BAGHDAD: Iraq’s prime minister said Monday that a small contingent of US military advisers will remain in the country for now to coordinate with US forces in Syria combating the Daesh group.
Washington and Baghdad agreed last year to wind down an American-led coalition fighting Daesh in Iraq by this September, with US forces departing some bases where they have been stationed.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani told a small group of journalists in Baghdad that US military advisers and support personnel are now stationed at the Ain Al-Asad air base in Western Iraq, a base adjacent to the Baghdad airport, and the Al-Harir air base in northern Iraq
Al-Sudani noted that the agreement originally stipulated a full pullout of US forces from Ain Al-Asad by September, but that “developments in Syria” since then “required maintaining a small unit” of between 250 and 350 advisers and security personnel at the base.
He said they would work “to support counter-ISIS surveillance and coordination with the Al-Tanf base” in Syria.
He added that “other US sites are witnessing gradual reductions in personnel and operations.”
After the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive in December, fears arose in Iraq of an Daesh resurgence taking advantage of the ensuing security vacuum as well as of weapons abandoned by the former Syrian army.
Al-Sudani maintained that the extremist group, which seized wide swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria a decade ago “no longer poses a significant threat inside Iraq.”
Iraq has sought to balance Iraq’s relations with the United States and Tehran and to avoid being pulled into regional conflicts, a policy that the prime minister said he will continue.
“We put Iraq first, and we do not wish to act as a proxy for anyone,” he said. “Iraq will not be a battlefield for conflicts.”
At the same time, Al-Sudani urged the US to return to negotiations with Iran, describing the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” approach to curtail Iranian influence as “counterproductive.”
“Iran is an important and influential country that must be treated with respect and through direct dialogue,” he said.
There have been tensions between Baghdad and Washington over the presence of Iran-backed militias in Iraq. The Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of militias that formed to fight Daesh, was formally placed under the control of the Iraqi military in 2016 but in practice still operates with significant autonomy.
The Iraqi parliament has been considering legislation that would solidify the relationship between the military and the PMF, drawing objections from Washington.
Al-Sudani did not directly address the proposed legislation but said his government’s program “includes disarmament and national dialogue to remove any justification for carrying weapons.”
“We encourage all factions to either integrate into state institutions or engage in political life,” which could include becoming political parties and running for election, he said.
Iraq is preparing for parliamentary elections next month that will determine where Al-Sudani serves a second term.
“Armed factions that have transformed into political entities have the constitutional right to participate” in those elections, the prime minister said.
Iraq keeping a small contingent of US military advisers due to Daesh threat in Syria
https://arab.news/nmx37
Iraq keeping a small contingent of US military advisers due to Daesh threat in Syria
- After the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive in December, fears arose in Iraq of an Daesh resurgence taking advantage of the ensuing security vacuum as well as of weapons abandoned by the former Syrian army
Syria’s growth accelerates as sanctions ease, refugees return
- Economy grows much faster than World Bank’s 1% estimate, fueling plans for currency’s relaunch
NEW YORK: Syria’s economy is growing much faster than the World Bank’s 1 percent estimate for 2025 as refugees flow back after the end of a 14-year civil war, fueling plans for the relaunch of the country’s currency and efforts to build a new Middle East financial hub, central bank Governor AbdulKader Husrieh has said.
Speaking via video link at a conference in New York, Husrieh also said he welcomed a deal with Visa to establish digital payment systems and added that the country is working with the International Monetary Fund to develop methods to accurately measure economic data to reflect the resurgence.
The Syrian central bank chief, who is helping guide the war-torn country’s reintegration into the global economy after the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime about a year ago, described the repeal of many US sanctions against Syria as “a miracle.”
The US Treasury on Nov. 10 announced a 180-day extension of the suspension of the so-called Caesar sanctions against Syria; lifting them entirely requires approval by the US Congress.
Husrieh said that based on discussions with US lawmakers, he expects the sanctions to be repealed by the end of 2025, ending “the last episode of the sanctions.”
“Once this happens, this will give comfort to our potential correspondent banks about dealing with Syria,” he said.
Husrieh also said that Syria was working to revamp regulations aimed at combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism, which he said would provide further assurances to international lenders.
Syria’s central bank has recently organized workshops with banks from the US, Turkiye, Jordan and Australia to discuss due diligence in reviewing transactions, he added.
Husrieh said that Syria is preparing to launch a new currency in eight note denominations and confirmed plans to remove two zeroes from them in a bid to restore confidence in the battered pound.
“The new currency will be a signal and symbol for this financial liberation,” Husrieh said. “We are glad that we are working with Visa and Mastercard,” Husrieh said.
