DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

U.S. forces in both countries combat Islamic State militants, who are also active from North Africa to Afghanistan. MASSIVE COSTSThe costs of U.S. involvement in Iraq and Syria are massive. "It was worth it because the decision was not simply: 'Does Saddam pose a WMD threat in 2003?'" IN THE GULF'Ryan Crocker, who served as U.S. ambassador in Iraq, said the 2003 invasion did not immediately undermine U.S. influence in the Gulf but the 2011 withdrawal helped push Arab states to start hedging their bets. Reporting By Arshad Mohammed and Jonathan Landay; Additional reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Fighter jets are 'worthless' over Ukraine, and it's a sign of what US pilots and troops may face in future battles
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

As a result, neither side is able to provide close air support to its troops on the front line. US pilots and ground troops may face a similar situation in future wars, US Air Force leaders say. They're not doing a whole lot because they can't go over and do close air support," Hecker said. "Close air support in a contested environment, that's not what we do, no matter who you are," Brown added. William GreerSince taking over as the top Air Force officer in August 2020, Brown has stressed that future battlefields will be more complex and deadly for the Air Force.

☆ Iraqis recount their struggles after Saddam Hussein's fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Amina Ismail | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

But he says ridding the nation of Saddam has just created anarchy for others to bleed the country dry. Under Saddam's rule minorities were tolerated and not singled out for their religious beliefs, but were oppressed if they opposed the government. After the fall of Saddam, they were targeted by Islamists for their religious beliefs and labelled apostates or devil worshippers. A CHRISTIAN: PASCALE WARDAWhen U.S.-led forces invaded, Iraqi Christian Pascale Warda was in London lobbying European leaders to depose Saddam. It was the same under Saddam," said Warda, who had several members of her family executed by the state.

☆ Factbox: Iraq War: quotes from the conflict and its aftermath
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

BAGHDAD, March 15 (Reuters) - Here are some notable quotes from before, during and after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 that toppled Saddam Hussein. - U.S. President George W. Bush referring to Iraq, Iran and North Korea in his State of the Union Address. - Saddam Hussein in message to U.N. General Assembly. - Saddam Hussein on first day of invasion. A lot of people put their reputations on the line and said the weapons of mass destruction is a reason to remove Saddam Hussein," - Bush.

☆ No regrets from the Iraqi who threw his shoes at Bush
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Maher Nazeh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] FILE PHOTO-Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi, who gained fame for hurling his shoes at President George W. Bush during a joint statement with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in December 14, 2008, sits at his home in Baghdad, Iraq, February 8, 2023. REUTERS/Maher NazehBAGHDAD, March 14 (Reuters) - Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi gained fame for hurling his shoes at President George W. Bush in a news conference to show his anger at the corruption and chaos that followed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. "The same people who entered 20 years ago with the occupier are still ruling despite failures and corruption. Bush, who was standing next to then Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, ducked to avoid the footwear that spun at him from across the room. He added that he continued to campaign against graft and he has never regretted hurling his shoes.

☆ Saddam Hussein fell. Then violence in Iraq spiralled
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Ahmed Rasheed | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/3] The site of a twin suicide bombing attack in a central market is seen in Baghdad, Iraq January 21, 2021. He took another risk in 1990-1991, when Saddam's forces invaded neighbour Kuwait, a move that turned Iraq into a pariah. A U.S.-led coalition hammered Iraqi forces and the United Nations imposed sanctions on Iraq for more than a decade. Amer went into hiding again. Amer said he is still determined to leave Iraq, two decades after U.S. troops and Iraqis pulled down a statue of Saddam Hussein in central Baghdad.

☆ Two decades after Saddam's fall, Iraqis still haunted by disappearances
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Charlotte Bruneau | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

As exhumations dragged on, more atrocities were committed in sectarian conflict and amid the rise and fall of armed groups, such as Al Qaeda and Islamic State militants, as well as Shi'ite Muslim militias. Tens of thousands of Iraqis were killed by Saddam's forces during his rule. According to Siddiq, massacres committed by Islamic State militants, who seized much of northern Iraq in 2014 and held it for three violent years, have been prioritised. In Sinjar, where Islamic State committed what U.N. investigators described as genocide against Iraq's Yazidi minority, about 600 victims have been reburied, with some 150 identified. His name was not among the hundreds of victims identified by Siddiq's team, and Mohammed remains in limbo.

