Arrest Warrant against Pro-Iran Cleric Stokes Tensions in Iraq

A student walks past the remains of a tent, which was burnt last night after clashes between supporters of Iraqi Shiite armed groups and Iraqi security forces during a protest against the election results in Baghdad, Iraq, November 6, 2021. (Reuters)
A student walks past the remains of a tent, which was burnt last night after clashes between supporters of Iraqi Shiite armed groups and Iraqi security forces during a protest against the election results in Baghdad, Iraq, November 6, 2021. (Reuters)
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Arrest Warrant against Pro-Iran Cleric Stokes Tensions in Iraq

A student walks past the remains of a tent, which was burnt last night after clashes between supporters of Iraqi Shiite armed groups and Iraqi security forces during a protest against the election results in Baghdad, Iraq, November 6, 2021. (Reuters)
A student walks past the remains of a tent, which was burnt last night after clashes between supporters of Iraqi Shiite armed groups and Iraqi security forces during a protest against the election results in Baghdad, Iraq, November 6, 2021. (Reuters)

A court in the Iraqi city of Najaf has issued an arrest warrant on terrorism charges against a cleric who is close to Iran.

The suspect is Hamid al-Husseini, who is head of the Iraqi Radio and Television Union, which is funded by Iran.

Another arrest warrant on the same charges was issued against Ammar Ibrahim Talal al-Bouamer.

Observers have ruled out the possibility that the warrants may be linked to the assassination attempt against Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi earlier this month.

Tensions have been high in Iraq in wake of the failed attempt on the PM's life.

Pro-Iran factions, which were the major losers in the October parliamentary elections, are widely believed to be behind the attack. They have held protests in Baghdad to express their rejection of the vote, which they have dismissed as a "sham".

The elections commission has completed the recount of votes in ballot stations whose results have been appealed.

Ten days remain to complete the process, but as it stands, the recount will not alter the outcome of the elections, which saw Sadrist movement leader cleric Moqtada al-Sadr emerge as victor.

The official results of the elections will be revealed once the Federal Supreme Court approves them.

In the meantime, the losing factions will be bracing themselves for a new round of confrontation with the government, Kadhimi and the Independent High Electoral Commission, which they accuse of being beholden to internal and foreign powers.



4 People Killed in Israeli Strike in South Lebanon’s Nabatieh

This picture taken from a position in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel shows an Israeli army tank being positioned along the Israel-Lebanon border, on July 1, 2026. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)
This picture taken from a position in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel shows an Israeli army tank being positioned along the Israel-Lebanon border, on July 1, 2026. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)
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4 People Killed in Israeli Strike in South Lebanon’s Nabatieh

This picture taken from a position in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel shows an Israeli army tank being positioned along the Israel-Lebanon border, on July 1, 2026. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)
This picture taken from a position in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel shows an Israeli army tank being positioned along the Israel-Lebanon border, on July 1, 2026. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)

Four people were killed when an Israeli drone ⁠targeted a vehicle ⁠in ⁠Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon's state news agency.

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2 with rocket fire at Israel to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader in US-Israeli strikes days earlier.

Israel responded with heavy airstrikes and a ground invasion of southern Lebanon, where its troops still occupy swathes of territory near the border.

At the end of June, Lebanon and Israel agreed to a US-backed framework aiming to pave the way for a permanent end to hostilities.


Hamas to Dissolve Gaza Governing Body, Say Officials

Palestinians walk along a road in Gaza City on July 3, 2026. (AFP)
Palestinians walk along a road in Gaza City on July 3, 2026. (AFP)
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Hamas to Dissolve Gaza Governing Body, Say Officials

Palestinians walk along a road in Gaza City on July 3, 2026. (AFP)
Palestinians walk along a road in Gaza City on July 3, 2026. (AFP)

Hamas is preparing to dissolve the body that has governed the Gaza Strip for nearly two decades, officials from the group said Monday, clearing the way for a Palestinian technocratic committee to implement civilian rule.

The move marks a significant political shift by the Hamas group, which has run Gaza since its fighters seized control from rival Palestinian movement Fatah in 2007.

Since a ceasefire took effect in Gaza last October between Hamas and Israel, the group has repeatedly said it is prepared to step aside from day-to-day governance, but the thorny issue of its disarmament remains unresolved.

