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Iraq Mulls Larger NATO Role to Replace US-led Coalition

US soldiers gather at a military base north of Mosul, Iraq, January 4, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Kalin /File Photo
US soldiers gather at a military base north of Mosul, Iraq, January 4, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Kalin /File Photo
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Iraq Mulls Larger NATO Role to Replace US-led Coalition

US soldiers gather at a military base north of Mosul, Iraq, January 4, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Kalin /File Photo
US soldiers gather at a military base north of Mosul, Iraq, January 4, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Kalin /File Photo

Iraq is considering a larger role for NATO at the expense of the US-led coalition, Iraqi and Western officials told Agence France Presse, after the American drone strike in Baghdad that killed Iran’s Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani sparked outrage.

The January 3 strike which killed Soleimani and the deputy commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis, was condemned by Baghdad as a breach of its sovereignty and of the coalition's mandate, which focuses on fighting ISIS.

Iraq's parliament swiftly voted in favor of ousting all foreign troops -- including the 5,200 US soldiers -- and the coalition's anti-ISIS operations were indefinitely suspended. 

Fearing a swift withdrawal could be destabilizing, Iraqi and Western officials have begun discussing changes to the coalition's role, according to local officials and diplomats.

"We are talking to the coalition countries -- France, the UK, Canada -- about a range of scenarios," said Abdelkarim Khalaf, spokesman for Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi.

"The essential thing is that no combat troops are present and our airspace is no longer used," Khalaf told AFP.

For his part, the US special envoy for Syria, James Jeffrey, said Washington supports a possible future role by NATO in Iraq and Syria.

"Nobody is rushing anything," Jeffrey said when asked about the time frame for talks with the Iraqi government. "We are very interested in NATO's process of seeing what additional role it can do."

The past week had seen no spike in activities of ISIS in neither Iraq or Syria, but activity levels remained at a level that caused concern, Jeffrey said.

Two Western officials said the premier had asked them to "draft some options" on a path forward for the coalition.

These options had been submitted directly to the premier.

They included a coalition not led by the US, an amended mandate with limits to coalition activities or an expanded role for NATO's separate mission in Iraq.

The Canadian-led NATO mission was set up in 2018 and has around 500 forces training Iraqi troops, although its operations have also been on hold since the US strike.

By comparison, the US-led coalition established in 2014 has up to 8,000 troops in Iraq, the bulk of them American forces.

Khalaf told AFP that a larger role for NATO was one of several options being discussed.

One of the Western officials said "the NATO option" has won initial nods of approval from the prime minister, the military and even anti-US elements of the PMF.

The various options are expected to be laid out at a meeting Wednesday between Iraq and NATO in Amman and again next month by NATO's defense ministers.

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Arab World

Lebanon Probes Syrian Over Suspected Funds for Assad Loyalist Fighters

Lebanese soldiers patrol a suburb of Beirut (dpa)
Lebanese soldiers patrol a suburb of Beirut (dpa)
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Lebanon Probes Syrian Over Suspected Funds for Assad Loyalist Fighters

Lebanese soldiers patrol a suburb of Beirut (dpa)
Lebanese soldiers patrol a suburb of Beirut (dpa)

A senior Lebanese security source said Lebanese military intelligence is questioning Syrian national Ahmad Dunya and examining the origins of funds seized in his possession and their presumed destinations, stopping short of saying they were intended to finance fighters as part of a plot to destabilize Syria’s newly installed leadership.

The source said Dunya is the only person still in custody from a group detained on suspicion of illegal activities. Investigators decided to keep him under questioning to determine how the funds were being used.

The amounts involved, the source said, are large enough to raise suspicion but too small to suggest large-scale financing aimed at threatening the new leadership in Syria.

Rejecting what he described as rushing to hasty conclusions, the source said the investigation is proceeding in the right direction. He also denied that Lebanon had received from Syrian authorities a list of 200 former regime officials allegedly involved in a similar plot.

He said tens of thousands of supporters of the former regime entered Lebanon after the collapse of the government, but there was no indication that senior former officials were among them.

Reuters cited two security sources and two of Dunya’s former partners as saying he was arrested earlier this week in Lebanon.

However, the Lebanese judiciary denied being informed of such an arrest. Two judicial sources involved in detentions and in coordination with Lebanese security agencies told Asharq Al-Awsat that the security services had not informed them of an incident of this kind.

Reuters also quoted two Lebanese security sources and two of Dunya’s former partners as confirming his detention. The security sources did not specify the charges against him or whether he would be handed over to Syria.

