US Approves Potential Sale of HIMARS Rockets to Morocco for Estimated $524.2 Mln https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4268351/us-approves-potential-sale-himars-rockets-morocco-estimated-5242-mln
US Approves Potential Sale of HIMARS Rockets to Morocco for Estimated $524.2 Mln
A US M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) fires a missile during a joint military drill between the Philippines and the US called Salaknib at Laur, Nueva Ecija province, northern Philippines on Friday, March 31, 2023. (AP)
US Approves Potential Sale of HIMARS Rockets to Morocco for Estimated $524.2 Mln
A US M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) fires a missile during a joint military drill between the Philippines and the US called Salaknib at Laur, Nueva Ecija province, northern Philippines on Friday, March 31, 2023. (AP)
The US State Department has approved the potential sale of HIMARS artillery rocket systems and related equipment to Morocco in a deal valued at up to $524 million, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
The State Department has also approved the possible sale of Joint Stand Off Weapons and related equipment to Morocco for an estimated cost of $250 million, the Pentagon said.
It said the principal contractors for the HIMARS will be Lockheed Martin; L3Harris; Raytheon; COBHAM; Oshkosh Defense; AAR Corp; and AM General LLC.
The principal contractor for the Joint Stand Off Weapons will be Raytheon, the Pentagon said.
US Keen to Form Alliance with Iraq, Syria Away from Iran’s Influencehttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5293082-us-keen-form-alliance-iraq-syria-away-iran%E2%80%99s-influence
US Keen to Form Alliance with Iraq, Syria Away from Iran’s Influence
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi meets with US Envoy Tom Barrack in Baghdad on June 16, 2026. (Iraqi government press office)
Three Syrian, Western, and Iraqi sources said Monday that Iraq and Syria are preparing to sign an economic agreement under US sponsorship during Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s visit to Washington in mid-July, in a move that could pave the way for a new alliance in the region that “moves away from the region’s anti-US camp.”
A Syrian source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani is expected to travel to Washington in mid-July, where he is scheduled to meet with al-Zaidi or Iraqi officials accompanying him on the sidelines of the PMs visit.
A Western source said the talks would follow an anticipated meeting between al-Zaidi and US President Donald Trump at the White House.
According to the Syrian source, US Special Envoy Tom Barrack will sponsor the agreement between Baghdad and Damascus, with the possibility of other Arab countries joining at a later stage if ongoing technical and political understandings are finalized.
An Iraqi source neither confirmed nor denied whether al-Zaidi would meet Syrian officials in Washington. However, a political adviser in the previous Iraqi government said that “al-Zaidi’s team is making special preparations to sign a regional economic agreement that includes Syria.”
Another Iraqi source said al-Zaidi’s visit to Washington, scheduled to begin on July 15 and last about four days, will include meetings with the US president, Republican and Democratic congressional leaders, and representatives of American oil companies. He is then expected to travel to Texas for additional meetings with major energy firms.
A government official told Asharq Al-Awsat that “the prime minister will travel to Washington at the invitation of the US president, and the meeting with Trump tops the agenda,” while declining to disclose whether meetings with officials from other countries were also planned.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meets with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein in Damascus. (Syrian Presidency)
‘Core alliance’
For weeks, the Iraqi government has focused on advancing two parallel tracks: bringing armed factions’ weapons under state control and integrating them into the security institutions, while pursuing individuals suspected of corruption, including figures believed to have ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Baghdad has also shown an increasing tilt toward Washington as the US administration continues to press Iraq to reduce its dependence on Iranian influence.
Observers describe al-Zaidi’s government as “a promising opportunity” to reshape the regional balance of power as part of a new regional framework that could redefine relations between Baghdad, Washington, and Tehran.
These developments come as Iraq seeks to diversify its oil export routes and reduce reliance on traditional maritime shipping lanes, while Syria is betting on its geographic location to restore its role as a regional corridor for energy and trade.
The Western source said Barrack is working to translate his approach toward Iraq and Syria into concrete projects by establishing the “core of a new alliance of interests” linking Iraq, Syria, and regional partners through a shorter route to the Mediterranean, thereby reducing dependence on the Strait of Hormuz.
If concluded in its proposed form, the agreement would reflect a shift in the US approach toward the region, emphasizing cross-border infrastructure projects linking Iraq to the Mediterranean coast while giving Syria a greater role in reshaping regional energy flows.
A drone view of vessels anchored in the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 8, 2026. (Reuters)
Leaving Iran’s influence
An Iraqi researcher believes al-Zaidi’s visit could mark a transitional moment in Iraq’s regional realignment, similar to the shift that followed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s visit to the White House in November 2025, which was widely viewed as a turning point in Syria’s move from the Iranian camp to the Western camp led by the United States.
Akeel Abbas, an expert on US affairs, told Asharq Al-Awsat that “the significance of al-Zaidi’s visit to Washington closely resembles al-Sharaa’s.”
Abbas, who is based in Washington, said the essence of al-Sharaa’s visit was Syria’s repositioning from a country opposed to the United States to a partner in the US-led international coalition against terrorism.
Washington wants to see Iraq follow a similar path through clear, measurable, and verifiable steps, including projects linking regional energy pipelines, he added.
“Washington wants this Baghdad-Damascus alliance to reduce the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz and limit its impact in the event of a second round of war with Iran,” he explained.
