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Yemeni Government Responds to Houthi Allegations on Taiz Negotiations

Former meeting of the military committee in Amman (UN)
Former meeting of the military committee in Amman (UN)
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Yemeni Government Responds to Houthi Allegations on Taiz Negotiations

Former meeting of the military committee in Amman (UN)
Former meeting of the military committee in Amman (UN)

Yemeni military officials will meet in Amman, under the auspices of the UN envoy to Yemen, to discuss violations and the UN-sponsored ceasefire, said a Yemeni official.

Member of the government team concerned with opening the crossings, Nabil Jamel denied Houthi claims that there is a new round of negotiations regarding the reopening of crossings and roads, asserting that the Amman meeting will only address the violations and truce.

In an exclusive interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Jamel pointed out that the Houthi allegations are baseless, claiming the group wants to deviate attention from its rejection to agree to the UN envoy's proposals to open the Taiz crossings and other areas.

He added, "It seems that the recent mission of the UN envoy in Muscat did not yield any new results," noting that Houthis still refuse to open roads and crossings and continue to evade the implementation of any provision of the truce.

Jamel reiterated that there would be no new round of negotiations regarding the opening of Taiz roads.

The official indicated that time has passed without progress, which would put the UN envoy and the international community in front of real challenges.

The envoy and the international community must compel the Houthis to implement the armistice, he said.

"Actual steps must be taken," Jamel asserted.

Earlier, Houthi official Yahya al-Razami said the legitimacy delegation did not attend the negotiation, saying it is not serious about alleviating the suffering of the people of Taiz.

Head of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) Rashad al-Alimi affirmed to the UN envoy to Yemen that the government delegation will not discuss any new issues with the Houthi militias before lifting the siege on Taiz and opening roads.

Meanwhile, a Yemeni government source confirmed that the military committee team concerned with monitoring the ceasefire and violations had already left Aden for Amman.

The source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the committee had nothing to do with reopening the crossings and roads.

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Arab World

Iraq to Kick off Crackdown on Money Laundering

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi. (INA)
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi. (INA)
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Iraq to Kick off Crackdown on Money Laundering

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi. (INA)
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi. (INA)

Iraq’s Integrity Commission announced the launch of a review of government contracts and the pursuit of individuals implicated in corruption cases. The government also agreed to cooperate with an international anti-money laundering body, leading experts to suggest that “a long-delayed confrontation with influential political forces may be drawing near.”

The measures come two days after Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi carried out an administrative reshuffle affecting financial and security agencies, as well as the governor of the Central Bank of Iraq.

In remarks carried by the state news agency on Saturday, Integrity Commission Chairman Mohammed Ali Al-Lami stressed the need to scrutinize government contracts, expedite investigations, and adhere to the highest professional standards in reviewing cases.

The goal was to identify shortcomings and negligence, safeguard state rights, and ultimately refer cases to the judiciary, he said.

Mahmoud Dagher, a former Central Bank of Iraq official, described the current government’s approach as “somewhat bold” in dealing with corruption, which he called one of Iraq’s most complex challenges since 2003 because of the powerful interests involved and their deep entrenchment within state institutions.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Dagher said the measures could “provoke the political class,” predicting “a confrontation that has long been postponed between Al-Zaidi and a number of political actors.”

The Integrity Commission had already begun, in late May, forming specialized teams under the direct supervision of its leadership to conduct comprehensive audits and investigations into several major government contracts. The objective is to verify their compliance with the law and present the findings before the courts.

Money laundering

In a related development, a US administration official said Iraq had begun cooperating on anti-money laundering efforts following a nearly two-year review of the country’s framework for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

The official said Iraq had agreed to work cooperatively with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to address the most significant strategic deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing regime.

In a statement, the official stressed that Iraq was demonstrating political will to comply with FATF standards and encouraged Baghdad to maintain its positive momentum and accelerate implementation of the FATF action plan.

Dagher said Iraq remains on the FATF’s grey list for money laundering concerns but has submitted a reform and corrective action program that was accepted by the international body and is currently being implemented.

He added that, by agreeing for the first time to cooperate with an international organization specializing in anti-money laundering oversight, “the Iraqi government has entered a hornet’s nest.”

Dagher explained Iraq was on the FATF grey list before 2018 but was later removed after intensive efforts by its Central Bank.

The country was moved to the “white list,” meaning financial institutions no longer needed to subject transactions involving Iraq to heightened scrutiny, unlike countries that remain on the grey list and face additional review requirements.

The developments come amid media reports that Al-Zaidi’s ongoing reshuffle could affect more than 100 officials across ministries, government departments, and public agencies, regardless of their political or partisan affiliations.

The changes introduced in key security and economic positions have raised questions about the message the prime minister is seeking to send and whether they are a response to external considerations linked to his visit to the United States next month.

