Erdogan's Visit to Iraq Postponed: ‘Time is Not Right’https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/4537296-erdogans-visit-iraq-postponed-%E2%80%98time-not-right%E2%80%99
Erdogan's Visit to Iraq Postponed: ‘Time is Not Right’
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (AP)
Officials in the Iraqi government denied reports that the upcoming visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had been canceled, confirming that its date has not yet been determined.
Informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the visit has become unlikely because the two parties have disagreed on resolving disputes over oil exports, water, and security.
Last month, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held discussions in Baghdad, aiming to pave the way for Erdogan's visit.
However, the sources said the talks were unencouraging for a visit, explaining that perhaps Turkish officials felt the visit needed more suitable conditions to ensure its success.
-Escalating dispute
According to Iraqi lawmakers, Türkiye sent indirect messages that the escalating dispute between the governments of Baghdad and Erbil over the budget, salaries, and oil exports does not provide a suitable political climate for Erdogan's visit.
Nevertheless, a senior Iraqi official confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that Baghdad continues to prepare for Erdogan's visit.
The sources indicated that the dispute over exporting oil has not been resolved with Türkiye yet.
Last March, Iraq won the case against Türkiye after a years-long struggle over oil exports from the Iraqi Kurdistan region. At that time, the Turkish port workers banned any cargo ship carrying oil from the Kurdistan region, according to Reuters.
-Exporting oil
The Turkish government stipulated that Baghdad must relinquish the case and exempt Ankara from the $2.6 billion compensation to resume exporting oil.
Türkiye filed a lawsuit demanding other compensation from Baghdad amounting to more than $900 million.
Iraqi sources described the issue as very thorny, and the two parties could not resolve it even after Minister Fidan visited Baghdad.
Baghdad is not in a position that allows it to continue to stop oil exports due to financial obligations, so it is trying to find common ground with Turkish officials to resume the export of Kurdish oil.
However, the sources said Erdogan's visit is closely linked to solving this issue.
Iraq’s Closure of Al-Sheeb Border Crossing Fuels Tensions with Iranhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5333710-iraq%E2%80%99s-closure-al-sheeb-border-crossing-fuels-tensions-iran
Iraq’s Closure of Al-Sheeb Border Crossing Fuels Tensions with Iran
A image posted on social media show's Iraq's Al-Sheeb crossing on the border with Iran.
Iraq’s closure of the Al-Sheeb border crossing with Iran has triggered protests in the southern Maysan province and heightened tensions with Tehran, as Iran-aligned armed factions accuse Washington of interfering in Baghdad’s internal affairs.
Dozens of protesters blocked the main road leading to oil companies in Maysan on Sunday, demanding that the crossing reopen.
According to Shafaq News, demonstrators shut down the vital Bazargan road amid a heavy security deployment.
Maysan Provincial Council Chairman Mustafa Duaier al-Mohammadawi gave Baghdad until Thursday to reverse the decision, threatening civil disobedience, further roadblocks and even Maysan’s separation from Iraq.
The closure has disrupted trade with Iran, driving up fruit and vegetable prices in local markets, Shafaq News reported.
The Iraqi government ordered the crossing closed indefinitely on October 20, citing incomplete technical and development requirements.
Government spokesman Haider al-Aboudi told the Iraqi News Agency that the suspension would allow improvements to technical and logistical readiness, while other crossings continued facilitating trade with Iran.
Tehran objected, with its Interior Ministry maintaining that Baghdad had provided no advance notice.
The Iranian Embassy also condemned remarks by Abdul Amir Taiban, adviser to Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on tribal and marshland affairs, who linked the Al-Sheeb and Shalamsheh crossings to drug and counterfeit currency smuggling from Iran.
Rejecting what it called “false allegations,” the embassy urged Iraqi authorities to respond to statements damaging bilateral relations.
Baghdad has neither publicly responded to the embassy nor reversed the closure.
Influencing the govt
Iran-aligned Iraqi armed factions accused the United States of influencing government decisions concerning airports and border crossings with Iran.
They claimed to have documented 171 violations of Iraqi airspace by US fighter and reconnaissance aircraft between September 30 and October 23.
Describing the flights as violations of sovereignty and bilateral agreements, the groups demanded clarification from Baghdad about its understandings with Washington.
They also questioned the independence of Iraqi decision-making, linking the alleged incursions to border and airport restrictions.
The statement provided no locations or aircraft details, and no independent evidence was presented to substantiate allegations of US interference.
Fresh test
The dispute comes amid fears of a wider confrontation between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran on the other.
Baghdad previously announced understandings brokered by mediators from the Shiite Coordination Framework with armed factions refusing to surrender their weapons.
An initial truce, lasting until the end of 2026, commits the groups to refraining from attacks on US interests in Iraq and neighboring countries.
A second arrangement, running until June 2027, concerns disarmament and participation in the political process.
However, the factions’ latest accusations and the Al-Nujaba Movement’s rejection of political participation in exchange for surrendering its weapons have raised doubts about the agreements’ durability.
The government has not clarified whether the truce remains intact.
The Al-Sheeb dispute now extends beyond the technical reasons cited by Baghdad, combining local economic grievances, Iranian objections and pressure from armed factions.
