Today, July 17, Sadr tweeted a response to the leaked audios of the former premier and asked al-Maliki to leave politics. Sadr asked to denounce the leaders allied with al-Maliki and his clan, considering that al-Maliki had no right to lead Iraq in any way.

He also stressed in his response his admiration for "the attempt to kill him by the Dawa Party and their chief al-Maliki." "I advise al-Maliki to abstain and retire from political work," he said, noting that "his accession to power will bring ruin and destruction to Iraq and its people."

The audio leaks attributed to the head of the State of Law coalition, Nuri al-Maliki, have caused an uproar in political and popular circles amid warnings of a high level of provocation between those parties.

The Iraqi activist and journalist Ali Fadel, who resides in the United States, published an audio leak attributed to Al-Maliki, in which he dealt with a number of issues, most notably his relationship with the Sadrists. He also accused the chief of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Massoud Barzani, of seeking to strike the Shiites, by embracing the displaced Sunnis, as well as their leaders.

The KDP-controlled Erbil is home to thousands of former Sunni political figures, business people, and military and intelligence officers who leave Baghdad. 

Al-Maliki asked: "How many [people] Muqtada al-Sadr killed in Baghdad? How many [Sadr] kidnapped with duck cars?". 

"I wanted to make the PMF like the Iranian Revolutionary Guard," al-Maliki said in the leaded audio records.

Also, in a new clip of what has become known in Iraq as "WikiLeaks al-Maliki," the former prime minister threatened to attack Najaf to "protect the religious authority" if al-Sadr attacked it. He also spoke of a "cruel war from which no one gets out," and he prepared for that by arming 15 groups to confront it.

Iraq has been mired since the end of the last parliamentary elections on October 10, 2021, in a political crisis in which the main political parties were unable to agree on electing a president and forming the next government after each bloc claimed that it had a majority in Parliament, which includes 329 deputies.

Because of this political dispute and the inability of any party to resolve matters despite the strong Shiite leader's leadership, Parliament failed three times to elect a president of the republic, exceeding the deadlines stipulated by the constitution.

Despite the resignation of Sadr deputies, the Shiite leader remains present on the political scene in Iraq through the statements he was publishing on his Twitter account and a recent million-strong gathering in Baghdad.

On June 17, the minister of agriculture and water resources received a delegation of investors from the German firm AMIRA.

Minister of agriculture and water resources Begard Talabani said on her Facebook page that "We received Mr. Werner Krauss, and delegation of investors from German AMIRA Company."

The German government would help the Kurdistan region through AMIRA BASMATI RICE GMBH EUR. This Germany-based firm is a leading global provider of packaged Indian specialty rice.

"In the meeting, we discussed development of our relations, and the agricultural sector in the Kurdistan Region. Through this company, the German government is willing to provide technical, and financial support to Bitwen Sugar Factory in Raparin district, after a visit to the factory," the minister announced. 

The Bitwen Sugar Factory is the largest cane factory expected to create close to eight thousand jobs soon. 

The minister noted that soon a larger team of German experts and investors would help improve the agricultural sector in the region.

The Kurdistan region ministry of agriculture has worked to strengthen the agricultural sector in the region, which is in line with diversifying the region's oil-based economy.

The ministry assists farmers and investors in introducing their products to regional and international countries and facilitating marketizing their products through financial and administrative assistance. 

Mahmoud Hayani, a member of the Fatah coalition, said that if the 220 votes are not collected for the voting of a president into office, the interim government can't continue its duties while all constitutional deadlines have passed, and that opens the possibility of dissolving the Iraqi council of representatives. 

The member of the Fatah coalition said the Shiite Coordination Framework is trying to resolve the issues and wants to return the situation to its normal and legal stage, especially since the house of representatives has proven that it cannot take responsibility or solve any problems.

On Thursday, the day after he arrived in Israel, US President Joe Biden intensified his talks with Israeli leaders, discussed the hot files, and signed the "Jerusalem Declaration" that consolidates cooperation between the United States and the Hebrew state.

During his meeting with the new caretaker prime minister, Yair Lapid, Biden affirmed America's commitment to Israel's security.
Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath correspondent said that Lapid spoke with Biden about forming a regional alliance to confront the threat of Iran.

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid told US President Joe Biden his opposition to returning to the nuclear deal with Iran. According to a statement by Lapid's office, after he met with Biden, he called for increasing pressure on Iran to return to the negotiating table to discuss an alternative agreement. Lapid thanked President Biden for his decision not to remove the Iranian Revolutionary Guard from the list of terrorist organizations.

Lapid announced last year, when he was foreign minister, that he wanted to rebuild bridges between Israel and the American Democratic Party after the years of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu in power.

A senior Israeli official had previously said that the "Jerusalem Declaration on the Strategic Partnership between the United States and Israel" would be "a living testimony to the unique nature, health, extent, depth and intimacy" of this bilateral relationship.

He added that the document, which the Americans have not yet called the "Jerusalem Declaration", will express "a clear and unified position against Iran, its nuclear program and its aggression throughout the region."