Arab World

Tributes Paid to Lebanon Conservationist Killed in Israeli Strike

Mona Khalil in 2004 with a newborn marine turtle near her home in Lebanon. Photograph: Joseph Barrak/AFP/Getty Images
Mona Khalil in 2004 with a newborn marine turtle near her home in Lebanon. Photograph: Joseph Barrak/AFP/Getty Images
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Tributes Paid to Lebanon Conservationist Killed in Israeli Strike

Mona Khalil in 2004 with a newborn marine turtle near her home in Lebanon. Photograph: Joseph Barrak/AFP/Getty Images
Mona Khalil in 2004 with a newborn marine turtle near her home in Lebanon. Photograph: Joseph Barrak/AFP/Getty Images

Activists and campaign groups on Saturday paid tribute to Lebanese environmentalist Mona Khalil who died from injuries sustained in an Israeli strike in the country's south, where she dedicated her life to turtle conservation for decades.

A medical source had previously told AFP that Khalil, aged in her late seventies, was badly wounded in an Israeli strike on June 4 that hit her home in the village of Mansouri, around 10 kilometres (six miles) south of the coastal city of Tyre. She died on Friday.

Julien Jreissati, program director at Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa, said Khalil had "dedicated decades of her life to protecting the sea turtles and coastline of Mansouri".

"Her loss is not only a loss for her family and community, but for the environmental movement in Lebanon and the region," he told AFP.

A wide stretch of south Lebanon's coastline near Tyre, which includes some of the country's best-preserved beaches, is a nesting site for turtles, including endangered loggerhead and green sea turtles.

After returning to her native Lebanon from the Netherlands more than two decades ago, Khalil set up the Orange House Project in Mansouri, a conservation project combined with ecotourism, where visitors could see turtle hatchings and take part in conservation activities.

"For decades, Mona stood at the forefront of conservation efforts along the southern coast," said the Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon (SPNL), mourning "one of Lebanon's most dedicated environmental defenders and a tireless champion of sea turtle conservation".

Her efforts contributed "significantly to the protection of one of Lebanon's most important sea turtle nesting sites in Hima Qoleileh-Mansouri, a seven-kilometre stretch of sandy and rocky shoreline that hosts more than 58 endangered sea turtle nests annually", it said.

Khalil inspired communities and "helped build a culture of environmental stewardship rooted in local ownership and collective responsibility", it added in a statement on Friday.

Local environmental group Green Southerners on X mourned "a pioneering environmental defender" who for decades "dedicated her life to protecting endangered sea turtles and their nesting habitats".

"Through the Orange House, she inspired generations of Lebanese to value and protect their natural heritage and coastal ecosystems," it added.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) had been reporting heavy strikes in the Tyre district, including raids on Mansouri, earlier this month when Khalil was wounded.

The village is also located near an area where Israeli troops are operating inside south Lebanon.

Khalil was among the few local residents still holding out there despite the Israel-Hezbollah war and sweeping Israeli military evacuation orders for the country's south.

Arab World

Israel Carries Out Deadly Strikes in South Lebanon Despite Truce Announced with Hezbollah

Smoke billows from southern Lebanon following an Israeli strike, as seen from Nabatieh, Lebanon, June 20, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Smoke billows from southern Lebanon following an Israeli strike, as seen from Nabatieh, Lebanon, June 20, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
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Israel Carries Out Deadly Strikes in South Lebanon Despite Truce Announced with Hezbollah

Smoke billows from southern Lebanon following an Israeli strike, as seen from Nabatieh, Lebanon, June 20, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Smoke billows from southern Lebanon following an Israeli strike, as seen from Nabatieh, Lebanon, June 20, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Israel carried out deadly strikes in south Lebanon on Saturday, hours after the US announced a renewed ceasefire in fighting that had strained a fledgling deal with Iran.

US President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian this week signed a preliminary agreement to halt the Middle East war on all fronts, including Lebanon -- a key demand of Tehran's.

But follow-up talks scheduled for Friday in Switzerland were indefinitely postponed as Israel launched a wave of strikes in Lebanon that left dozens of people dead after four of its soldiers were killed in combat, sparking a furious reaction at home.

On Friday afternoon, a US official announced a new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah brokered by US and Qatari mediators, with Israel's ambassador to Washington saying it would respect the truce if Hezbollah did.

But on Saturday an Israeli military official said it was conducting fresh attacks against the Iran-backed movement, which it accused of having "launched more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon" overnight.

Lebanese state media reported Israeli air raids on around 20 locations, with the country's civil defense agency saying 16 people were killed in the Nabatieh area.

The Lebanese army said an Israeli strike killed a soldier on the Kfarrumman-Nabatieh road and accused Israel of undermining efforts to restore stability.

Israel's Arabic-language military spokesperson said calm could be achieved if Hezbollah halted what she described as hostile activity and violations of agreements, adding Israel's presence in a security zone aimed to remove threats and dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure, not harm civilians.

The US-Iran understanding announced this week calls for an immediate, permanent end to military operations by the parties and their allies across multiple fronts, including Lebanon.

Israel, which was not part of those negotiations, has opposed provisions it says could constrain its campaign in Lebanon.