BAGHDAD: Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohamed Alhakim says his country supports efforts to restore Syria’s membership in the Arab League eight years after it was expelled from the regional body.
Iraq is one of three countries in the Arab world that never cut ties with Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government after its crackdown against anti-government demonstrations in 2011 led to civil war. Syria was cast out of the Arab League the same year.
Alhakim received Iranian Foreign Minister Jawad Zarif in Baghdad on Sunday. Iran remained a steadfast backer of Assad throughout Syria’s conflict.
The two ministers discussed Syria and other regional issues, Alhakim said at a press conference after their meeting. They also discussed economic ties between their two countries in light of recent US sanctions against Iran.
Iraq says it supports Syria’s return to Arab League
Iraq says it supports Syria’s return to Arab League
Two dead in Israeli strikes on Lebanon
- Israel has kept up regular strikes in Lebanon despite the November 2024 truce that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah
SIDON, Lebanon: Israeli strikes in south Lebanon killed two people on Wednesday, authorities said, as Israel said it targeted operatives from militant group Hezbollah.
Israel has kept up regular strikes in Lebanon despite the November 2024 truce that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, usually saying it is targeting members of the Iran-backed group or its infrastructure.
The health ministry said that an “Israeli enemy strike... on a vehicle in the town of Zahrani in the Sidon district killed one person,” referring to an area far from the Israeli border.
An AFP correspondent saw a charred car on a main road with debris strewn across the area and emergency workers in attendance.
Later, the ministry said another strike targeting a vehicle in the town of Bazuriyeh in the Tyre district killed one person.
Israel said it struck operatives from the militant group in both areas, saying the raids came “in response to Hezbollah’s repeated violations of the ceasefire understandings.”
This month, Lebanon’s army said it had completed the first phase of its plan to disarm the group, covering the area south of the Litani river, around 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border.
The strike in Zahrani on Wednesday was north of the Litani.
Israel, which accuses Hezbollah of rearming, has criticized the army’s progress as insufficient, while Hezbollah has rejected calls to surrender its weapons.
More than 350 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon since the ceasefire, according to an AFP tally of health ministry reports.
