Baghdad: Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani expressed hopes during a phone call with US President-elect Donald Trump that he would keep his “promises to work toward ending wars” in the Middle East.
Amid Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon, Sudani — who was named premier by a majority bloc of Iran-backed political factions — has been in a delicate balancing act to ensure his country is not drawn into the fighting.
In the phone call, the Iraqi premier pointed to Trump’s “campaign statements and promises to work toward ending wars in the region,” a statement from Sudani’s office said late Friday.
“The two sides agreed to coordinate efforts in achieving this goal,” it added.
About 2,500 American troops are deployed in Iraq as part of a US-led coalition that was formed to help battle the Daesh group.
Bases hosting the American troops have been the target of dozens of rocket and drone attacks launched by Iran-backed groups in Iraq, which have also claimed attacks against Israel.
Baghdad has for years called on Washington to provide a clear timeline for the withdrawal of their remaining coalition troops.
The US and Iraq announced in late September that the international coalition would end its decade-long military mission in federal Iraq within a year, and by September 2026 in the autonomous Kurdistan region.
But the joint statement and US officials did not say whether any American troops would remain in Iraq.
Under Trump’s first term in office, relations deteriorated between the two countries after a US drone strike in January 2020 killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani — the chief of the Quds Force and the architect of the Islamic republic’s military operations abroad.
Also killed in that strike was Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, the deputy head of Iraq’s former paramilitary Hashed Al-Shaabi that have been integrated into the armed forces.
As part of their investigations into Muhandis’s assassination, the Iraqi judiciary issued a warrant for Trump’s arrest in January 2021.
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Iraqi PM urges Trump to ‘work toward ending’ Mideast wars
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Iraqi PM urges Trump to ‘work toward ending’ Mideast wars
- About 2,500 American troops are deployed in Iraq as part of a US-led coalition that was formed to help battle the Daesh group.
Hezbollah says Israeli strike killed Al-Manar TV presenter in southern Lebanon
- The Israeli military said later on Monday that Al-Din was a Hezbollah militant who recently worked to rehabilitate the group’s artillery capabilities in southern Lebanon
The Lebanese armed group Hezbollah said on Monday that an Israeli strike in the country’s south killed TV presenter Ali Nour Al-Din, who worked for the group’s affiliated Al-Manar television station.
The group said the killing portends “the danger of Israel’s extended escalations (in Lebanon) to include the media community.”
The Israeli military said later on Monday that Al-Din was a Hezbollah militant who recently worked to rehabilitate the group’s artillery capabilities in southern Lebanon.
Israel and Lebanon agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire in 2024 to end more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which culminated in Israeli strikes that severely weakened the Iran-backed militant group. Since then, the sides have traded accusations over ceasefire violations.
Lebanon has faced growing pressure from the US and Israel to disarm Hezbollah. The group’s leaders fear that Israel could dramatically escalate strikes across the battered country, aiming to push the Lebanese government for quicker action to confiscate Hezbollah’s arsenal.
The group said the killing portends “the danger of Israel’s extended escalations (in Lebanon) to include the media community.”
The Israeli military said later on Monday that Al-Din was a Hezbollah militant who recently worked to rehabilitate the group’s artillery capabilities in southern Lebanon.
Israel and Lebanon agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire in 2024 to end more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which culminated in Israeli strikes that severely weakened the Iran-backed militant group. Since then, the sides have traded accusations over ceasefire violations.
Lebanon has faced growing pressure from the US and Israel to disarm Hezbollah. The group’s leaders fear that Israel could dramatically escalate strikes across the battered country, aiming to push the Lebanese government for quicker action to confiscate Hezbollah’s arsenal.
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