Calls for restraint are right but unlikely to be heeded. A conflict setting Israel and the US against Iran has rarely seemed closer, says foreign affairs commentator Simon Tisdall
Iraqi militia commander, whose arrest stoked tensions, freed
QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and SAMYA KULLAB, Associated Press
June 9, 2021
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BAGHDAD (AP) An Iraqi militia commander whose arrest last month sparked a standoff between the government and paramilitary groups was freed Wednesday after a judge ordered his release.
The release of Qassim Mahmoud Musleh came as Iranian Gen. Esmail Ghaani, head of the expeditionary Quds Force, arrived in Baghdad to meet with militia and political leaders, two Shiite political officials said.
The officials said the meeting was to address ongoing tensions between the government and some militia groups linked to Iran following Musleh s arrest.
Workers clear the rubble of a building that was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike on Saturday, that housed The Associated Press, broadcaster Al-Jazeera and other media outlets, in Gaza City, May 16. AP
The 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) opened an emergency meeting on Sunday over the heavy fighting between Israel and the Gaza Strip’s Hamas rulers, the first major move among Mideast nations still grappling with how to address the conflict.
While the Arab League and organisations like the Saudi-based OIC have maintained their view that the Palestinians should have their own independent state, Israel recently has reached recognition deals with several of its members. That, as well as the concerns of some nations over Hamas, has seen a somewhat-muted response to the attacks as opposed to the full-throated response of decades past.