☆ 'Every victim of Saddam Hussein was waiting for this moment'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Charlotte Bruneau | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Ali Hassan al-Haidari, who testified against former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein during the Dujail trial, that led to Saddam's death sentence, sits at his home in Dujail, Iraq, January 28, 2023. "Every victim of Saddam Hussein was waiting for this moment," said Haidari, one of the few people who was ready to show his face when giving testimony to the court that sent the former Iraqi strongman to the gallows. Seven of his brothers were among those killed in the security sweep after the attempt on Saddam's life as his convoy passed by. A video from the trial showed Haidari standing with Saddam behind him and telling the judges: "He is responsible for my detention, for losing my future, for executing my brothers". Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most influential Shi'tie cleric, issued a religious decree calling on Iraqis to fight against Islamic State.

☆ Factbox: Middle East flashpoints that could be affected by Saudi-Iran deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

China also provided cover for Syria at the United Nations and kept up economic and political ties with Damascus. But as Iran's support helped Assad turn the tide, Saudi backing for the armed and political opposition has waned. Syria's foreign ministry welcomed the deal as an "important step" that could boost regional stability. In 2021, Saudi and other Arab Gulf states withdrew their ambassadors over what they said was Hezbollah's hold over the state. Seeking to de-escalate, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi began engaging directly with Iran.

☆ U.S.-led Iraq war ushered in years of chaos and conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] A general view of Tahrir square as demonstrators take part during the ongoing anti-government protests in Baghdad, Iraq November 5, 2019. Here is a look at some of the violence, including suicide bombings and beheadings, that has plagued Iraq, a major OPEC oil producer and key U.S. ally, since the 2003 war. * March 20, 2003 - U.S.-led forces invade Iraq from Kuwait to oust Saddam Hussein. * October 2004 - Al Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi starts waging bloody attacks designed to turn majority Shi’ite Muslims against minority Sunnis in a civil war. * January 2007 - Bush announces a new war strategy including a “surge” of U.S. troops into Iraq to combat the insurgency.

☆ U.S. Defense Chief Visits Iraq for Talks on Troop Presence
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( David S. Cloud | Ghassan Adnan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin with Major General Matthew McFarlane in Baghdad. REUTERS/Idrees AliBAGHDAD—Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made an unannounced visit to Baghdad for talks with Iraqi officials on continuing the U.S. troop presence. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani has previously endorsed allowing the roughly 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq to stay. Mr. Austin stressed that they were there primarily to train and advise Iraqi troops, not to join them on combat missions to root out remaining Islamic State fighters.

☆ Pentagon chief makes unannounced trip to Iraq as 20-year anniversary of invasion nears
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Idrees Ali | Thomson Reuters | National Security Correspondent Focusing On The Pentagon In Washington D.C. Reports On U.S. Military Activity | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Austin, the most senior official in President Joe Biden’s administration to visit Iraq, was the last commanding general of U.S. forces there after the invasion. “I'm here to reaffirm the U.S.-Iraq strategic partnership as we move toward a more secure, stable, and sovereign Iraq,” Austin said. The United States is broadly interested in a strategic partnership with the government of Iraq," the senior U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told reporters. The United States and Iran came close to full-blown conflict in 2020 after Iran's Revolutionary Guards' top commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in a drone strike. "I think that Iraqi leaders share our interest in Iraq not becoming a playground for conflict between the United States and Iran," the defense official added.

Thousands of other Islamic State fighters are in detention facilities guarded by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, America's key ally in the country. American officials say that Islamic State could still regenerate into a major threat. Four U.S. troops were wounded during a helicopter raid last month when an Islamic State leader triggered an explosion. U.S. Army Major General Matthew McFarlane, who commands the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, described attacks against U.S. forces as a "distraction from our main mission." McFarlane cited progress against Islamic State, including through the reduction in the numbers of internally displaced people at refugee camps -- a pool of vulnerable people who could be recruited by Islamic State.