"The movement has decided to dissolve the Gaza government committee and to appoint a nationally accepted figure to oversee the committee's work until the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza formally assumes its responsibilities," a Hamas official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk publicly on the matter.

Hamas's media office in Gaza said it would hold "an important press conference" later on Monday, without providing details.

A second Hamas official said the group had already informed other Palestinian factions of the move at a recent meeting in Cairo.

"The factions welcomed Hamas's decision, describing it as a serious step towards enabling the National Committee to take up its governing role," the official said.

The dissolution of the Hamas body paves the way for the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), headed by Palestinian official Ali Shaath, to assume administrative responsibilities.

The NCAG was established by the Board of Peace, which was in turn set up by US President Donald Trump when he brokered the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel last October.

But it has remained based outside Gaza for months, reportedly due to Israeli objections to its entry into the war-devastated territory.

Hamas and other Palestinian factions have held several rounds of talks in Cairo with mediators to narrow differences, particularly over the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire.

The first phase involved the release of the last Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel.

The transition to the second phase, which was to involve Hamas's disarmament and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, has been stalled for months.

Israeli forces have actually expanded their presence in the territory in recent months, taking control of nearly 70 percent.

Meanwhile, Hamas is demanding the establishment of a Palestinian administration before it will consider handing over any part of its arsenal.

The question of Gaza's post-war governance remains one of the main sticking points in negotiations on implementing phase two.

Israel rejects any return of Hamas to power, but also rejects a direct takeover by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority at this stage.


UN Rights Council Orders 'Urgent Inquiry' in Sudan's El-Obeid

A Sudanese girl reacts while carrying a plastic canister in al-Rahmaniyah camp for displaced people, near the city of El-Obeid in the southern Kordofan region, on June 25, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
A Sudanese girl reacts while carrying a plastic canister in al-Rahmaniyah camp for displaced people, near the city of El-Obeid in the southern Kordofan region, on June 25, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
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UN Rights Council Orders 'Urgent Inquiry' in Sudan's El-Obeid

A Sudanese girl reacts while carrying a plastic canister in al-Rahmaniyah camp for displaced people, near the city of El-Obeid in the southern Kordofan region, on June 25, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
A Sudanese girl reacts while carrying a plastic canister in al-Rahmaniyah camp for displaced people, near the city of El-Obeid in the southern Kordofan region, on June 25, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

The UN rights council on Monday ordered an "urgent inquiry" into violations and abuses in the Sudanese city of El-Obeid, warning of the looming risk of "large-scale atrocities". 

A strategic hub in the southern Kordofan region, El-Obeid has been encircled for months by the Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group that has been fighting Sudan's army since April 2023. 

In a resolution adopted by consensus, the 47-member council voiced "deep concern about the imminent risk of large-scale atrocities by the (RSF)... faced by hundreds of thousands of civilians, including children and internally displaced persons in and around El-Obeid". 

The resolution, which passed after the council held an urgent debate on the situation on Friday, also condemned "reports of dozens of drone strikes on El-Obeid in the last two weeks, including on hospitals and health facilities". 

It also decried "widespread use of rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence", and voiced "alarm at reports of the use of starvation as a method of warfare". 

Presenting the resolution on behalf of a number of countries, Britain's human rights ambassador in Geneva Eleanor Sanders told the council that it was "not enough to express shock and concern". 

"We must take concrete action to support accountability for these crimes." 

- 'Red alert' - 

El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, sits on a key route linking RSF-held areas in the western Darfur region to army-controlled regions in the east. 

A city of half a million people that hosts nearly 100,000 refugees displaced by the civil war, El-Obeid has, in recent weeks, faced its most intense RSF attacks yet. 

The UN has voiced fears that there could be a repeat in El-Obeid of atrocities committed during the RSF's October 2025 assault on the Sudanese city of El-Fasher. 

The UN's independent fact-finding mission on Sudan concluded earlier this year that the siege and capture of El-Fasher bore "the hallmarks of genocide". 

During Friday's debate, UN rights chief Volker Turk told the council that "the signs from El-Obeid are clear and unmistakable: another human rights catastrophe is unfolding in Sudan". 

Monday's text called on the existing fact-finding mission to conduct "an urgent inquiry into any violations and abuses of international... law and related to international crimes, allegedly committed in and around El-Obeid". 

The investigators, it said, should provide an update to the rights council and the General Assembly in New York during their next sessions, both in September.