Iran Warns Sadr of Divisions Leading to ISIS Resurgence

File photo: Supporters of Moqtada Al Sadr during Friday prayers in Sadr City, on the outskirts of Baghdad (AFP)
File photo: Supporters of Moqtada Al Sadr during Friday prayers in Sadr City, on the outskirts of Baghdad (AFP)
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Iran Warns Sadr of Divisions Leading to ISIS Resurgence

File photo: Supporters of Moqtada Al Sadr during Friday prayers in Sadr City, on the outskirts of Baghdad (AFP)
File photo: Supporters of Moqtada Al Sadr during Friday prayers in Sadr City, on the outskirts of Baghdad (AFP)

While Iraq’s Coordination Framework, a coalition of Shiite parties, holds meetings to announce a new political initiative, Iran’s Quds Force Commander Esmail Qaani warned head of the Sadrist Movement Moqtada Al Sadr against the resurgence of ISIS amid Iraqi divisions.

Qaani had met with Sadr on Tuesday in the central Iraqi city of Najaf.

Multiple sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Qaani conveyed Tehran’s fears of “unacceptable consequences” in the event of the disintegration of Shiite forces, including the possibility of “a new invasion of (ISIS) according to a foreign conspiracy.”

A political source who spoke with the team accompanying Qaani said that the Iranian commander assured Sadr that Tehran did not object to the government he wanted to form.

Nevertheless, Qaani stressed that Tehran is rather interested in obtaining realistic guarantees that Iran’s national security will not be threatened.

Mediation efforts continue in Iraq, to bridge the gap between the two largest Shiite blocs that have been at daggers-end since the country's latest parliamentary elections in October.

One bloc, headed by Al Sadr, swept the polls winning 73 out of 329 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Challenging those numbers is the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Shiite parties — all former allies of Al Sadr — who claim that they collectively hold the majority of 88 seats, rather than the Sadrists.

A source quoting a member of Qaani’s accompanying delegation said that “not involving the Coordination Framework does not constitute a guarantee against threats to Iran’s national security, because it means an unprecedented Shiite division.”

After meeting with Sadr, Qaani returned to Baghdad in conjunction with talks held by the Coordinating Framework to announce a new political initiative.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi on Wednesday reiterated his government’s rejection of some parties exploiting political divisions in Iraq to settle scores.



Ukraine Set to Sign Minerals Deal, Trump Confirms Zelenskiy Visit

 Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during a press conference, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 26, 2025. (Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during a press conference, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 26, 2025. (Reuters)
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Ukraine Set to Sign Minerals Deal, Trump Confirms Zelenskiy Visit

 Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during a press conference, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 26, 2025. (Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during a press conference, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 26, 2025. (Reuters)

Ukraine said on Wednesday it was set to approve a framework minerals deal with the United States but that its success would depend on talks with President Donald Trump.

The deal, under which Kyiv would hand some revenue from its mineral resources to a fund jointly controlled by the US, is central to Ukrainian attempts to win strong support from Trump as he seeks a quick end to Russia's war, with US-Russian talks that have so far excluded Kyiv set to continue on Thursday.

Trump confirmed Zelenskiy would visit Washington on Friday although there was no sign that Kyiv had won the security guarantees it has been seeking as part of the deal, cast by Trump as a payment for US aid to Kyiv during the war.

"This agreement could be part of future security guarantees... an agreement is an agreement, but we need to understand the broader vision," Zelenskiy said in Kyiv.

He said the most important thing was the current draft did not cast Ukraine as a debtor that would have to pay back hundreds of billions of dollars for past military assistance.

"This deal could be a great success or it could pass quietly. And the big success depends on our conversation with President Trump."

He said it would be a success if the US becomes a provider of security guarantees for Ukraine, which wants protection from future Russian attacks if a peace deal is reached.

Fighting has continued in Ukraine during the flurry of diplomacy, with Ukraine frequently coming under attack from Russian missiles and drones in Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two.

QUESTIONS OVER WASHINGTON TRIP

Trump said on Tuesday that Zelenskiy wanted to come to Washington on Friday to sign a "very big deal".

Zelenskiy said both sides were still working on organizing the visit and a White House official on Wednesday raised doubts about whether the visit would go ahead, but Trump later said again that Zelenskiy would visit on Friday.

Trump has been fiercely critical of Zelenskiy as he upended US policy on the war, calling him a "dictator" and ending a campaign to isolate Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Trump spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 12 and a Russian-US meeting took place in Saudi Arabia on February 18.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russian and US diplomats would meet in Istanbul on Thursday to discuss resolving bilateral disputes that are part of a wider dialogue the sides see as crucial to ending the Ukraine war.

Lavrov again ruled out "any options" for European peacekeepers being sent to Ukraine although Trump has said some form of peacekeeping troops are needed in Ukraine if an agreement to end the conflict is struck.

"Nobody has asked us about this," Lavrov said during a visit to Qatar.

'PRELIMINARY' AGREEMENT

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Washington would commit to supporting Kyiv's efforts to obtain security guarantees under the finalized deal, though the Americans offered no security pledges of their own.

Shmyhal said Ukraine's government would authorize the agreed wording later on Wednesday so that it could be signed. He described it as a "preliminary" agreement.

"After the Ukrainian president and the US president agree on security guarantees, agree on how we tie this preliminary agreement to security guarantees from the United States for our country, in the presence of (both) presidents, a representative of the Ukrainian government will sign this preliminary agreement," he said.

In a comment aimed at calming the fears of worried Ukrainians, Shmyhal said Ukraine would never "sign or consider ... a colonial treaty that did not take into account the interests of the state."

A copy of a draft agreement, seen by Reuters and dated February 25, said: "The Government of the United States of America supports Ukraine's efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace."

Shmyhal, outlining the agreement in televised comments, said Kyiv would contribute 50% of "all proceeds received from the future monetization of all relevant state-owned natural resource assets and relevant infrastructure."

Those proceeds would go into a fund under the joint control of the United States and Ukraine, he said, adding that no decision about the governance of the fund could be taken without Kyiv's agreement.

"Already existing deposits, facilities, licenses and rents are not subject to discussion when creating this fund," he added.