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Arab World

Erbil Threatens Boycott as Baghdad Freezes Salaries, US Urges Calm

Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Masoud Barzani receives Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in Erbil (Government Media)
Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Masoud Barzani receives Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in Erbil (Government Media)
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Erbil Threatens Boycott as Baghdad Freezes Salaries, US Urges Calm

Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Masoud Barzani receives Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in Erbil (Government Media)
Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Masoud Barzani receives Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in Erbil (Government Media)

Tensions are high between Erbil and Baghdad after Iraq’s Federal Finance Minister, Taif Sami, ordered the suspension of salary payments to employees in the Kurdistan Region starting May 2025.

In response, Shakhawan Abdullah, the second deputy speaker of Iraq’s parliament, has called on Kurdish representatives to consider withdrawing from Baghdad, a move that could deepen political rifts within the fragile federal system.

Abdullah made the remarks following a meeting with leaders of Kurdish blocs in the Iraqi parliament. He described the finance ministry’s decision as a “deliberate violation” designed to starve the Kurdish people.

In a statement posted to Facebook, he said: “After extensive discussion, we unanimously agreed to demand the federal government immediately halt these violations and resume salary disbursements.”

He added that a formal letter had been sent to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, urging him to take responsibility and resolve the issue. Abdullah warned that, if no action is taken, the Kurdish political leadership is prepared to implement a boycott “within one hour.”

Meanwhile, Ali Hama Saleh, a senior figure in the Kurdistan-based National Stance Movement, called for a high-level delegation led by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister to visit Baghdad after Eid al-Adha.

He urged both sides to seek a long-term resolution to the budget dispute and reopen negotiations over oil exports through the Türkiye pipeline.

Speaking in a televised interview, Saleh emphasized that the federal budget is calculated annually, and a legal and financial resolution for Kurdistan’s 2025 share is still possible.

He called for calm and constructive dialogue, warning against inflammatory rhetoric and urging the KRG to ease some of its conditions on resuming oil exports, considering Iraq’s economic strain and projected declines in global oil prices.

The finance ministry justified its decision by claiming the Kurdistan Region exceeded its allocated 12.67% budget share.

According to ministry data, the region generated 19.9 trillion Iraqi dinars in oil and non-oil revenues since 2023 but transferred only 598.5 billion dinars to Baghdad. This shortfall, the ministry argued, breaches budget agreements.

Kurdish leaders, however, view the move as punitive and ill-timed especially with the Eid holiday approaching. KRG spokesperson Peshawa Hawramani accused Baghdad of continuing a “policy of starvation and extermination” against the Kurdish population.

Vian Sabri, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s bloc in parliament, said Kurdish parties will submit an official protest to the prime minister. She also demanded full disclosure of the federal government’s spending, stating that only one financial report has been shared this year.

As tensions escalate, the US has reportedly stepped in, urging both sides to resolve the crisis.

A senior US State Department official, speaking anonymously, told local media that quickly resolving the salary issue would demonstrate Iraq’s commitment to its citizens and create a more stable investment climate.

The official also suggested that progress could help reopen the suspended Iraq–Türkiye oil pipeline, a vital export route that has remained closed amid ongoing disputes.

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Arab World

Hamas Inclined Toward ‘Positive’ Response to Mladenov Amendments Despite Internal Objections

Mourners grieve for Palestinian woman Shahd Ashour, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Monday in Gaza City (AP). 
Mourners grieve for Palestinian woman Shahd Ashour, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Monday in Gaza City (AP). 
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Hamas Inclined Toward ‘Positive’ Response to Mladenov Amendments Despite Internal Objections

Mourners grieve for Palestinian woman Shahd Ashour, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Monday in Gaza City (AP). 
Mourners grieve for Palestinian woman Shahd Ashour, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Monday in Gaza City (AP). 

Expectations are growing that Hamas and other Palestinian factions will respond positively to revised proposals put forward by Nikolay Mladenov, the senior international mediator for Gaza within the Peace Council framework, despite emerging opposition to the latest amendments he has made to a roadmap first presented to the movement in April.

Hamas and participating factions are reviewing the newest version of Mladenov’s proposals, which are intended to advance a fragile Gaza ceasefire announced in October as part of a plan introduced by US President Donald Trump. Palestinian officials accuse Israel of repeatedly violating the agreement, saying more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the truce took effect.

Two Hamas sources and a third source from another Palestinian faction involved in the negotiations criticized the amendments, arguing that they depart from key provisions of the original agreement. Their objections focus on issues including an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, implementation of the first phase of the deal, the rights of employees affiliated with the Gaza administration, reconstruction guarantees across the enclave, and the broader political framework.

The disagreements have complicated indirect talks between Israel and Palestinian factions over advancing to subsequent stages of the ceasefire agreement. Palestinian negotiators insist that Israel must fulfill first-phase commitments, including withdrawing troops from occupied areas and allowing the entry of aid and commercial goods. Israel, meanwhile, continues to press for the disarmament of Palestinian factions as a central element of the next phase.

