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Iraqi Defense Minister Thabet Mohammed al-Abbasi embarked on a visit to the US on Monday, leading a high-ranking military delegation. Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasoul, spokesperson for the Iraqi Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, stated in a press release that “the delegation will engage in several meetings discussing a range of topics, foremost among them the future relationship of the international coalition’s presence and the bilateral security cooperation between Iraq and the US.”
The Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammad Shia al-Sudani, was invited Sunday to visit Syria to discuss prospects for bilateral cooperation and coordinate joint action toward consolidating security and stability in the region. Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, who is visiting Iraq, conveyed the invitation. Mekdad stressed during his meeting with Sudani in Baghdad the importance of maintaining the unity of the Syrian territories and the interdependence of Iraqi national security with the security of Syria.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that the expansion of Israeli settlements and ongoing demolitions of Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank are taking Israel further away from peace with the Palestinians. Yet, he stressed that the US-Israel relationship remains “iron-clad," lauded American security commitments to the Jewish state.
Unable to form a government 10 months after elections, Iraq has been roiled by the street protests of the nationalist cleric Moktada al-Sadr, who withdrew from the government but again seeks to influence it.