☆ West gains advantage as it vies with Russia for influence in Serbia
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Aleksandar Vasovic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

T-shirts with the letter Z, a symbol of Russia's campaign, are sold as souvenirs while far-right groups openly tout support for Russia. Last month, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said that while Serbia had made progress in EU accession negotiations, Brussels required more. A separate CRTA poll found 61% felt Belgrade should preserve good relations with Moscow even at the cost of EU ties. U.S. and EU sanctions mean Serbia can no longer send its fighter jets or helicopters, based on ex-Soviet technology, to Russia for overhauls, nor purchase new weapons from Russia. Cedomir Stojkovic, a Belgrade-based lawyer and activist whose October Group publishes lists of prominent Serbs who are outspoken supporters of Russia, said Serbia was under Russia's "hybrid occupation".

☆ Syria's Assad meets senior Arab lawmakers in Damascus
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Syrian parliament members and Parliamentary Speaker Hammouda Sabbagh meet with a delegation from the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union in Damascus, Syria February 26, 2023. They met with Syrian parliamentarians and with Assad, according to Syrian state news agency SANA. The Arab League suspended Syria's membership in 2011 and many Arab countries pulled their envoys out of Damascus. Assad then traveled to Oman on Feb. 20 - the first time he left Syria since the quake. Assad's 2022 visit to the UAE was his first trip to an Arab state since the 2011 outbreak of war.

☆ Iraq to allow trade with China in yuan - state media
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Iraq's central bank said on Wednesday it planned to allow trade from China to be settled directly in yuan for the first time, in an attempt to improve access to foreign currency. The central bank could, as part of its plan, boost the balances of Iraqi banks that have accounts with Chinese banks in yuan, it said in a statement. Another option would be to boost local banks' balances via the central bank's accounts with JP Morgan and Development Bank of Singapore (DBS), it added. The first option would depend on the central bank's yuan reserves, while the other would use the bank's U.S. dollar reserves at JP Morgan and DBS. The two banks would convert the dollars to yuan and pay the final beneficiary in China, Salih explained.

☆ India's Russian oil imports surge to a record in January - trade
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Nidhi Verma | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Russian oil accounts for 27% of India's January oil importsIndia imports from Russia hit record in JanuaryRussia, India's top oil supplier in January, then Iraq, SaudiNEW DELHI, Feb 17 (Reuters) - India's Russian oil imports climbed to a record 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in January, up 9.2% from December, with Moscow still the top monthly oil seller to New Delhi, followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia, data from trade sources showed. India's oil imports typically rise in December and January as state-run refiners avoid maintenance shutdowns in the first quarter to meet their annual production targets fixed by the government. Last month India's imports of Russian Sokol crude oil were the highest so far at 100,900 bpd, as output from the Sakhalin 1 field resumed under a new Russian operator, the data showed. India's Iraqi oil imports in January rose to a seven-month high of 983,000 bpd, up 11% from December, the data showed. India's oil importsIndia's oil imports from various regionsReporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Sharon SingletonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Banned Iranian filmmaker portrays her version of Iran-Iraq war
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( James Imam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN Feb 17 (Reuters) - Iranian filmmaker Sepideh Farsi's debut animation aims to counter what she says is the traditional narrative of the Iran-Iraq War as her contribution to supporting protests at home. Farsi was determined to tell another story from what she said governments in Iran had done by glorifying the war with films honouring martyrs. Protests rocked Iran overnight after a seeming slowdown in recent weeks, with marchers calling for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic, online videos purported to show on Friday. Iranians from all walks of life have taken part, marking one of the boldest challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution. Making the film as an animation allowed Farsi to evoke the city of Abadan, which was razed during the war.

