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Iranian Delegation Pressures Baghdad to Recognize Soleimani as State Guest

A member of Iraq’s PMF stands guard in front of a banner depicting slain Iraqi deputy chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani (AFP)
A member of Iraq’s PMF stands guard in front of a banner depicting slain Iraqi deputy chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani (AFP)
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Iranian Delegation Pressures Baghdad to Recognize Soleimani as State Guest

A member of Iraq’s PMF stands guard in front of a banner depicting slain Iraqi deputy chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani (AFP)
A member of Iraq’s PMF stands guard in front of a banner depicting slain Iraqi deputy chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani (AFP)

An Iranian delegation arrived in Baghdad last week to pressure the Iraqi government to recognize that General Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated in 2020, was an official guest of Iraq, Iraqi sources reported.

According to the sources, the delegation included diplomats and jurists from Tehran, all of whom were commissioned by Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

They exerted great pressure on the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani to issue an official document recognizing that Soleimani was an official guest of Iraq when he was assassinated at dawn on January 3, 2020, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The Iraqi government asked its experts to study the request and figure out a way to issue the document without angering Washington.

Shiite parties backing al-Sudani’s government fear that Soleimani’s case will affect Baghdad’s relationship with the US, which they see as “necessary for the stability of the prime minister’s position.”

Former Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi, two days after Soleimani’s assassination, affirmed that he was slated to meet the slain Iranian general. He said Soleimani was meant to deliver an Iranian response to a letter from Saudi Arabia regarding truce negotiations in the region.

Sources close to the government offices claimed that al-Sudani wants to please the US and Iran at the same time, and this pushes him to search for a compromise regarding Soleimani’s file.

Moreover, sources pointed to Iraqi officials’ shock at “the Iranian rush regarding the recognition, especially its political timing.”

Pro-Iranian Shiite parties are not enthusiastic about Tehran’s demand. Even the leader of the Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq movement does not now want a confrontation with Washington, sources affirmed.

An Iraqi legal expert, who requested anonymity, said that the request indicates Iranian intent to draft a judicial file based on violating Iraq’s sovereignty in accordance with international law. Tehran wants to accuse Washington of assassinating a figure who was labeled an official guest.

This will lead Iraq, according to the expert, to be a binding party in bringing any lawsuit before the international courts against the US.

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France Apologizes for UN Diplomatic Spat with Washington

11 September 2026, US, New York: France's Permanent Representative to the UN, Jerome Bonnafont, speaks during a UN Security Council meeting marking the 25th anniversary of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks and examining the evolving global terrorist threat and international efforts to counter terrorism. Photo: Bianca Otero/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
11 September 2026, US, New York: France's Permanent Representative to the UN, Jerome Bonnafont, speaks during a UN Security Council meeting marking the 25th anniversary of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks and examining the evolving global terrorist threat and international efforts to counter terrorism. Photo: Bianca Otero/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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France Apologizes for UN Diplomatic Spat with Washington

11 September 2026, US, New York: France's Permanent Representative to the UN, Jerome Bonnafont, speaks during a UN Security Council meeting marking the 25th anniversary of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks and examining the evolving global terrorist threat and international efforts to counter terrorism. Photo: Bianca Otero/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
11 September 2026, US, New York: France's Permanent Representative to the UN, Jerome Bonnafont, speaks during a UN Security Council meeting marking the 25th anniversary of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks and examining the evolving global terrorist threat and international efforts to counter terrorism. Photo: Bianca Otero/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

The French UN mission said it regretted an online post criticizing how the United States voted during a UN General Assembly meeting, with US officials telling AFP on Saturday that Washington appreciated the statement.

France's permanent mission to the UN published the apology Friday, saying it regretted a post on X criticizing the United States' commitment to human rights.

"France and the United States recently took different positions on a vote at the United Nations General Assembly. This difference concerned one vote, and not the defense of human rights," the mission said in an English statement on its website.

"Public differences of opinion on one vote do not stand in the way of close dialogue with the United States, and do not call into question our historical alliance, nor our ability to work together to advance peace, stability and prosperity, including within multilateral forums," the statement continued.

The mea culpa was well-received by Washington, which has been holding up the appointment of France's next US ambassador as a result of the dispute.

