Hook Says Soleimani’s Death Helps Iraqis Limit Iranian Influence

FILE PHOTO: Brian Hook, US Special Representative for Iran, speaks at a news conference in London, Britain June 28, 2019. REUTERS/Simon Dawson
FILE PHOTO: Brian Hook, US Special Representative for Iran, speaks at a news conference in London, Britain June 28, 2019. REUTERS/Simon Dawson
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Hook Says Soleimani’s Death Helps Iraqis Limit Iranian Influence

FILE PHOTO: Brian Hook, US Special Representative for Iran, speaks at a news conference in London, Britain June 28, 2019. REUTERS/Simon Dawson
FILE PHOTO: Brian Hook, US Special Representative for Iran, speaks at a news conference in London, Britain June 28, 2019. REUTERS/Simon Dawson

US Special Envoy for Iran Brian Hook has said that the killing of Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani in a US strike near Baghdad airport earlier this year has giving Iraq a chance to come out of the sphere of Iranian influence.

Hook made his remark in an interview with Foreign Policy magazine published Thursday.

Asked about the priorities that the US administration will ask from Iraq during talks it is expected to hold in June with the new Iraqi government, Hook said: “The Iranian regime since the time of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini has the desire to dominate all governments in the Middle East. Our policy is to reverse Iran’s influence across the Middle East.”

“I think there’s a lot of support for that among the Iraqi people. And one of the things the prime minister will be focused on, I think, is reclaiming Iraq’s sovereignty from Iranian interference,” he told his interviewer.

“I think the death of Qassem Soleimani presents a better environment for the Iraqi people to have a government that represents their interests and not the interests of the Iranian regime,” he added.

Hook told Foreign Policy that the US believes that the Iranian people wish for a regime change. And that was obvious in protests that erupted last November.

He said there was not a single protest against President Donald Trump or against US sanctions because the Iranian people know who is responsible for their economic problems.



Türkiye Arrests Five Mayors from CHP Opposition Party 

Residential buildings and business towers are seen in the city's Kagithane and Sariyer districts in Istanbul, Türkiye, May 30, 2025. (Reuters)
Residential buildings and business towers are seen in the city's Kagithane and Sariyer districts in Istanbul, Türkiye, May 30, 2025. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Arrests Five Mayors from CHP Opposition Party 

Residential buildings and business towers are seen in the city's Kagithane and Sariyer districts in Istanbul, Türkiye, May 30, 2025. (Reuters)
Residential buildings and business towers are seen in the city's Kagithane and Sariyer districts in Istanbul, Türkiye, May 30, 2025. (Reuters)

Turkish police arrested five opposition mayors early Wednesday alongside 17 others as part of a probe into corruption allegations at CHP-held municipalities, a party spokesman told AFP.

The latest arrests targeted a former lawmaker and three CHP mayors in Istanbul, and two more in the southern province of Adana, the spokesman said.

The latest round of arrests brings to nine the total number of jailed CHP mayors, including Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu -- the main political rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The latest investigation began at the weekend when a court issued arrest orders for 47 municipal officials in connection with four separate corruption investigations centered on Istanbul, local media reported.

The March 19 arrest and jailing of Imamoglu sparked the biggest street protests Türkiye had seen in more than a decade.

Police had already detained nearly 70 people in subsequent raids linked to alleged corruption at Istanbul City Hall, including Imamoglu's private secretary and his private protection officer.

The CHP has nominated Imamoglu as its candidate in presidential elections due in 2028 but whether he can run in the elections depends on the fate of numerous trials and probes.