Before Sudani formed his government he struck a deal with the KDP, which dominates the administration in Erbil, capital of the semi-autonomous region in northern Iraq. Under the Iraqi constitution, the Kurdish region is entitled to a portion of the national budget. A spokesman for the KRG, Jotiar Adil, said the "politically motivated" court was trying to spoil the deal between Erbil and Baghdad. A source with knowledge of the meetings said Erbil and Baghdad remained far apart on the hydrocarbon law. Additional reporting by Ali sultan in Sulaimaniya; Editing by Michael Georgy and Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia's tanks may face 'disadvantageous conditions' in a battle with US-made Abrams tanks, Russian expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Abramses are better than Russian tanks, and Russia isn't making enough anti-tank weapons to beat them, a top Russian defense expert says. "Now Russian tanks use old Soviet shells in their ammunition," Pukhov said, according to a translation of the article. US Abrams tanks and a German Leopard at a training ground in Poland in September 2022. Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesNonetheless, even without Western tanks, Ukraine has managed to shred Russian armor. Perhaps Russia should focus less on the technical characteristics of American tanks and more on how to use Russian tanks better.

☆ U.S. lawmakers try again to end 'forever war' authorizations
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A U.S. soldier stands guard during a peace conference in al-Zawra amusement park in Baghdad November 7, 2008. The conference was organized by the U.S. military forces and in cooperation with Iraqi artists union and Baghdad's municipality. "The 1991 and 2002 AUMFs are no longer necessary, serve no operational purpose, and run the risk of potential misuse. Yet the legacy of these horrific forever wars lives on in the form of the now-obsolete 2002 and 1991 AUMFs," Lee said in a statement. Under the Constitution, Congress, not the president, has the right to declare war.

Companies Bp Azerbaijan FollowBp Plc FollowLONDON/BAKU, Feb 8 (Reuters) - BP Azerbaijan has declared force majeure on loadings of Azeri crude from the Turkish port of Ceyhan, after a series of earthquakes on Monday, the company said on Wednesday. The notice was issued to oil shippers following a temporary suspension of loading operations from the Ceyhan Marine Terminal (CMT), BP Azerbaijan spokeswoman Tamam Bayatly told Reuters by email. BP Azerbaijan operates the Azerbaijan and Georgia sections of the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline. Azerbaijan uses the Turkish port of Ceyhan as its main crude export hub, with a flow of about 650,000 barrels per day (bpd). The Iraqi crude pipeline to Turkey's Ceyhan oil export hub resumed flows on Tuesday evening and a tanker docked to load Iraqi crude at Ceyhan earlier in the day.

Brent crude futures were up $2.70, or 3.3%, to $83.69 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $3.03, or 4.1%, to $77.14 per barrel. The U.S. dollar index fell after the data, raising oil prices. The BTC terminal, which exports Azeri crude oil to international markets, will be closed through Wednesday. Iraqi crude oil loadings from storage in Ceyhan were ready for resumption on Tuesday, but bad weather was preventing vessels from berthing, a trade source said. Iraq's crude oil pipeline to Turkey's Ceyhan port was still halted, the Kurdistan Regional Government's energy ministry said.

The U.S. dollar index fell after the data, raising oil prices. Forecasted stronger demand in China also lifted crude prices on Tuesday. The BTC terminal, which exports Azeri crude oil to international markets, will be closed on Feb. 6-8. Iraqi crude oil loadings from storage in Ceyhan were ready for resumption on Tuesday, but bad weather was preventing vessels from berthing, a trade source with direct knowledge said. Iraq's crude oil pipeline to Turkey's Ceyhan port was still halted, the Kurdistan Regional Government's energy ministry said.

☆ Turkey’s Ceyhan oil port disrupted by weather as earthquake damage assessed
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Operations were interrupted at the Ceyhan oil port — a critical hub for the discharge of crude oil and oil products, along with the loading of Azeri crude and a stream of Iraqi crude oil — on Monday, following two earthquakes that devastated Turkey and Syria, leaving over 5,000 dead. It also exports volumes of two crude oil streams — the Azeri crude oil delivered through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) consortium's pipeline, and the Iraqi Kirkuk blend crude oil transferred through the separate Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline. Loadings of the two crude oil terminals are undertaken from two different points within Ceyhan port, with BTC crude oil leaving the BTC terminal, while the Kirkuk blend sails from the Botas terminal. An oil trade source familiar with KRG operations told CNBC that the pipeline could likely begin flows later Tuesday. An oil tanker ship is awaiting to berth to load Kirkuk blend crude.

Search resuls for: "iraqi"

25 mentions found