Tehran Seeks Strategic Dialogue With Baghdad

Spokesman of Iran's Foreign Ministry Saeed Khatibzadeh (Tasnim)
Spokesman of Iran's Foreign Ministry Saeed Khatibzadeh (Tasnim)
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Tehran Seeks Strategic Dialogue With Baghdad

Spokesman of Iran's Foreign Ministry Saeed Khatibzadeh (Tasnim)
Spokesman of Iran's Foreign Ministry Saeed Khatibzadeh (Tasnim)

The new spokesman of Iran's Foreign Ministry Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday that Iraq is special to his country, adding that during the last visit of Foreign Minister Javad Zarif to Baghdad, the issue of a strategic document between the two countries was on the agenda.

During his first press conference after being appointed, the Iranian spokesman welcomed Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs Fuad Hussein's readiness to hold strategic talks with Iran and the countries of the region.

"Everyone is aware of the strategic relations between Iran and Iraq. Iraq has a special status for us, and during FM Zarif's visit, the issue of a strategic document between the two countries was on the agenda, and information will be provided as soon as it is finalized,” he said.

Khatibzadeh said his country welcomes this announcement and hope to hold strategic talks with Iraq as soon as possible.

The Iranian official’s statements come after last week’s visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi to Washington where he met with US President Donald Trump, describing their sit together as significant and successful.

They also come after Amman announced that a tripartite summit will be held between Jordanian King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in Jordan’s capital within a few days to activate the “New Levant.”

The Iranian statements come with reports about Kadhimi’s delayed visit to Saudi Arabia in the coming days, in addition to talks about an electricity project between Iraq and the Gulf States in the coming year.

And while Iran spoke about its readiness to sign a strategic agreement with Iraq, the Iraqi Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Water, and Marshlands called for speedy government action to ensure a continuous flow of water from Iran. The Head of the Committee, Salam Al-Shammari, said in a press statement that the Ministry of Water Resources has indicated the great damage that will affect Iraq, especially in its center and south, from the low levels of the Zab and Sirwan rivers coming from Iranian territory.

He said the damage will first affect Diyala Governorate, especially the Diyala River, on which the province depends completely to irrigate millions of dunams of agricultural land.

Concerning Kadhimi’s talks with the US administration and the New Levant plan, National Security Professor at al-Nahrain University Dr. Hussein Allawi told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that the Iraqi PM’s visit to Washington achieved three important issues: it stressed national sovereignty through a timetable for the withdrawal of advisors and their redeployment outside Iraq in the coming three years, moved the Iraqi-US relations from the security-military level to the economic-advisory level, and finally separated Iraq from the US-Iranian conflict.



Israel Says No Foreign Courts Have Warrants Issued against Reservists

 Israeli military vehicles operate on a base near the border to Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from southern Israel, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)
Israeli military vehicles operate on a base near the border to Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from southern Israel, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)
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Israel Says No Foreign Courts Have Warrants Issued against Reservists

 Israeli military vehicles operate on a base near the border to Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from southern Israel, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)
Israeli military vehicles operate on a base near the border to Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from southern Israel, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)

Israel said on Tuesday pressure groups were pushing foreign courts to take action against Israelis over alleged war crimes in Gaza but described the actions as "propaganda activity" and said no warrants had been issued.

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

The warrants sparked outrage in Israel but also drew fears that similar warrants could be issued against Israelis who served in the military in Gaza.

On Sunday, an Israeli reservist on holiday in Brazil left the country after a Brazilian federal judge in Salvador ordered police to open an investigation into allegations that he had committed war crimes while serving with the military in Gaza.

The Hind Rajab Foundation, the pro-Palestinian group which brought the action, says on its website it "focuses on offensive legal action against perpetrators, accomplices and inciters of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Palestine."

The Belgium-based group, named after a Palestinian girl killed in Gaza last year, also said it had filed evidence of alleged war crimes with the ICC against 1,000 Israelis, including video and audio reports, forensic reports and other documentation. The ICC confirmed it had received a filing and said it would "analyze the materials submitted, as appropriate".

Israel's foreign ministry offered assistance to the reservist singled out by the action but officials said the issue was not widespread.

"This is a phenomenon of very limited scope in numbers," foreign ministry director general Eden Bar Tal told reporters in Jerusalem, saying there had been no more than 10-12 cases since the beginning of Israel's campaign in Gaza 15 months ago.

"There was no warrant issued in any of these cases. So it was, I would say, a relatively strong PR activity but with very low, very, very low - zero - in judicial results," he said.

"We believe it's a lot of propaganda activity in general and it's sponsored by entities, a very low number of entities, that have direct connections to terrorist organizations," he said.

Hind Rajab Foundation founder, Dyab Abou Jahjah, posts messages on the social media platform X promising to file legal action against Israeli soldiers and asking for help identifying them. He has also posted messages in support of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement, designated as a terrorist organization by many Western countries.

The group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The case in Brazil attracted wide attention in Israel, underscoring fears that individuals beyond the government and military leadership could be drawn into the war crimes issue, particularly through social media posts.

The Israeli military has warned reservists that they could face arrest abroad over alleged war crimes in Gaza, according to documents published by Israeli media. The left-wing Haaretz newspaper said complaints against IDF soldiers have been filed in South Africa, Belgium and France as well as Brazil.

However, Rubens Becak, a law professor at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, said it was not always straightforward for third countries to respond to suits of this kind.

"Without specific legislation, it becomes very difficult for institutions such as the Federal Police to act in cases like this," he said.