About a month ago, Reuters published an investigation detailing separate plans by aides of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to finance potential Alawite armed groups in Lebanon and along the Syrian coast through financial intermediaries.

The Reuters investigation said Dunya was one of those intermediaries and had transferred funds from billionaire Rami Makhlouf, Assad’s cousin, who is now living in exile in Moscow with the former Syrian ruler, to potential fighters in Lebanon and Syria.

A former partner of Dunya and a Syrian figure close to Makhlouf confirmed that Dunya was a key financial intermediary and that he had been detained in Lebanon.

The sources said Dunya managed extensive financial records, including payroll lists and receipts. They added that in recent months, he had been skimming a portion of Makhlouf’s transfers for himself.

Arab World

Lebanon: Geagea Call with Aoun Quells Reports of Rift

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun receives Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea at the presidential palace in June 2025. (File photo: Lebanese Presidency)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun receives Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea at the presidential palace in June 2025. (File photo: Lebanese Presidency)
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Lebanon: Geagea Call with Aoun Quells Reports of Rift

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun receives Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea at the presidential palace in June 2025. (File photo: Lebanese Presidency)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun receives Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea at the presidential palace in June 2025. (File photo: Lebanese Presidency)

A phone call on Friday between Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and President Joseph Aoun helped quell speculation of serious rifts between the two, after weeks of reports suggesting relations had deteriorated into what some described as a “shaky relationship.”

Geagea statement

The LF said on Friday that Geagea had spoken by phone with Aoun to congratulate him on the first anniversary of his election, saying the year had marked “a real launch for the process of restoring the state and putting it back on the right track, toward a real and capable state.”

Geagea praised positions voiced by Aoun on the anniversary of his election, saying they were “a clear extension of the oath speech,” particularly his emphasis on the exclusive right of the Lebanese state to bear arms and on war and peace decisions being the sole prerogative of the state, restoring respect for the constitution and the concept of national sovereignty.

According to the Lebanese Forces statement, the call also addressed regional developments, with emphasis on the need to shield Lebanon from regional conflicts to safeguard its stability, security, and the interests of its people.

The two sides also discussed a number of domestic issues, foremost parliamentary elections and the need to hold them on time, and to enable non-resident Lebanese to vote from their places of residence for all members of parliament.

No rupture, no disputes

Media remarks by LF officials in recent weeks had reflected differences between the two sides and pointed to an unstable relationship that began to surface publicly during Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Beirut in early December, when party leaders were not invited to the reception ceremony at the presidential palace in Baabda.

Lawmaker Strida Geagea described that at the time as “surprising,” while Samir Geagea did not attend the mass held on Beirut’s waterfront for security reasons.

Subsequent statements by Lebanese Forces officials highlighted political differences, fueling assessments of tensions and a rupture.

However, LF sources insisted there had been no rupture and no fundamental disputes, only differences that are “a right in politics,” reiterating that there were “no disagreements.”

The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that “on the strategic track, we agree with President Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, but there are files on which we oppose them,” citing most recently differences with the PM over a draft law on the financial gap.

They stressed that these differences “do not turn into a personal issue.”

Ongoing contacts

The sources said ties between Geagea and Aoun were maintained at four levels.

The first was direct personal contact between the two, which was not made public, except for this call to congratulate Aoun on his election anniversary and to follow up on his recent positions.

The second channel was through envoys sent by Geagea to the presidency. The third was through the two sides’ teams, who remain in constant coordination. The fourth level of communication was through Lebanese Forces ministers in the government.

They said the LF fully agree with Aoun’s strategic vision on exclusive state control of arms and state-building, adding, “We share with him the major national goals and the state project.

We never questioned his positions, and he has maintained the same stance since his election.”

The sources said the differences lay in the pace and method of implementing the strategic vision, acknowledging that this is the president’s prerogative, while the Lebanese Forces believe that implementation of the cabinet decisions taken on Aug. 5 and 7 on exclusive state control of arms should be accelerated.

They said some files need to be settled, such as enforcing exclusive state control of arms, so the process does not drag on, noting that the issue remains a key obstacle to state-building, even though both sides share the same objective of reaching an effective state.

Other differences were described by the sources as “situational” and part of daily politics, such as the LF’ call for the government to exert additional pressure on Speaker Nabih Berri to place its draft amendment to the electoral law on the agenda, among other day-to-day issues.