Israeli Forces Search Homes, Make Incursions on Fringes of Jabal al-Sheikhhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5333695-israeli-forces-search-homes-make-incursions-fringes-jabal-al-sheikh
Israeli Forces Search Homes, Make Incursions on Fringes of Jabal al-Sheikh
Israeli army forces patrol in the village of Kfar Shouba in southern Lebanon on February 17, 2025. (AFP)
Repeated Israeli incursions into the Arqoub region of southeastern Lebanon, along the border with Israel and Syria, have raised fears that Israel was planning on expanding its control and further restricting the lives of residents.
These developments have prompted locals to issue warnings, the latest of which came in a statement by an Arqoub committee that highlighted "incursions, alterations of terrain, and the clearing of roads" in the towns of Kfar Shouba, Shebaa, Habbariyeh, and Halta, all of which are located on the western slope of Jabal al-Sheikh.
The warning followed repeated Israeli incursions into the area, including the searching of homes in Kfar Shouba last week.
The committee warned against “a recurrence of past events that led to the occupation of the Shebaa Farms and the Kfar Shouba Hills,” pointing to “a historical lack of action or disregard by successive authorities and governments.”
It stressed “the need for swift and urgent intervention through the Arab League, United Nations, and UN Security Council to halt this aggression, these incursions, and the renewed attempts to encroach upon Lebanese territory.”
These operations are taking place within the context of ongoing Israeli movements over several months across southern border villages, specifically within unoccupied areas adjacent to what Israel calls the "Yellow Line."
According to retired General Khalil Gemayel, these actions carry "military, tactical, and security dimensions that extend far beyond searching for Hezbollah weapons or facilities."
"The Israeli incursion into Kfar Shouba and its surrounding villages, alongside the house searches, cannot be viewed simply as a transient military maneuver or a limited security operation," he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
These movements involve "three interconnected dimensions," he said.
Israeli forces conduct a patrol in the village of Kfar Shouba in southern Lebanon on February 17, 2025 (AFP)
The first is "expanding the scope of maneuver and field reconnaissance; entering the village outskirts, advancing between houses, and conducting searches allows Israeli forces to gather direct intelligence on the terrain, corridors, roads, and residents."
He added that these operations also aim to "erase as much of the villages' urban landscape and vegetation cover as possible, under the pretext of preventing Hezbollah from rebuilding its military capabilities in areas close to where Israeli units are stationed."
Gemayel noted that the second dimension involves "imposing a new security reality on the ground," explaining that "Israel is no longer satisfied with stationing itself in elevated positions and fixed military outposts on commanding hills that stretch from the sea to Jabal al-Sheikh to shield northern settlements.”
“Instead, it is seeking to expand its capacity to execute recurring ground operations within a geographical buffer that grants it greater freedom of movement and intervention,” he explained.
He said that "this does not necessarily mean it has decided to advance to occupy additional villages," but rather indicates "its desire to control and monitor the forward border area in accordance with its security interests, by creating a buffer zone held under fire where Israel applies the theory of flexible defense outside its occupied and fixed defensive lines."
The third dimension, it involves "pressuring the population and preventing a return to normalcy by searching homes, blocking farmers from accessing their fields, and restricting movement, thereby maintaining security, economic, and social pressures on dozens of unoccupied villages and complicating the resumption of regular activity."
Gemayel cited "the restrictions that farmers and shepherds in Kfar Shouba and Halta face regarding access to their lands and pastures."
Retired Brigadier General George Nader viewed the "repeated Israeli incursions into southern villages, not as limited military operations or random movements, but rather as a prelude to cementing Israeli military control and widening its operational reach inside Lebanese territory."
"Israel is seeking to encroach upon more land and impose new realities on the ground, either to improve its negotiating leverage following the Israeli elections, or to pave the way for expanding its military operations into areas beyond the Litani River,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Palestinian Authority Says 2,670 Displaced in Israel’s Hebron Operationhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5333690-palestinian-authority-says-2670-displaced-israel%E2%80%99s-hebron-operation
Israeli forces take Palestinian cars during a military operation in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank October 25,2026. (Reuters)
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Palestinian Authority Says 2,670 Displaced in Israel’s Hebron Operation
Israeli forces take Palestinian cars during a military operation in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank October 25,2026. (Reuters)
The Palestinian Authority said Sunday that nearly 2,700 people had been displaced by an Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron launched after two soldiers were killed in an attack nearby.
Following Friday's attack, Israeli forces entered the Hebron neighborhood of Ein Deir Baha, where the assailants lived, and ordered residents to pack up and leave after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged a major operation in the occupied territory.
"More than 2,670 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced from their homes in Hebron by Israeli occupation forces, the majority of them women, children, and elderly people, according to data from Hebron Municipality," the Palestinian prime minister's office said on X.
A convoy of Israeli military and police vehicles accompanied by soldiers was seen in Hebron on Sunday, making its way down a street blocked to civilian traffic by parked cars and motorbikes, AFP images showed.
Local shopkeeper Higazi al-Tamimi, who also plays a leadership role in the evacuated neighborhood, accused Israeli soldiers of beating him as he attempted to go to his home.
"I remember one or two people starting to strike my legs, chest and shoulders. One of them even hit me on the head," he said from a hospital bed, with his leg thickly bandaged.
"They then pushed me backwards, and I kept moving until I reached a safe area."
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