Author: Kibala

The Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office confirmed in a statement on Monday that Iraq and Egypt will sign memoranda of understanding in trade and financial fields. The statement explained that the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, accompanied by a high-level government delegation, started on Monday an official visit to Egypt, where he will hold meetings and discussions with senior Egyptian officials. Official reception ceremonies were held for Al-Sudani in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, by the Egyptian Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, at Cairo International Airport, according to the statement. The Iraqi Prime Minister will meet with the Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah…

The Iraqi Ministry of Oil announced on Tuesday that the drilling and reclamation of three oil wells have been completed in the Zubair and West Qurna oilfields in southern Iraq, west of Basra governorate, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA). The Iraqi Drilling Company (IDC) mentioned in a statement that it completed the drilling of the Zubair 572 oil well at a depth of 3561 meters as part of a contract concluded with the Italian multinational energy company, ENI, to drill 37 oil wells in the Zubair oilfield in Basra in cooperation with the world’s largest offshore drilling company,…

Dubai Ports World (DP World) launched on May 22 the first direct freight service between the United Arab Emirates and Iraq, to facilitate the flow of goods between the two countries. This service includes ‘unaccompanied freight,’ where trailers are transported via freight ferries without the driver and cab traveling alongside them. Instead, the trailer is left at the quayside at the port by the driver and is then pulled onto and off the ship. This service is the first of its kind in the UAE and is provided by P&O Navigation, a subsidiary of the DB World group. This service…

According to Iran’s semiofficial news agency, Saudi Arabia and Iran have reached an agreement to reopen diplomatic missions in their respective capitals and additional cities. The agreement was reportedly reached during a meeting between the foreign ministers of both countries in Beijing. As part of a deal brokered by China, Saudi Arabia and Iran have agreed to study the possibility of resuming flights between the two nations and facilitating the visa process for their citizens. Despite being regional rivals for a long time, the two countries have moved towards reconciliation, culminating in the recent agreement. There was no immediate official…

Iraq’s recent announcement to end its importation of gas within the next three years will be carefully watched by Washington, as it would also mean the end to Iraq’s long-running dependence on Iran for gas supplies. In this context, when the U.S.-Iraq War ended in 2011, Washington wanted to keep open the possibility that it could rebuild its influence across the country, albeit in a more subtle way than had gone before. Part of this was to be done through acting essentially as Iraq’s lender of last resort, giving money to each new prime minister of Iraq who came asking…

In recent decades, both the moral injury of the Iraq War and the turbulent state of public discourse has shaped an anti-American narrative strongly held by a minority of Americans themselves. By “anti-American,” I don’t just mean opposition to contentious aspects of U.S. foreign and domestic policy. I am talking about actual oikophobia, aversion to one’s own homeland, which manifests on both the far left and the far right. People as diverse as Tucker Carlson and Noam Chomsky have embraced this twisted narrative. After Iraq, their logic goes, and after decades of growing political division, the United States can do no right. This is…

Charles D. “Charlie” Mitchell, associate professor and former associate dean in the School of Journalism and New Media at the University of Mississippi, has been named a Fellow at the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics at the University of Mississippi, Center chairman Charles Overby announced today. “Charlie continues to make a significant impact on Mississippi journalism through his leadership and example,” Overby said. “His role as a fellow with help him continue that work.” Mitchell’s role at the center will focus primarily on research and working with the journalism community in Mississippi to support and highlight their work.…

The Iraqi Supreme Court has released an arrest warrant for former U.S. President Donald Trump in connection with the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Quds Force, on Iraqi soil, according to a report by IraqiNews citing a Baghdad news agency. A drone strike near the Baghdad airport in January 2020 claimed the lives of both Soleimani and the deputy chairman of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Iraq. The warrant was issued on Thursday in connection with their deaths. Iranian attacks against the American base at Aia Al-Assad in Iraq were the result of that assassination mission.…