The path to be followed in approaching the Iranian nuclear file remains a source of divergence between the United States, which wants to try the diplomatic course by reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), and Israel, which calls for a hard line.

In 2018, the administration of President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement on Iran's nuclear program and re-imposed sanctions on Tehran as part of a "maximum pressure campaign " on the Islamic Republic.

President Joe Biden said in an interview with the Israeli "Channel 12" on Wednesday evening that "the former president's withdrawal from the agreement was a huge mistake because they (the Iranians) are closer to nuclear weapons than they were before."

Asked if he was prepared to use force to ensure that Tehran did not obtain a nuclear weapon, Biden said, "Yes, if that is the last resort."

Not only does Israel fear that Iran will obtain a nuclear bomb, a weapon that Tehran denies it is seeking, but then it also fears that lifting sanctions will fill Tehran's coffers with money, thus enabling the Iranians to increase their support for their allies in the region, such as Hezbollah. Lebanon and the Palestinian Hamas movement.

Biden will also meet Thursday with his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog, who will award him a "medal of honor" for his support of Israel, and then go to encourage American athletes participating in the Maccabiah Games, which are Jewish sports meetings organized every four years in Israel.

Finally, as is customary for an American president, as Israel campaigns for early legislative elections scheduled for November 1, the Democratic president will conclude his trip to Israel in a meeting with the Israeli opposition represented by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose relationship with Biden has often been cold.

Hamdani said the Turkish ambassador to Baghdad's remarks about the waste of water in Iraq is false, provoking public opinion and a threat to social peace, the Foreign Ministry should summon the Turkish ambassador and submit a memorandum of protest.

"Turkey is not the guardian of Iraq and should give Iraq its fair share of water without interfering in its water policy according to international treaties," he said.

According to the Iraqi Minister of Water Resources, Turkey's continued protests about the waste of water in Iraq is an attempt to mix the cards, to give itself the right to reduce the share of Iraqi water.

Turkish Ambassador to Baghdad Ali Reza Gonay, in a series of tweets said that water is being wasted in Iraq, and serious measures must be taken in this regard, "solving the water crisis cannot be done through asking for more water, but through using it wisely, and we are ready to help."

Turkey has constructed many massive dams on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers that provide almost 100% of Iraq’s water needs. The dams have significantly reduced water following to Iraq and it has led to drying out many marshes.

Frequent dust storms, lack of precipitation, and successive drought has shown Iraqis the consequences of climate change.

In response to a question at a press conference about how long the United States was willing to make diplomatic efforts, Biden said his administration had set the conditions required to revive the agreement and "we won't wait forever" for Tehran to respond.

In a four-nation summit, I2U2 (Israel, India, United States, and United Arab), to help tackle food insecurity and security of the Middle East, president of the United States and Israel diverged on the Iranian nuclear deal. While Israel prefers an alternative agreement, Washington works to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

The French president stressed that "Russia uses energy as well as food as a weapon of war... We must prepare today for a scenario in which we have to completely dispense with Russian gas."

During a television interview, marking the occasion of France's Bastille Day that France was already diversifying the sources of its energy supplies, and building stocks ahead of next winter, the French president slammed Russia for manipulation of its energy export to Europe. 

Europe has seen increased prices and inflation since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 2022. For the first time in history, euro hit dollar parity. The continent is faced with shortages of food and energy and Europeans are warned of coming of a harsh winter.

France is an active and leading member of the European Union who initially tried to balance its relations with Russia and Ukraine, yet the country is experiencing the affects of war as does almost every other European country.

 

 

"Water reserves from Iran have downed by 60 to 80 percent, while water from the Tigris River flowing from Turkey has decreased by 65 percent," the Ministry of Water Resources said.

"According to the figures drawn up by the Ministry of Agriculture, groundwater can irrigate only one million dunams of arable land for the summer season," the ministry warned.

Turkey’s Southeastern Anatolia Project is one of the largest and most controversial dam-building programs globally. Twenty-two dams constructed along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers near Turkey’s borders with Syria and Iraq on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers that supply almost 100 percent of Iraq’s water needs.

 

 

US President Joe Biden said today, Thursday, that the purpose of his visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is to strengthen joint relations between the two countries.

He added that the reason for his visit to the Kingdom is more than just observing American interests, pointing out that the visit is an opportunity to make things right.

This came during a press conference with the caretaker prime minister, Yair Lapid, as part of his visit to Tel Aviv.

Russian invasion of Ukraine has faced Americans and Europeans with inflation and higher prices. The price of energy in the US and EU has skyrocket. Saudi Arabi is the most powerful member of the Oil Producing Countries (OPEC), as it controls almost one-third of OPEC’s total oil reserves, and can change global energy prices, something Biden eagerly seeks.

A rift between the US and Saudi Arabia developed in the past couple years over the Kingdom’s policies towards Russia, and its human rights records, most notably the murder of Saudi-American journalist, Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul.

