TNT:

CandyKisses:  The international coalition reveals the reason for the movement of its military forces in Iraq

Baghdad - Iraq Today:

The international coalition to fight ISIS revealed the reasons for the movements of its forces inside and outside Iraq, noting that they are "standard and routine operations."

"Coalition service members from the Tenth Mountain Division have replaced service members from the Ohio State National Guard," the coalition said in a statement.

"This operation is part of the planned rotational replacement of troops in support of CJTF-Operation Inherent Resolve over the past month," he said.

The coalition noted that the official transfer of responsibility ceremony at Erbil Air Base "took place on August 15, 2023," noting that "in order to redeploy the unit whose scheduled deployment period expires, service personnel in the unit to be replaced must be ready and ready to take charge."

The replacement "includes those equipment belonging to the unit", it said.

These operations are "normative and routine, conducted in a deliberate, planned and carefully coordinated manner with security partners", the coalition said.

"During the replacement and rotation of these forces, the movements of troops, vehicles and equipment inside and outside Iraq take place," the statement said, adding that "these logistical movements are necessary to support the coalition forces."

The Coalition stressed that CJTF-Operation Inherent Resolve "will remain committed to achieving the enduring defeat of Daesh and will continue to advise, assist and empower partner forces through routine disruption and rotation operations."

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Puddledpnw:  Iraq issues 6 arrest warrants against senior officials in July

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s judicial authorities issued six arrest warrants for current and former senior officials during the month of July, in addition to nearly 50 summons, revealed the country’s integrity commission on Tuesday.

A total of 54 orders were issued against top officials in the previous month, comprising of 48 summons and six arrest warrants.

The arrest warrants and summons were issued for eight former ministers, two current undersecretaries, five former undersecretaries, and four former governors, according to the commission, without specifying which official received which order.

Rampant corruption plagues all levels of the Iraqi state. The country ranks as the joint tenth most corrupt nation in the world according to the Transparency International annual corruption perceptions index.

Since assuming the Iraqi premiership in October, Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani has frequently reiterated his cabinet’s commitment to battling the endemic corruption that plagues the Iraqi state, and has not shied away from sacking numerous officials in high-level positions.

A Baghdad court on Sunday ruled to freeze the assets of the country’s former Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar on account of exploiting his position and receiving bribery.

An investigation by the Iraqi finance ministry in October concluded that $2.5 billion in tax funds were stolen from the General Commission of Taxes’ account at Baghdad's Rafidain Bank between September 2021 and August 2022, during the tenure of former finance minister Ali Allawi. LINK

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Tishwash:  Saudi Arabia is looking forward to the visit of the President of Iran to the Kingdom

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan announced, on Thursday, the Kingdom's aspiration for Iran's President Ibrahim Raisi to visit it.

This came, according to what the minister said at a press conference in Riyadh with his Iranian counterpart, Hussein Abdullahian, who is visiting the Kingdom for the first time since the resumption of relations between the two countries last March.

"The kingdom is looking forward to the visit of the President of Iran at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz," Ibn Farhan said, according to what was reported by the Saudi "Al-Ikhbariya" channel, followed by Anadolu Agency.

He pointed out, "the missions of the Kingdom and Iran have resumed their work, and the ambassadors of the two countries have assumed their duties," considering them an "important step."

The foreign minister affirmed that the Kingdom is "keen to discuss ways to activate agreements on security aspects, and to consult and coordinate with Iran."

He pointed out that "the meeting with the Iranian foreign minister comes as a continuation of the steps taken to resume relations between the Kingdom and Iran, which represents a pivotal step for the history of the two countries."

He pointed out that the meeting was "confirmation that there is a sincere and serious desire on the part of the two parties to implement the terms of the agreement that benefit the Kingdom and Iran by enhancing confidence and expanding the scope of cooperation."

In turn, the Iranian foreign minister said, at the same conference, that "today's discussions with the Kingdom were fruitful and important," according to what was reported by Al-Ekhbariya TV.

He stressed that "Saudi-Iranian relations are moving in the right direction and are witnessing progress... and the two countries are determined to expand and strengthen cooperation between them."

He continued, "We will form technical and executive committees to complete the joint agreements, and we will follow a correct path regarding good neighborliness between the two countries... and achieving security in the region is an idea that cannot be divided."

He added, "We have to work within the framework of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (of which Saudi Arabia and Iran are members) to solve common issues."

On the other hand, Abdullahian pointed out that he was impressed by the fact that the hall in which the meeting is held is called "Al-Quds Hall".

He stressed that "Tehran supports the holding of Expo 2030 in Saudi Arabia," according to the same Saudi source.

Regarding the Iranian president's visit to Saudi Arabia, Abdul Lehan said, at the same press conference, that Raisi will visit the kingdom "soon," according to what was reported by the Saudi Al-Arabiya channel.

He extended his country's thanks to Saudi Arabia for its "cooperation in facilitating Hajj and Umrah for Iranians."

In January 2016, Iran and Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations between them, after angry crowds stormed the Riyadh embassy in Tehran and the consulate in Mashhad, to protest the execution of a Saudi Shiite cleric at the time.

The two neighboring countries began negotiations to revive relations in April 2021 with the mediation of Iraq and the Sultanate of Oman, and after about two years, China's mediation succeeded in achieving this last March.

In early June, Iran announced the opening of its embassy in Riyadh, and the consulate and mission of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in the city of Jeddah.   link

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