Iran's Ghalibaf in Baghdad: the U.S. assassinated the two resistance axis leaders who "saved the region from ISIS."
Al Mayadeen.
Nechirvan Barzani, head of Iraq's Kurdistan Region, mediated behind-the-scenes contact between the U.S. and the IRGC, including two Baghdad meetings with Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani, Al Arabiya reports. Tehran denies it.
Senior Iraqi Kurdish sources say Nichervan Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Region, met twice in Baghdad with IRGC Quds Force commander Ismail Qaani over the past two months, passing messages as part of secret U.S.–Iran mediation. - Al-Arabiya
Quds Force commander Ismail Qaani has wrapped his Baghdad visit, meeting Iraq's leadership and pro-Iranian militia reps, per Al-Hadath.
He told the militias to hold onto their weapons and pressed Baghdad to "use the card of the militias" as leverage against Washington. Qaani also criticized fighters who agreed to disarm, calling their arsenals Iranian weapons, not Iraqi.
IRGC Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani made an unannounced visit to Baghdad last night, holding separate meetings with Coordination Framework leaders and commanders of Iranian-backed Iraqi militias.
The meetings focused on the contentious ...
IRGC Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani made an unannounced visit to Baghdad last night, holding separate meetings with Coordination Framework leaders and commanders of Iranian-backed Iraqi militias.
The meetings focused on the contentious issue of restricting weapons to state control, a topic gaining urgency ahead of a late-September deadline that has fueled concerns the Iraqi government could use force against armed factions.
Qaani urged the militias to avoid clashes with Iraqi security forces but stopped short of endorsing disarmament, stressing the need for the factions to keep their weapons amid rising American threats against the "axis of resistance." - Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
@ariel_oseran
Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service forces have deployed to Baghdad’s Green Zone, with Iraqi Army armored vehicles and tanks also positioned near Baghdad International Airport amid fears of attacks by Iran backed militias.
IRAQ: Brigade 79 of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF/Hashd al Shaabi) has deployed and is securing the Yusufiyah area along the Baghdad to Karbala highway in preparation for the Arbaeen pilgrimage.
Cute video.
Iraqi PM Ali al-Zaidi convened an emergency security cabinet meeting over last night's events. Baghdad condemned the American-Saudi strike that caused casualties, saying it will act to protect Iraqi sovereignty and shield neighboring states from any threat.
Following drone attacks on eastern Saudi Arabia, Saudi officials have demanded that Baghdad prevent Iraqi territory from being used to launch missiles, the NYT reported.
Iraq agreed with the Trump administration to tighten financial controls blocking U.S. dollars from reaching Iran and its militias, ending a four-month suspension of American currency shipments to Baghdad. - WSJ
Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi met with Iraq's president in Baghdad. - Fars News
Iraq's Green Zone in Baghdad has been placed under lockdown as military forces deploy, with reports of raids targeting the residences of government officials, according to The New Region.
Iraq's prime minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi met with Trump's Iraq envoy Tom Brack in Baghdad today. Al-Zaidi has been invited to the White House in July. Washington views him as the leader who will break up Iran-linked Shiite militias.
Several senior IRGC officials overseeing Iraq were killed in a U.S. strike on a house in Baghdad's Al-Jadriya district last week, Al-Hadath reports. Among the dead: the deputy commander of the Quds Force's Iraq corps and five IRGC advisers. Their bodies were secretly transferred to Iran via Qasr-e Shirin. The targets had not been previously identified.
Kuwait's prosecution indicted four IRGC members who tried to enter the country by sea to carry out terror attacks against American and Kuwaiti targets. Two other cell members escaped after exchanging fire with Kuwaiti troops.
Iraqi pro-Ira...
Kuwait's prosecution indicted four IRGC members who tried to enter the country by sea to carry out terror attacks against American and Kuwaiti targets. Two other cell members escaped after exchanging fire with Kuwaiti troops.
Iraqi pro-Iranian militias were expected to assist the cell if needed, revealing coordination between the IRGC and its regional proxies. The same militias have recently been launching drones at the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Tehran is simultaneously pushing to shape Baghdad's next government in its favor.
Quds Force chief Gen. Ismail Qaani was in Baghdad over the past 48 hours meeting Iran-backed militia leaders and Iraqi officials, per Al-Akhbar.
Sources told the outlet the visit focused on reorganizing pro-Iran factions and keeping coordination channels intact amid the Iran-Israel-U.S. escalation.
Reports of Israeli military presence inside Iraq preceded the visit.
The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
Reports related to the Zionist entity’s establishment of a secret military base inside Iraqi territory will be raised with Baghdad. What is clear from the record of the Zionist entity’s behavior in the region is that it does not adhere to any borders or red lines when it comes to striking the countries of the region, provoking disagreement between them, or harming the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Iraq confirms its military was hit by a foreign force in early March, responding to a WSJ report on an Israeli base built in Iraq during the Iran war. Baghdad says April–May search operations found no foreign or unauthorized presence, personnel, or equipment anywhere in the country.
Reports of low jet activity over Baghdad- @Tammuz_Intel
Air defenses near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad downed a surveillance drone. Several drones were detected over the Green Zone. - Iraqi security sources
Islamic Resistance in Iraq claims an FPV drone strike on a communication tower at U.S. Victoria Base in Baghdad. April 8th.
IRGC Quds Force Commander Esmail Qaani reportedly was in Baghdad yesterday. He met with leaders of multiple armed factions to coordinate for a potential new round of fighting and pushed for the election of a pro-Iran prime minister.
U.S. aircraft over Baghdad this afternoon.
A Grad rocket fired by pro-Iran Iraqi militias at a U.S. base near Baghdad airport struck a home in Al-Amiriya, killing at least two, Iraqi media report.
Overnight: Blasts, including secondary explosions, rock PMF headquarters in Sabaa al-Bour near Baghdad, Iraq.