Al-Alimi: Iran Guards’ Flight out of Sanaa Is a Violation of Yemen’s Sovereigntyhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5293078-al-alimi-iran-guards%E2%80%99-flight-out-sanaa-violation-yemen%E2%80%99s-sovereignty
Al-Alimi: Iran Guards’ Flight out of Sanaa Is a Violation of Yemen’s Sovereignty
Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi meets with the ambassadors on Monday. (SABA)
Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi slammed on Monday Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) for operating a flight out of Sanaa airport.
Meeting with ambassadors of countries that are sponsoring the political process in Yemen, he said the flight was a violation of Yemen’s sovereignty and an act of “defiance of international laws and relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.”
The Iran-backed Houthis, who control Sanaa, claimed that the flight had a humanitarian purpose. Al-Alimi revealed, however, that reports indicate that military and security personnel, as well as experts in developing drones and rocket systems, were onboard.
He told the ambassadors that repeated cuts in aircraft tracing signals as the plane flew over Yemen contradict the Houthi claim that this was a humanitarian flight.
He urged an independent international probe to verify the purpose of the flight.
Moreover, he said the Mahan Air, which operated the flight, has been under international sanctions for years for providing logistic support to the IRGC.
Al-Alimi called for firmer international stances against “Iran’s flagrant meddling in Yemeni affairs and a strict implementation of Security Council resolutions and sanctions.”
He stressed that civilian flights and ports must not be used to transport military personnel and equipment.
Al-Alimi said that the stricter implementation of sanctions against the Houthi militias was a peaceful way to implement international resolutions. He also called for greater support to the legitimate Yemeni government, saying it was a “trusted partner in reviving state institutions, achieving peace, protecting waterways and combating terrorism and organized crimes.”
“Yemen is only asking that the international community defend the principles on which the international system is built on,” he went on to say.
“The threat will not stop at Yemeni borders should the armed factions get away with defying Security Council resolutions, violate sanctions, use civilian aircraft as cover for military operations, and threaten energy security and the global economy,” he warned.
“The issue in Yemen is today no longer an internal conflict, but a direct challenge to the international order and global economy that has become a hostage to the Iran’s militias in the region,” he stressed.
“The latest Iranian violation is a grave development and a deliberate attempt to test the international community’s ability to implement its decisions,” he added.
He accused Iran of seeking to shirk sanctions and impose a “new status quo by force”.
“As Iran continues to invest in militias and undermine the state, Saudi Arabia continues to invest in state institutions and development, improve Yemeni livelihoods and prepare the right conditions to achieve peace and stability in Yemen,” Al-Alimi said.
“The Yemeni republic harbors no animosity towards the Iranian people; it only seeks friendly relations between peoples. It, however, rejects the Iranian regime’s policies that are based on supporting militias and interfering in the internal affairs of nations,” he remarked.
Pakistan Mediating Libya Unity with US-led Pushhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5293066-pakistan-mediating-libya-unity-us-led-push
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif receives Saddam Haftar in Pakistan in February last year (General Command)
Pakistan has quietly begun mediating between Libya's rival eastern and western power centers, two Pakistani sources said, in a previously unreported Pakistani effort that would further raise its diplomatic profile if it succeeds.
The Pakistani involvement comes after observers have for months monitored a US-led push to find a diplomatic solution in Libya, which has been split between rival eastern and western administrations since a civil war that broke out in the years after the 2011 NATO-backed uprising toppled Muammar Gaddafi.
Pakistan has been central to separate mediation between the US and Iran this year, with its role repeatedly being credited by the Trump administration, and one of the Pakistani sources said the US was "fully aware and involved" in Islamabad's Libya role.
The effort was also being supported by Saudi Arabia, both sources said.
Both Pakistani sources said the efforts began late last year and both Libyan sides requested its involvement. It was unclear to what extent Pakistan has been coordinating its efforts with other regional stakeholders.
UNITY PLAN
Any successful plan to reunify Libya would need to balance the vastly different interests of foreign patrons and resolve disputes over posts, election rules and oil revenues that have derailed past attempts, analysts said.
"The United States has been pushing hard in Libya," said Jalel Harchaoui, a contributor to Britain's Royal United Services Institute think tank, "but the format it is trying to impose is still loose and ill-defined."
A summary of a proposed "Libya Reunification Plan", shared with Reuters, would set out a 36-month transitional power-sharing arrangement under a body called the Government of National Consensus and Presidential Council.
The proposal – which one Pakistani source cautioned was still being discussed in detail – would establish a transition period with Abdulhamid Dbeibah of the UN-recognized and western-based Libyan Government of National Unity as prime minister and Saddam Haftar, deputy commander of the eastern-based Libyan National Army, as chairman of the Presidential Council.
The faction around Haftar's father, Khalifa Haftar, the commander-in-chief of the LNA, controls many of Libya's biggest oilfields and key infrastructure, and the proposed plan would hand him authority over the budget.
A Pakistani source said Pakistan would play "an active role in making sure this whole arrangement stays in play", with details still being worked on.
PAKISTANI MEDIATION Last month, Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir met Saddam Haftar in Rawalpindi – a meeting that was followed days later by Haftar's visit to Washington, where he met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The State Department said in a statement at the time that Rubio welcomed Libyan leaders' efforts to overcome divisions and reaffirmed US support for Libyan unity.
Pakistani officials have pursued defense ties with the eastern-based LNA, as Reuters reported in December, including the possible sale of JF-17 fighter jets and Super Mushshak trainer aircraft, despite a UN arms embargo.
But the rival western GNU also recently sought direct talks with Pakistan, according to an unreported document seen by Reuters.
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