A Hamas source based outside Gaza noted that some implementation mechanisms in the roadmap remain unclear. The movement and other factions, he said, will seek additional clarification to ensure Israel fulfills its obligations.

A factional source inside Gaza echoed those concerns, arguing that certain revisions and the removal of previously agreed provisions effectively undermine earlier understandings. “There are attempts to impose a new reality that serves Israel’s interests at the expense of Palestinian rights,” he stated.

Despite the criticism, all three sources said Hamas and the factions are generally inclined to engage constructively with the revised proposal. They are expected to submit comments and additional amendments aimed at strengthening implementation of the original agreement signed in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh in October 2025. A formal response is expected within days.

According to Hamas officials, the movement’s leadership seeks to build on recent understandings reached in Cairo in order to secure a permanent end to the war and alleviate humanitarian suffering in Gaza.

A Hamas source outside the enclave said negotiators are working toward an agreement that would prevent Israel from maintaining long-term security control or creating a security vacuum by limiting weapons while continuing military operations, either directly or through armed groups that Hamas and other factions insist must be dismantled.

Meanwhile, Israeli military operations continued across Gaza. On Monday, Israeli forces killed a paramedic after targeting a vehicle in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. Six others were wounded.

Earlier, an Israeli strike in Gaza City’s al-Rimal neighborhood targeted a vehicle with four missiles during the busy morning rush hour. The attack killed an 11th-grade student and wounded at least eight others. A local field source said the intended target escaped after abandoning the vehicle following the first missile strike.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, the death toll since the ceasefire began has surpassed 1,026, with more than 3,260 people injured. The ministry says more than 73,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023.

 

 

Arab World

New Lebanon-Israel Talks to Begin, in Shadow of US-Iran Deal

This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon shows an Israeli military vehicle driving along a road in southern Lebanon on June 22, 2026. (AFP)
This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon shows an Israeli military vehicle driving along a road in southern Lebanon on June 22, 2026. (AFP)
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New Lebanon-Israel Talks to Begin, in Shadow of US-Iran Deal

This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon shows an Israeli military vehicle driving along a road in southern Lebanon on June 22, 2026. (AFP)
This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon shows an Israeli military vehicle driving along a road in southern Lebanon on June 22, 2026. (AFP)

Lebanon heads into a new round of talks with Israel on Tuesday in Washington, with Beirut determined to press ahead with direct negotiations even as they appear to be overshadowed by Iran's decision to make Lebanon part of its negotiations with the United States.

Lebanese officials have insisted that face-to-face negotiations with Israel are the only way to secure an end to the war raging since March 2, when armed group Hezbollah fired at Israel in support of Iran and triggered Israeli air and ground attacks that have killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon.

But four rounds of Lebanese-Israeli talks since April failed to produce a durable ceasefire. Instead, the longest lull in fighting came this week after Iran and the US agreed a memorandum of understanding that stipulated fighting would halt across all fronts, including Lebanon.

That deal buoyed Iran-backed ‌Hezbollah and dealt ‌a blow to the Lebanese state, whose leaders including President Joseph Aoun had repeatedly warned ‌that ⁠Tehran cannot negotiate ⁠on Lebanon's behalf.

A Lebanese official and two foreign officials working on Lebanon told Reuters the Iran-US deal had pulled the rug out from the Lebanese state, leaving it in its weakest position yet and throwing into question the utility of its talks with Israel this week.

The Lebanese official was skeptical that any tangible progress would come out of the negotiations, which are set to last for three days.

"There remains a fundamental problem of trust between us and the Israelis in these talks. We cannot fulfill their demands, and they reject all of ours," the official said.

LEBANON TO SEEK ISRAELI WITHDRAWAL TIMELINE

Lebanon has ⁠said that one of its key goals in the talks would be securing an ‌Israeli military withdrawal, but top Israeli officials have said that troops would ‌remain in southern Lebanon indefinitely.

The Lebanese official said that Beirut would demand Israel present a "reasonable" timetable for its withdrawal at the talks.

"This ‌is the only chance we have to generate momentum in these talks, and in this tug-of-war with Iran," ‌the official said.

Israel, meanwhile, sees the purpose of the upcoming talks as "disarming Hezbollah and achieving a genuine peace agreement" with Lebanon, according to a briefing by Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer on the eve of the new negotiations.

Mencer said the only impediment to a deal with Lebanon was Hezbollah, "which is why we believe that they should be disarmed and dismantled."

The Lebanese government has moved ‌carefully since 2025 to disarm Hezbollah without confronting the group directly, fearing it would spark a civil conflict.

Hezbollah has rejected disarming in full and has called on the ⁠government to withdraw from its ⁠direct talks with Israel.

