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Speculations Surround Shamkhani’s Visit to Iraq

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani (Arabic website)
Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani (Arabic website)
    Baghdad, London- Hamza Mustafa and Asharq Al-Awsat
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Speculations Surround Shamkhani’s Visit to Iraq

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani (Arabic website)
Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani (Arabic website)

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani arrived in Baghdad on Saturday for a two-day visit said to be focused on coordinating efforts to combat the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

But the timing of Shamkhani’s visit suggests he is seeking to bridge the divide that has divorced the Shiite bloc from unity in Iraq. The Middle Eastern country’s crisis deepened with Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Allawi withdrawing his candidacy for the post.

Shamkhani is the highest-ranking Iranian official to visit Iraq since the killing of Qassem Soleimani, a top Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps commander, near the Baghdad International Airport in early January.

Observers believe that Shamkhani is in Baghdad to compensate for the absence of Soleimani who, for years, had played a prominent role in unifying the positions of the Shiite parties on important and divisive issues in Iraq.

Iraqi MP Abdallah al-Kharbeet told Rudaw that it is normal for officials of countries to pay visits.

“We have many issues with Iran, in addition to the role that Iraq can play as a mediator between Iran on the one hand, and the West and Arab countries on the other hand,” Kharbeet said.

Noting that the reason behind Shamkhani’s visit remains unknown, Kharbeet said that if it’s in the abovementioned context then it is positive and welcomed.

“It is unacceptable if the visit is part of meddling with the political affairs inside Iraq, or trying to impose solutions for the candidate for prime minister,” Kharbeet explained.

Political analyst Hisham al Hashmi tweeted: “Shamkhani came to fill gaps in the political file caused by Soleimani's absence.”

Foreign influence on post-2003 Iraqi government formation looks unlikely to end with Iranian state media outlet IRNA reporting that Shamkhani will be meeting Iraq’s three presidencies – caretaker prime minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi, President Barham Salih, and parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi.

Shamkhani will also meet Iraqi political party leaders to discuss cabinet formation, IRNA added.

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Arab World

Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
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Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

At least two people were killed and four rescued from the rubble of a multistory apartment building that collapsed Sunday in the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, state media reported.

Rescue teams were continuing to dig through the rubble. It was not immediately clear how many people were in the building when it fell.

The bodies pulled out were of a child and a woman, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Dozens of people crowded around the site of the crater left by the collapsed building, with some shooting in the air.

The building was in the neighborhood of Bab Tabbaneh, one of the poorest areas in Lebanon’s second largest city, where residents have long complained of government neglect and shoddy infrastructure. Building collapses are not uncommon in Tripoli due to poor building standards, according to The AP news.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry announced that those injured in the collapse would receive treatment at the state’s expense.

The national syndicate for property owners in a statement called the collapse the result of “blatant negligence and shortcomings of the Lebanese state toward the safety of citizens and their housing security,” and said it is “not an isolated incident.”

The syndicate called for the government to launch a comprehensive national survey of buildings at risk of collapse.

Arab World

Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
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Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)

Israel's security cabinet approved a series of steps on Sunday that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, Israeli media reported.

The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).

Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israeli news sites Ynet and Haaretz said the measures included scrapping decades-old regulations that prevent Jewish private citizens buying land in the West Bank, The AP news reported.

They were also reported to include allowing Israeli authorities to administer some religious sites, and expand supervision and enforcement in areas under PA administration in matters of environmental hazards, water offences and damage to archaeological sites.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the new measures were dangerous, illegal and tantamount to de-facto annexation.

The Israeli ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The new measures come three days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet in Washington with US President Donald Trump.

Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel's accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.

Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.

His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.

The United Nations' highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view.

Arab World

Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned the attack by the Rapid Support Forces on humanitarian aid convoys and relief workers in North Kordofan State, Sudan.

In a statement reported by SPA, secretary-general's spokesperson Jamal Rushdi quoted Aboul Gheit as saying the attack constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law, which prohibits the deliberate targeting of civilians and depriving them of their means of survival.

Aboul Gheit stressed the need to hold those responsible accountable, end impunity, and ensure the full protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, and relief facilities in Sudan.