Iraq

IRGC Spokesman:

"We wrote a benevolent and sympathetic letter to the American people."

"The foundation of the American government is based on lies. They attacked Iraq with the lie of unconventional weapons and killed a million people."

"The effects of the American attack on the Iraqi economy are still heavy. When the Americans searched all of Iraq, they said that there are no unconventional weapons in Iraq."

Flights between Najaf and Iran are running again after a four-day suspension, per Iraq's state news agency.

The U.S. is weighing a one-month sanctions waiver for pilgrim flights into Najaf.

NOW: Explosions reportedly heard near Erbil, Iraq.

Initial reports indicate that Iranian drones/missiles targeted a Kurdish Political Party’s headquarters.

Contributed by: @BeamTracker_

NOW: Several projectiles are being reportedly observed above Iraqi Kurdistan, according to Shin.

Additionally, a very large US aerial presence is being recorded above Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, Iraq.

NOW: Several projectiles are being reportedly observed above Iraqi Kurdistan, according to Shin.

Additionally, a very large US aerial presence is being recorded above Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, Iraq.

Contributed by: @BeamTracker_

Exemptions for Iranian flights landing at Iraqi airports are on the agenda in the Iraqi FM's Washington talks.

Al Hadath

A decision on Iran-Iraq flights could come soon, Tehran's ambassador in Baghdad, Mohammad Kazem al-Sadegh, told IRNA. Talks between the two sides are ongoing.

Iraq's PM al-Zaidi:

"We are working to diversify our oil export ports and develop energy corridors linking Iraq, Turkey, Jordan, and Syria in order to reach global markets."

Rubio on Iraq: the militias have to be disarmed to avoid "Balkanization."

He voiced no doubt about the Iraqi PM's commitment to restricting factional weapons, and said Washington supports the Al-Zaidi government's goals.

With U.S. sanctions on Iran tightening, Iraq's Foreign Ministry has instructed the Transportation Ministry to end all assistance provided to Iranian aircraft at Iraqi airports.

An Iraqi official disclosed the directive to Al Jazeera.

IRGC representative Haji Hamed is organizing the Houthi presence in Iraq, Iraqi sources told Al Hadath.

Iraqi PM Al-Zaidi to the New York Times:

Bringing all weapons under state control is a necessity, not a choice. The process begins within 90 days, during which the armed factions will not attack and will not be attacked. Disarmament is to be complete by June 30, and any faction still operating after that deadline will be considered outside the law.

He added that Iraq has lost 60% of its monthly oil revenues because of the war.

Al Arabiya reports that pro-Iranian militias in Iraq have committed to halting all military activity that conflicts with the policy and authority of the government in Baghdad. Starting in March, the factions will begin transferring their strategic weapons to the Iraqi government. Efforts are underway to get Washington to accept the terms of the new understandings on weapons consolidation.

NOW: Al Maydeen is reporting several explosions in Masif Selahaddin, 36km northeast of Erbil, Iraq.

USAF aerial activity is also being recorded above northeastern Iraq.

Contributed by: @BeamTracker_

Arab Reports of a massive fire at oil facilities in Kirkuk, Iraq.

Israeli Ben Hassin is free after 11 years in a prison in Iraq's Kurdish region. He is expected in Israel shortly. A death sentence over an accidental killing was lifted after a pardon last year.

Earlier tonight, an explosion was heard in Erbil, Iraq, with the cause still to be clarified.

Interestingly, local sources reported several UAV flights above western Iraq during the day.

Contributed by: @BeamTracker_

Iraq is moving closer to U.S. sanctions over attacks on Saudi oil facilities that were allegedly launched from its territory by IRGC-linked groups. Roughly 7 million barrels of Saudi exports were disrupted.

Al-Mada

Panama, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia will receive $52 million in U.S. military aid pulled from Slovakia, North Macedonia, Tunisia and Iraq under a Trump administration shift.

Counter narcotics work, security for the Panama Canal, and blocking strategic rivals in the Western Hemisphere are the stated purposes, per the State Department.

AP

Iraqi PM al-Zaidi was asked about the strike in Saudi Arabia.

Investigations are still running. A joint commission between Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran has been formed, and the results are currently being analyzed.

"We do not want to prejudge anything because we first need reliable findings."

Once those findings are in, he said they will be presented together with the Iranians.

Iraqi PM al-Zaidi: "Until now, Iraq has been dependent on a single strait."

He wants export routes split between Türkiye, Syria and the Mediterranean, with the oil sold to Europe and the U.S.

Germany’s Chancellor Merz on Iran:

Iran must finally end this blockade. Above all, it must end its military nuclear program.

Tehran’s support for proxies throughout the region must stop. We see the consequences every day.

We also call on Iran not to carry the conflict further into Iraq.