HEZBOLLAH BETS ON IRAN AS NEGOTIATOR

Karim Safieddine, a fellow at the Washington-based Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, told Reuters there was a risk that Israel could assume an even more hardline position in the Washington talks given its officials' anger over the US-Iran deal.

While that deal had brought relative calm to Lebanon, there was "no structural change" in the Lebanese and Israeli positions that indicated progress could be made at the negotiating table, Safieddine said.

Aoun first proposed direct talks in March, but they only began in mid-April, after the US announced a ceasefire to enable a diplomatic process that Washington said would ultimately lead to a peace deal.

Israeli air strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs then largely stopped, but fierce fighting continued in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops pushed deeper into Lebanese villages.

The US announced a new ceasefire initiative in early June again as part of the Lebanese-Israeli talks, but it was contingent on Hezbollah halting fire and was rejected by the group.

Hezbollah expects Iran to demand an Israeli withdrawal as it pursues talks with the US on a final deal, and says the Lebanese government should bet on that track instead of its direct negotiations.

Arab World

Trial Week Opens for Assad-Era Figures, Including Syria’s Former Grand Mufti Hassoun

People gather outside the Palace of Justice, on the day of a trial session of Atef Najib, a brigadier general and former head of the Political Security Department in Daraa during Syria's ousted President Bashar al-Assad's rule, who is accused of committing war crimes, in Damascus, Syria, April 26, 2026. (Reuters)
People gather outside the Palace of Justice, on the day of a trial session of Atef Najib, a brigadier general and former head of the Political Security Department in Daraa during Syria's ousted President Bashar al-Assad's rule, who is accused of committing war crimes, in Damascus, Syria, April 26, 2026. (Reuters)
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Trial Week Opens for Assad-Era Figures, Including Syria’s Former Grand Mufti Hassoun

People gather outside the Palace of Justice, on the day of a trial session of Atef Najib, a brigadier general and former head of the Political Security Department in Daraa during Syria's ousted President Bashar al-Assad's rule, who is accused of committing war crimes, in Damascus, Syria, April 26, 2026. (Reuters)
People gather outside the Palace of Justice, on the day of a trial session of Atef Najib, a brigadier general and former head of the Political Security Department in Daraa during Syria's ousted President Bashar al-Assad's rule, who is accused of committing war crimes, in Damascus, Syria, April 26, 2026. (Reuters)

A series of new trials involving defendants accused of crimes against Syrians during the rule of former President Bashar al-Assad is set to begin this week, as authorities move to accelerate the country’s transitional justice process amid mounting public pressure for accountability.

According to Radif Mustafa, director of the Accountability Department at the National Commission for Transitional Justice, proceedings opened on Monday with the trial of Abdul Nasser Barraq, a former security informant.

Hearings are scheduled to continue Tuesday with the case of Atef Najib, while Wednesday will see the first session in the trial of Wassim al-Assad. On Thursday, proceedings are due to begin against former Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun, widely known among regime opponents as the “Mufti of the Barrel Bombs.”

The trials come after days of demonstrations across several Syrian provinces, where protesters demanded accountability for former regime enforcers and collaborators, commonly referred to as “shabbiha”.

What began as scattered protests has evolved into a sustained daily movement calling for faster implementation of transitional justice measures.

The Syrian government has acknowledged the protesters’ “legitimate demands,” stressing that justice must be achieved through the rule of law rather than public anger.

Interior Ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba said authorities remain committed to pursuing all individuals implicated in crimes committed under the former regime.

Atef Najib, a brigadier general and former head of the Political Security Department in Daraa during Syria's ousted President Bashar al-Assad's rule, who is accused of committing war crimes, attends a trial session at the Palace of Justice, in Damascus, Syria, April 26, 2026. (Reuters)

The Interior Ministry recently disclosed that nearly 3,700 former military personnel and regime loyalists have been detained by security forces. The announcement was presented as evidence of the government’s determination to continue pursuing suspects linked to past abuses.

At a press conference last week, al-Baba said the ministry’s Counterterrorism Directorate was holding 5,989 detainees from various ranks associated with the former regime.

Separately, the Ministry of Justice announced the creation of specialized judicial chambers dedicated to transitional justice cases in courthouses across Syria.

The move follows a meeting in Damascus on Sunday between Justice Minister Mazhar al-Wais and provincial attorneys general to discuss ways of accelerating legal proceedings against those accused of serious crimes.

Under the new mechanism, complainants will file cases directly with designated public prosecutors. Investigating judges will gather evidence before cases are referred to criminal courts, a process intended to speed up proceedings and respond to public demands for accountability.

Al-Wais said the ministry is preparing a broader package of reforms, including updates to judicial legislation, amendments to existing laws, the establishment of a unified national registry of violations under judicial supervision, and specialized training for investigators handling war-crimes cases in cooperation with international experts.

The ministry also plans to strengthen coordination with the National Commission for Transitional Justice, the National Commission for Missing Persons, and civil society organizations.