"We note and appreciate France's statement and look forward to working together to further shared values and interests," a US State Department official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The US State Department has held up the approval of Aurelien Lechevallier, French President Emmanuel Macron's choice as France's next envoy to Washington, replacing Laurent Bili.

Lechevallier is currently French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot's chief of staff.

US approval of a choice of French envoy is usually a formality but has remained in limbo since the dispute.

On July 24, the United States was one of 10 countries to vote in the UN General Assembly against extending Volker Turk's term as UN human rights chief, joining the ranks of North Korea, Russia and Nicaragua, among others.

"The US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore," the French mission wrote in a post on X after the United States strongly opposed another term by Turk, who has repeatedly questioned US policies under President Donald Trump.

The criticism was met with immediate backlash from Washington, with the US representative walking out of a UN Security Council meeting days later when France's ambassador took the floor, in protest of the comments.

World

Kremlin Not Ruling Out Return to Talks with Ukraine in October

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov waits before a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Vietnamese President To Lam (both not pictured) at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 09 September 2026. To Lam is on a three-day state visit to Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov waits before a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Vietnamese President To Lam (both not pictured) at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 09 September 2026. To Lam is on a three-day state visit to Russia.
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Kremlin Not Ruling Out Return to Talks with Ukraine in October

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov waits before a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Vietnamese President To Lam (both not pictured) at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 09 September 2026. To Lam is on a three-day state visit to Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov waits before a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Vietnamese President To Lam (both not pictured) at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 09 September 2026. To Lam is on a three-day state visit to Russia.

Three-way negotiations with Ukraine and the United States on ending Europe's worst conflict since World War II could take place in October, the Kremlin said on Sunday, according to Russian agencies.

"We do not rule out such a possibility; we are talking about the foreseeable future," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists, cited by Russia's Ria and Tass news agencies.

World

Macron, Carney to Visit French Islands After Trump’s Map Post

French President Emmanuel Macron looks on prior to welcoming Rwanda's President Paul Kagame (not pictured) upon his arrival at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 11 September 2026. (EPA)
French President Emmanuel Macron looks on prior to welcoming Rwanda's President Paul Kagame (not pictured) upon his arrival at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 11 September 2026. (EPA)
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Macron, Carney to Visit French Islands After Trump’s Map Post

French President Emmanuel Macron looks on prior to welcoming Rwanda's President Paul Kagame (not pictured) upon his arrival at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 11 September 2026. (EPA)
French President Emmanuel Macron looks on prior to welcoming Rwanda's President Paul Kagame (not pictured) upon his arrival at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 11 September 2026. (EPA)

The leaders of France and Canada will next week visit France's North Atlantic territory of Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon to underscore their support for national borders in the face of Donald Trump's territorial ambitions, Paris said Sunday.

The US president on Monday posted an image to social media with a map of North America in which Canada, Greenland and Mexico, much of central America and the Caribbean, as well as Iceland, were colored in with the US flag.

The image also encompassed several French overseas territories, such as Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon, Guadeloupe and Martinique.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will make a symbolic visit to Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon to underscore that their countries share "the same values of freedom, democracy, the rule of law and respect for the sovereignty of nations", the Elysee said.

Macron was set to visit the territory on September 19-21, with Carney joining the French leader on September 20.

"In a world marked by the return of power politics, geopolitical tensions and new forms of dependency, France and Canada share a common ambition: to work together, and with all countries that share these values, to strengthen their capacity to make decisions and act independently," the Elysee said.

The three islands of the archipelago of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, located about 20 kilometers (12 miles) off Canada's Atlantic coast, is home to around 6,000 people.

Macron will stop there on his way to New York, where he is due to attend the UN General Assembly.

It would be the first official visit by a Canadian prime minister to the archipelago, the French presidency said.

The territory has previously been the scene of tensions with the United States during World War II, when France was under German occupation.

In 1941, General Charles de Gaulle's Free French forces seized Saint-Pierre and Miquelon from the collaborationist Vichy regime, despite opposition from US President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration, which had sought to maintain existing arrangements with Marshal Philippe Petain's government.

The last visit by a French president to the strategically located islands, some 4,300 kilometers from mainland France, was by Francois Hollande in 2014.

Macron is also set to address climate change affecting the territory.

The village of Miquelon has started moving inland to escape the growing threat of sea-level rise, in what is widely regarded as France's first climate-driven community relocation.