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Iraq, Kurdistan Discuss Mechanism to Secure Border with Iran, Türkiye

Female fighters of an Iranian-Kurdish opposition faction near the Iranian border (AFP)
Female fighters of an Iranian-Kurdish opposition faction near the Iranian border (AFP)
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Iraq, Kurdistan Discuss Mechanism to Secure Border with Iran, Türkiye

Female fighters of an Iranian-Kurdish opposition faction near the Iranian border (AFP)
Female fighters of an Iranian-Kurdish opposition faction near the Iranian border (AFP)

Iraqi Minister of Interior Lt-Gen Abdul Amir al-Shammari discussed with officials of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) measures to secure the Turkish and Iranian borders, the Interior Ministry announced in a statement.

It said that based on the directives of the Prime Minister, an Iraqi delegation of the Interior Ministry, the Deputy Commander of Joint Operations, the Commander of the Border Guard, and several commanders and officers visited Erbil.

The meeting discussed the mechanism of controlling the border with Kurdish officials headed by the Minister of Interior and Chief of Staff of the Peshmerga Forces.

They also addressed oil and energy, and ways to constitutionally resolve the differences between the two parties.

The officials agreed that the border guards of the first region would control 26 checkpoints on the border, provided the Peshmerga forces supported them during this process.

The statement indicated that the necessary sums of money had been allocated to build the outposts, stressing that the Ministry of Interior is determined to control the borders with all neighboring countries.

The new mechanism comes for the first time since 2003 after the regional government called on the federal government to take a position on the ongoing Iranian bombardment of Iraqi territory under the pretext of the presence of Iranian opposition members in the targeted areas. 

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani agreed with the President of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, to set up a border control mechanism that includes the deployment of Iraqi border guards, a move that had been previously rejected by the region.

Border control operations were previously limited to the Peshmerga, and the federal government reassured the Kurdish side by restricting the volunteers within the border guard forces in the region to Kurdish citizens.

Meanwhile, a Kurdish government delegation began talks in Baghdad on contentious issues without any representative from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) accused its rival, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, of seizing the resources of the Sulaymaniyah Governorate, which the National Union denied.

National Union official Mahmoud Khoshnaw said the KDP accusations were an attempt to evade the origin of the problem, noting that the Union is trying to distribute revenues to the residents of the region fairly.

Khoshnaw indicated that non-oil revenues are very simple, but Erbil's oil revenues exceed $1.2 billion per month, which is the origin of disagreement between the two parties.

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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.