UN Security Council Condemns Kadhimi’s Assassination Attempt

The UN Security Council meets at the UN headquarters in New York, US. Reuters file photo
The UN Security Council meets at the UN headquarters in New York, US. Reuters file photo
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UN Security Council Condemns Kadhimi’s Assassination Attempt

The UN Security Council meets at the UN headquarters in New York, US. Reuters file photo
The UN Security Council meets at the UN headquarters in New York, US. Reuters file photo

The UN Security Council on Monday condemned the attempted assassination of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, stressing the need to hold the perpetrators of these heinous terrorist acts accountable, and bring them to justice.

“The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the attempt to assassinate Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi on November 7, 2021,” UNSC said in a statement.

A drone laden with explosives targeted Kadhimi’s residence in Baghdad early on Sunday. The PM escaped unhurt.

Council members reiterated their support for Iraq's independence, sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, democratic process, and prosperity.

They also reiterated that "terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security,” stressing the need to hold the perpetrators, organizers, financiers, and sponsors of these heinous terrorist acts accountable, and bring them to justice.

They urged all states, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to actively cooperate with the Iraqi government and all other relevant authorities in this regard.

Council members noted that any terrorist acts are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever and whenever they were committed and by whomever committed.

They affirmed the need for all states to combat threats to international peace and security through terrorist acts, by all means in accordance with the UN Charter and other obligations under international law including international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law.

The attack against Kadhimi came after protests in the Iraqi capital over the result of a general election last month turned violent.



UK Plans to Recognize Palestinian State in September Unless Israel Takes Action

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump (not pictured) hold a bilateral meeting at Trump Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, Britain, July 28, 2025. (Reuters)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump (not pictured) hold a bilateral meeting at Trump Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, Britain, July 28, 2025. (Reuters)
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UK Plans to Recognize Palestinian State in September Unless Israel Takes Action

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump (not pictured) hold a bilateral meeting at Trump Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, Britain, July 28, 2025. (Reuters)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump (not pictured) hold a bilateral meeting at Trump Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, Britain, July 28, 2025. (Reuters)

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Tuesday Britain was prepared to recognize a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly unless Israel takes a number of steps to improve life for Palestinians. 

Britain, if it acts, would become the second Western power on the UN Security Council to do so after France last week, reflecting Israel's deepening isolation over its conduct in its war against Hamas in Gaza, where a humanitarian disaster has set in and the Palestinian death toll has risen above 60,000. 

Starmer said Britain would make the move unless Israel took substantive steps to allow more aid to enter Gaza, made clear there will be no annexation of the West Bank and commits to a long-term peace process that delivers a "two-state solution" - a Palestinian state coexisting in peace alongside Israel. 

"The Palestinian people have endured terrible suffering," Starmer told reporters. "Now, in Gaza, because of a catastrophic failure of aid, we see starving babies, children too weak to stand, images that will stay with us for a lifetime. The suffering must end." 

Starmer said his government would make an assessment in September on "how far the parties have met these steps", but that no one would have a veto over the decision. 

He took the decision after recalling his cabinet during the summer holidays on Tuesday to discuss a new proposed peace plan being worked on with other European leaders and how to deliver more humanitarian aid for Gaza's 2.2 million people. 

Successive British governments have said they will formally recognize a Palestinian state when the time is right, without ever setting a timetable or specifying the necessary conditions. 

With warnings from international aid agencies that people in Gaza are facing starvation, a growing number of lawmakers in Starmer's Labor Party have been asking him to recognize a Palestinian state to raise pressure on Israel. 

The issue came to the fore after President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday France would recognize Palestine as a state in territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war. 

Israel and staunch supporter the United States blasted France's move, branding it a reward for Palestinian Hamas fighters who ran Gaza and whose attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 triggered the current war. 

At the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, when Starmer was the opposition leader, he fully backed Israel's right to defend itself. But his stance has shifted over the years to a tougher approach to Israel, especially since his election as prime minister just over a year ago. 

His government dropped the previous government’s challenge over arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and has suspended some weapon sales to Israel. 

Last month, Britain sanctioned two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, accusing them of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians.