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☆ Iran Launches Missile Strikes in Iraq and Syria, Citing Terrorist Attacks
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Alissa J. Rubin | More About Alissa J. Rubin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Some Iranian leaders initially appeared to blame Israel for the attack at the Suleimani memorial, though the Islamic State claimed responsibility for it. Direct attacks by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, while not new, have been far less frequent than those conducted by Iran’s proxies. Israel retaliated by bombarding the strip, killing more than 23,000 people and displacing millions, according to Gazan health officials. We’re not tracking damage to infrastructure or injuries at this time.”Erbil is the capital of the Kurdistan region of Iraq and is its most populous city. The Kurdish region’s security council called on the international community to condemn the Iranian attack, which it described as “a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the Kurdistan region and Iraq and the federal government.”

Persons: Israel, ” Organizations: Islamic State, Revolutionary, Mossad, Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, Consulate, American Locations: Erbil, Israel, Iraq, Syria, Gaza, U.S, ” Erbil, Kurdistan, Kurdish

For all the fears of an outbreak of fighting in the Middle East that could draw the United States, Israel and Iran into direct combat, a curious feature of the conflict so far is the care taken — in both Tehran and Washington — to avoid putting their forces into direct contact. No one knows how long that will last, American and European diplomats and other officials say. It is the most delicate of dances, rife with subtle signals, attacks and feints, and deniable action. The evidence of caution is piecemeal, but everywhere. That is considered the red line that could trigger military action against its underground nuclear complexes.

Persons: Washington — Locations: United States, Israel, Iran, Tehran, Washington, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon

☆ New Video Suggests Israeli-Russian Academic Kidnapped in Iraq Is Alive
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Alissa J. Rubin | More About Alissa J. Rubin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Ms. Tsurkov was kidnapped in late March after having coffee in a Baghdad cafe. Ms. Tsurkov went to Iraq in January to do academic research. Israel and Iraq do not have diplomatic relations; Iraq deems Israel a hostile state and has banned all contact with it. In the video, Ms. Tsurkov, who speaks in Hebrew throughout, is shown alone, seated on a couch. At the end of the video, Ms. Tsurkov speaks directly to her family, pleading with them to help win her release.

Persons: Elizabeth Tsurkov, Tsurkov, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, “, ”, Netanyahu, Sara, Yair, Iraq “, ” Ms, Rina, Arkady, Emma, Avital, David, ” Falih Hassan Organizations: Princeton University, Al, Hezbollah —, Kataib Hezbollah, New York Times, ”, New Lines Institute, Strategy Locations: Iraqi, Israeli, Russian, Baghdad, Al Rabiaa, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Gaza, Syrian, United States

President Biden’s trip to Israel on Wednesday will put him in a region where grief and fury are mounting, not only toward Israel, but also toward the United States, the world power that has declared unyielding support for its chief Middle East ally. On Tuesday, widespread condemnation of Israel rippled across the region after a huge explosion at a hospital in the Gaza Strip killed hundreds of Palestinians who had been seeking treatment and refuge. Israel has denied being behind the blast, blaming a Palestinian group, Islamic Jihad, for a failed rocket launch. But even before that, many people across the region had come to view Israel’s war with Hamas — the Palestinian armed group that carried out a shocking attack on southern Israel more than a week ago, slaughtering 1,400 people — as an American-backed massacre of Palestinian civilians in the blockaded territory of Gaza. Israel has cut off water, medicine and electricity in the enclave and continued to target Gaza with deadly airstrikes, bringing the death toll to at least 2,800 before the hospital explosion.

Persons: Biden’s, Israel rippled Organizations: Gaza, Islamic Locations: Israel, United States, American, Gaza

Then, they said, the voluminous bunting on the ceiling quickly caught fire, and the electricity almost immediately turned off, for reasons that were not clear. “When the lights went out, people didn’t know where to go and started hitting the chairs and tables and started falling on the ground,” said Ghazwan Ibrahim, one of the wedding guests. “I searched the hospitals in Mosul, I went to the forensic medicine center, and still I have not found them,” he said. “The roof caught fire within three seconds, and the fire was very big,” he said. “I helped, like, seven or eight people, but I couldn’t help more because I was choking from the smoke and my eyes were stinging and streaming.”

Persons: ”, Ghazwan Ibrahim, ” Mr, Ibrahim, “, Gorges Yohana Locations: Mosul

☆ Iraq’s Leader, Heading to U.N., Pitches Himself as Face of Change
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Alissa J. Rubin | More About Alissa J. Rubin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Iraq’s prime minister addresses the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week, he is hoping to persuade the world that he is the leader who can finally solve his country’s persistent problems of corruption and political instability — and make it a reliable partner for the region. He asserts that as the first Iraqi leader since the U.S. invasion in 2003 to have spent his entire life within the country, he is better able to understand what Iraqis have been through, and to make changes. Every other prime minister after the toppling of Saddam Hussein spent years in exile or working abroad, but Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, 53, never fled Iraq, despite Mr. Hussein’s having ordered the execution of his father and other close relatives. “I am a product of the institutions of the state,” Mr. al-Sudani said in a recent interview in Baghdad, “and I understand the citizens and their priorities.” He described himself as part of “a second generation” of post-Hussein politicians, and said those with his background were closer to the people and understood that “the street wants a change.”

Persons: Saddam Hussein, Mohammed Shia, Hussein’s, “, Mr, Sudani, Hussein, ” Organizations: United Nations General Assembly Locations: New York, U.S, Iraq, Baghdad, “

There were just 120 drip irrigation systems allotted to farmers in Mr. Sahlani’s province last year to save water — and the farmers had to pay for them. Past the urban sprawl of northern Naseriyah, with its small auto repair shops and vegetable stands, the land empties out. A short drive off the highway, deeper into the desert, lies Al Najim, a village being blown off the map. Qahatan Almihana, an agricultural engineer, pointed at the town’s landmarks: buildings half-covered in sand, doors buried too deep to open. “The land was good, the soil was good,” he explained.

Persons: ” Mohammed Raed, Sahlani, ”, Ghazwan Abdul Amir, Al Najim, Qahatan, Sheikh Muhammad Ajil Falghus Organizations: Tufts Locations: Turkey, Iran, Naseriyah, Sahlani’s

☆ As Iraq Tries to Chill Critics, Its Newest Target Is Social Media
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Alissa J. Rubin | More About Alissa J. Rubin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Often it is unclear exactly which acts violate public order and morality, according to the U.S. State Department’s most recent report on human rights, as well as a report by Human Rights Watch and other free speech and human rights organizations. Um Fahad, the social media influencer who was dancing on her son’s birthday, said she still did not understand why she was arrested and imprisoned. In 2021, the federal court stripped commissioners of their immunity, making them vulnerable to financially crippling lawsuits from any politician, government ministry or party. That curbed the commission’s efforts to hold to account Iraqi government officials or institutions for human rights violations under Iraqi and international law. Officials note accurately that when government critics are pursued in court, in the majority of cases they eventually prevail.

Persons: Um Fahad, “, ”, Ali al, neutered, Saddam Hussein Organizations: U.S, U.S . State, Human Rights Watch, Iraqi Human Rights Commission Locations: U.S ., Iraq

An Israeli researcher missing for months in Iraq is being held by a Shiite militia, according to a statement from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. She holds both Israeli and Russian passports and entered the country using her Russian passport, according to the Israeli government. Israel and Iraq do not have diplomatic relations, so she would not have been allowed to enter with an Israeli passport. Ms. Tsurkov went to Iraq in January to do academic research. As well as studying at Princeton, she is a fellow at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, a Washington-based research group.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Elizabeth Tsurkov, Tsurkov Organizations: Princeton University, Hezbollah, Princeton, New Lines Institute, Strategy Locations: Iraq, Iran, Baghdad, Israel, Washington

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