Iraq Expresses Surprise at Iranian Chief of Staff Statements

 An Iraqi army helicopter releases flares during training at Basmaya military base in Baghdad November 25, 2011. . REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen
An Iraqi army helicopter releases flares during training at Basmaya military base in Baghdad November 25, 2011. . REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen
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Iraq Expresses Surprise at Iranian Chief of Staff Statements

 An Iraqi army helicopter releases flares during training at Basmaya military base in Baghdad November 25, 2011. . REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen
An Iraqi army helicopter releases flares during training at Basmaya military base in Baghdad November 25, 2011. . REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen

The Iraqi Army Chief of Staff expressed surprise at statements made by the Iranian Chief of Staff, Major General Muhammad Hossein Bagheri, regarding hostile movements from Iraq towards his country.

Tehran has for years been bombing and chasing a group of Iranian Kurdish parties in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, including the Free Life party known as PJAK, which is active on the border strip between Iraq and Iran in the Sulaymaniyah Governorate. Tehran justifies attacking Iraqi territory by claiming that it is chasing opposition groups.

In a statement, the Iraqi Chief of Staff said that the bilateral relations “that bind us with the neighboring Republic of Iran are close ties based on cooperation and good neighborliness, and they have witnessed a remarkable development recently at all levels, especially in the security and military aspects.”

The statement added: “We express our surprise at the unjustified statements recently attributed to the Chief of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Muhammad Hoossein Bagheri, regarding the presence of hostile movements from Iraqi territory towards the Iranian Republic.”

The statement stressed that Iraq “strongly rejects the use of its territory for aggression against its neighbors, and adheres to good neighborliness and brotherly relations with neighboring countries.”

It also underlined “the need for all sides to commit to the language of brotherhood and cooperation in joint relations.”

Earlier, Iranian media quoted Major General Bagheri as saying that anti-Iranian terrorist groups are “active in the Kurdistan region of Iraq because of the regional authorities’ disregard, and the weakness of the central Iraqi government due to the US military presence.”

He added: “These groups, after years of failure and retreat, have been active over the past year at the instigation of America, Israel and some Arab countries in the region, and they began their attempts to expand their terrorist operations. Although they have not yet been able to achieve what they want, they are working to disrupt security in some border areas, and Iran will not allow this to happen.”



South Korea Will Hold Presidential Election June 3 to Choose Yoon’s Successor 

Ahn Cheol-soo, a lawmaker of the People Power Party, leaves after a press conference to announce for the presidential election in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP)
Ahn Cheol-soo, a lawmaker of the People Power Party, leaves after a press conference to announce for the presidential election in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP)
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South Korea Will Hold Presidential Election June 3 to Choose Yoon’s Successor 

Ahn Cheol-soo, a lawmaker of the People Power Party, leaves after a press conference to announce for the presidential election in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP)
Ahn Cheol-soo, a lawmaker of the People Power Party, leaves after a press conference to announce for the presidential election in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP)

South Korea will hold a snap presidential election June 3 to choose Yoon Suk Yeol's successor after the conservative was ousted over his imposition of martial law late last year.

The announcement from acting President Han Duck-soo came four days after the Constitutional Court unanimously removed Yoon from office, which by law, must be followed by an election within 60 days. The next president will serve a full 5-year term.

Deep political polarization will likely shape the election into a two-way showdown between Yoon’s People Power Party and its chief liberal rival, the Democratic Party, which holds a majority in the National Assembly.

It will be an uphill battle for the People Power Party as it struggles to restore public confidence and heal severe internal divisions left by Yoon’s brief enactment of martial law.

The focus of attention is on whether conservatives can regroup and field a strong candidate to compete against likely Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung, who observers say is the clear front-runner.

Potential candidates South Korea's political parties are expected to launch primaries to select their presidential candidates in the coming weeks.

The Democratic Party candidate is expected to be Lee, a powerful party leader who faces no major challengers inside the party. Lee, who narrowly lost the 2022 election to Yoon, led the party through a crisis during which many of its members faced off against troops sent by Yoon to encircle the National Assembly building, voted down martial law and later impeached Yoon.

About 10 politicians from the People Power Party are expected to seek the nomination.

Yoon’s baffling decision to enact martial law, which brought armed troops into Seoul’s streets and evoked the country’s traumatic memories of past military rule, was a blow to his party’s reputation even though the party wasn’t directly involved.

Some reformist party members openly criticized Yoon’s actions and cast ballots to impeach him, triggering a feud with the party’s old guard who supported the president.

Yoon has diehard supporters who regularly staged massive rallies. Many share an unfounded perception that Yoon is a victim of a leftist, North Korea-sympathizing opposition that has rigged elections to gain a legislative majority and plotted to remove a patriotic leader.

“South Korea’s conservative party faces significant disadvantages heading into the upcoming election. Two months is a short time to unify the base, moderates and a conspiracy-driven fringe around a single candidate,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.

The party’s current leadership is filled with Yoon loyalists, and that will likely let the internal divide continue and undermine its electoral prospects, said Choi Jin, director of the Seoul-based Institute of Presidential Leadership.

Among the leading People Power Party presidential hopefuls, Labor Minister Kim Moon Soo is considered to be the most pro-Yoon. He and Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo opposed impeaching Yoon, while former party leader Han Dong-hoon and senior party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo supported removing him from office. The last major candidate is Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who has maintained an ambiguous position.

Choi said Yoon will likely exert his influence to boost pro-Yoon figures who are seeking the nomination and party leadership posts so they can defend him as he faces a criminal trial. Yoon was charged with rebellion in January, and he could face other charges like abuse of power now that he has lost presidential immunity, which protected him from most criminal prosecutions.

The People Power Party “will need to nominate someone who can win over the public, particularly the moderates, rather than someone who can win the party’s primaries,” said Duyeon Kim, a senior analyst at the Center for a New American Security in Washington. “Korean moderates and the young generation in their 20s and 30s will likely be the swing voters.”

Opposition leader Lee, who has served as a provincial governor and a city mayor, is considered by his supporters as a populist reformer. But critics regard him as a demagogue who relies on stoking divisions and demonizing his rivals.

Lee faces five ongoing trials for corruption and other criminal charges. If he becomes president, those trials will likely stop thanks to presidential immunity.

Yoon has repeatedly accused Lee’s Democratic Party of abusing its parliamentary majority status to obstruct his agenda, impeach senior officials and slash the government’s budget bill. Yoon said his martial law declaration was a desperate attempt to draw public support of his fight against “wickedness” of Lee’s party.

“Lee Jae-myung has many detractors among the South Korean public who believe he nearly broke the government for his own benefit, weaponizing the legislature to push Yoon over the edge and cast his own legal cases as political persecution,” Easley said.

“Lee’s successful maneuvering, including the purge of progressive politicians disloyal to him, means he effectively owns the Democratic Party nomination and has the clearest path to the presidency,” he said.