwhile receive preferential tariffs, it said.

Aqaba port at the north end of the Red Sea has long been a major transit route for Iraqi imports and exports, and Amman has long relied on Iraqi crude to fuel its economy.

Razzaz’s office also said Jordan would begin to export electricity to Iraq within the next two years.

Abdul Mahdi says the government aims to decrease dependency on oil exports for state revenue. Oil exports from OPEC’s second-largest producer account for more than 95 percent of state revenues.

Furthermore, Abdul-Mahdi's office said Iraqi officials were handed 1,300 pieces of antiquities that Jordanian authorities confiscated from smugglers.

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Arab World

Lebanese Army Conducts 500 Missions to Dismantle Hezbollah Infrastructure South of Litani River

A Lebanese Army vehicle near a destroyed position in the town of Naqoura in South Lebanon (AFP)
A Lebanese Army vehicle near a destroyed position in the town of Naqoura in South Lebanon (AFP)
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Lebanese Army Conducts 500 Missions to Dismantle Hezbollah Infrastructure South of Litani River

A Lebanese Army vehicle near a destroyed position in the town of Naqoura in South Lebanon (AFP)
A Lebanese Army vehicle near a destroyed position in the town of Naqoura in South Lebanon (AFP)

The Lebanese army has intensified its efforts to stop Israel from finding excuses for the ceasefire agreement in South Lebanon to endure. Since the ceasefire was declared on November 27, the army has carried out approximately 500 missions to inspect potential Hezbollah sites, dismantle infrastructure, and confiscate weapons.

Under the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah and Israel are both supposed to withdraw from southern Lebanon by Sunday to allow the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers to provide security.

According to sources monitoring the implementation of the agreement, Hezbollah is “fully cooperating with the decisions of the Lebanese authorities.”

Israel has warned residents of over 62 towns south of the Litani River against returning to their villages. While Israel has not established any permanent military posts on Lebanese soil, it has conducted incursions and demolitions in 38 villages and towns. Israeli forces have fully withdrawn from nine of these areas, with the Lebanese army swiftly deploying in them and preparing to assume control in others.

Israeli media leaks suggest that Israel might retain control of three border points: Hamames Hill in Khiam, facing the Metula settlement; a site in Harsh Al-Labouneh in the western sector near Naqoura and Alma Al-Shaab, facing settlements in western Galilee; and Jabal Balat in the central sector near Ramiyeh, opposite the Zar’it and Shtula settlements. These claims are allegedly based on the assertion that the Lebanese army and UNIFIL have not yet completed their assignments.

However, security sources affirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the army has fulfilled its responsibilities, dismantling most of Hezbollah’s military infrastructure south of the Litani River. The sources stressed that the army has promptly addressed every potential site or facility reported by the ceasefire monitoring committee.

Hezbollah has reportedly not objected to any army or UNIFIL operations involving inspections, confiscation of weapons, or clearing of storage depots. Security officials revealed that the army seizes all weapons and ammunition found south of the Litani River without consulting any other parties, in accordance with political directives to enforce UN Resolution 1701. The confiscated weapons and ammunition are disposed of daily by engineering teams at three designated demolition sites.

In collaboration with and under the supervision of UNIFIL, the Lebanese army has carried out 500 missions to inspect and dismantle potential Hezbollah sites, including 100 weapons depots confirmed by the UN Secretary-General during his recent visit to southern Lebanon.

The army has also deployed in areas that Israeli troops have withdrawn from, fully complying with monitoring committee instructions despite provocations by Israeli forces. These provocations include Israeli drones dropping sound bombs near army personnel, repeated incursions into Lebanese territory, and detonations near UNIFIL units. One such incident recently injured seven members of the Finnish battalion.

The Lebanese army has documented more than 1,500 Israeli violations since the ceasefire, including land, sea, and air breaches, demolitions of buildings, and destruction of roads.