Arab World

Israel Continues Assassinations of Hamas, Islamic Jihad Leaders

Palestinian women mourn the dead after an Israeli strike in central Gaza (AP)
Palestinian women mourn the dead after an Israeli strike in central Gaza (AP)
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Israel Continues Assassinations of Hamas, Islamic Jihad Leaders

Palestinian women mourn the dead after an Israeli strike in central Gaza (AP)
Palestinian women mourn the dead after an Israeli strike in central Gaza (AP)

Israel pressed ahead with targeted killings of senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad figures in Gaza, citing recent attacks on its forces, even as a ceasefire agreement entered its second phase, and plans were announced for a technocratic body to administer the enclave.

On Thursday, Israel killed two senior figures from the military wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, along with other activists, in a series of air strikes on homes in several areas of Gaza that killed 12 Palestinians.

The first strike targeted Saeed al-Jarou, an activist in the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, who worked in military manufacturing, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Another Palestinian was killed alongside him when the courtyard of the Jarou family home in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza was hit. The house had already been damaged in an earlier strike a month ago that killed Saeed’s brother, who was also a Qassam activist.

Less than an hour later, another strike hit the home of Mohammed al-Houli, a senior commander in the Qassam Brigades, killing him along with a young man and a child.

Al-Houli held several positions within Qassam, including deputy commander of the Central Brigade and head of the intelligence apparatus.

He previously served as commander of the Field Control Forces, according to sources.

Hours later, Israeli aircraft struck the home of Ashraf al-Khatib, a leader in the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing him, his wife, and her brother.

Sources said al-Khatib was responsible for the rocket unit in the central Gaza area and was among the first to fire rockets toward Tel Aviv during the 2012 war. He was also an officer in the Palestinian Authority security services.

Shortly afterward, an Israeli strike targeted Amjad Shamlakh, a Hamas activist, as he was passing through the Nabulsi area in the Sheikh Ajlin neighborhood south of Gaza City. Shamlakh worked as a nurse at Al-Shifa Medical Complex. His brother, a Qassam activist, was killed earlier in the war.

The Israeli army said it, together with the Shin Bet security agency, had attacked Hamas and Islamic Jihad members following what it described as a violation of the ceasefire earlier this week in western Rafah in southern Gaza.

It said it views any breach of the agreement with utmost seriousness and will continue to act against any attempt to advance what it called terrorist plots.

On Friday, Israeli forces killed an elderly woman after what witnesses described as indiscriminate fire from Israeli vehicles toward displacement tents south of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

A child was also killed by fire from a drone in the town of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza.

The death toll in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, has risen to 71,457, including 465 killed since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, 2025.

Expansion of the “Yellow Line”

In related field developments, satellite images showed that over the past three months, since the ceasefire was announced, the Israeli army has expanded the so-called Yellow Line zone it occupies in Gaza, which now covers more than half of the enclave.

The army has advanced hundreds of meters into areas that were officially meant, under a plan by US President Donald Trump, to remain under Hamas control.

Satellite imagery cited by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz showed the army continuing to demolish buildings in Jabalia and the Shujaiya neighborhood, both inside and outside the Yellow Line zone.

According to the London-based organization Forensic Architecture, Israeli forces have established 13 military sites in Gaza since the ceasefire was announced and until mid-December, including two large military positions in the Jabalia area. These elevated sites overlook vast distances.

Buildings were destroyed, areas were evacuated, and heavy engineering equipment was used to construct high earth berms to monitor the entire northern Gaza area.

The Israeli army deliberately places unclear markers for the Yellow Line, setting yellow concrete blocks hundreds of meters apart, making it impossible for Palestinians to determine where the occupied zone begins as they attempt to reach their land and homes.

Israeli forces then open fire indiscriminately, killing hundreds, including more than 100 children.

The army frequently shifts the concrete blocks westward into areas under Hamas control.

Analysis of satellite imagery along the Yellow Line shows discrepancies between the location of the concrete blocks and the official Yellow Line as defined by Israeli military data.

The yellow concrete blocks appear to be positioned about 300 meters west of the official Yellow Line shown on Israeli army maps.

The destruction of buildings in recent months adds to the erasure of entire cities in Gaza during the war.

According to the latest report by the United Nations satellite center, the Israeli army has destroyed or irreparably damaged more than 80 percent of buildings in the enclave, triggering a massive displacement crisis.

Hundreds of thousands are now living in tents, struggling to survive amid severe weather, strong winds, and seawater flooding tent areas, destroying shelters and contributing to the spread of disease.