The visit will also be historic, making it the first direct flight from Israel to Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom does not recognize the sovereignty of Israel.

Biden’s visit to the Middle East comes at a time that regional and eastern powers, such as Iran and Russia are coming closer together, while American allies diverge on many topics.

With rising temperatures and day after day, the effects of drought and reduced river and marsh water levels become more visible. The farmers and livestock owners are most vulnerable to drought and reduced water levels, mostly caused by lack of precipitation and building of dams by Iraq’s regional neighbors, such as Turkey and Iran, and lack of proper use of agricultural water.

Alaa Badran, a member of the Iraqi Committee for Restoring Marshes, told KurdSat, “The drought rate has reached 50% to 60%. And of course, if the current precipitation rate continues till the end of the year and regional neighbors continue to withhold waters, the situation becomes worse, it will affect livestock, birds, and fish resources. Turkish dams have caused serious damage to Iraqi marshes because of more than 40 billion cubic meters of water. Turkey stores water in dams, especially those built on the Euphrates River.

Drought and reduced water levels are visible in southern Iraq. Hundreds of dunams of arable land have entirely dried out.

Razaq Abdul Jabbar, a farmer and cattle owner in the southern Iraqi marshlands, said, “Marsh inhabitant are faced with danger more than ever. The salinity of the region’s water has increased. In some areas, the water depth has dropped to 40 centimeters, while previously it was not less than two meters. The water salinity sickens the cattle and reduces their milk produce. It has decreased, and the number of migratory birds and fish have decreased sharply.”

Reduced water levels have led to a complete drying out of the region’s streams. Inhabitants of the marshlands ask for immediate action and believe that the Iraqi government is too weak to convince neighboring countries to open their dams and revive the marshlands once again,

Ilham Ahmad, the chairman of the Executive Committee of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), said that the start of the intra-Kurdish dialogue is related to creating a favorable environment for talks, for this purpose, regional players should not interfere in the issue.

He said efforts have been intensified to hold talks with the parties to warn them of the danger of Turkey's threats and any military action against the Syrian people and the future of the country.

Turkish president Recep Teyyip Erdogan has repeatedly threatened an offensive on the Kurdish-controlled Rojava with the aim of creating a “safe zone.” Erdogan’s remarks are taken seriously as it has done in the past.

Rojava’s political landscape is divided between People’s Defense Units (YPG) and Syrian Kurdish National Council (ENKS), the US and the KRG have facilitated numerous talks to bring the two parties together and further stabilize Northern Syria.

As Rojava is divided, it is existentially threatened by Turkey that commands an army hundred times more powerful and resourceful than Rojava.

Today, July 13, farmers from Kirkuk’s Palkana region gathered to protest Iraqi security forces’ decision to ban their agriculture by Kurds from the region.

A Kurdish citizen from Palkana told KurdSat that, “the security forces have warned the people of Palkana and Shanagha no to farm otherwise face consequences, and now is corn season and they have warned that Kurds shall not plant them, and anyone who has planted them must not water them! If that is the case then everyone would loose around ten million Iraqi dinars. People are obliged to farm in the villages because that is what they do for living.”

“What else would you do in a village!” the farmer added.

There are many Kurds living in the disputed territories between the Kurdistan Region Government (KRG) and Iraqi federal government. After the independence referendum of 2017, Iraqi security forces, force the Kirkuk villagers to leave their homeland and they are replaced what is known as “imported Arabs,” or Arabs resettled to Kirkuk from other regions in Iraq.

Ali Qazi, son of Kurdish leader Qazi Mohammed, who founded the short-lived Republic of Mahabad in 1946 in present-day Iran, passed away at 89 in Germany’s Bonn city, on June 8.

According to reports, the body of Ali Qazi will be temporarily buried next to his sister's grave in Kalar district.

Ali Qazi was born in 1933 in Mahabad, East Kurdistan. He settled in Germany after the collapse of the Mahabad Republic. He was the former leader of the Kurdistan Freedom Party (KFP).

Ali was 13 when his father was hanged by the Pahlavi dynasty on March 31, 1947, after the republic's creation.

The Iraqi meteorological organization announced that the highest temperature is expected in Basra and Maysan provinces to reach 47 degrees Celsius, while the highest temperature in Erbil and Sulaimani will reach 41 degrees Celsius and Duhok 42 degrees Celsius.

"The temperature will rise further from Wednesday and light dust will cover the southern and central provinces and intensify on Friday in the southern provinces and visibility will be reduced to less than one kilometer in some areas,” the organization added.

In the Kurdistan region the highest temperature will be in Garmian at about 45 degrees Celsius. Light dust would cover southern Kirkuk and Garmian regions in the evening, according to the statement.

The Kurdistan region and Iraq have experienced unusual frequent dust storms and strange weather patterns since early 2022. Many Iraqi regions have declared draught and demand special funds to fight the effects of draught.

Currently, Iraq faces water and energy shortage as effects of climate change are clearly visible in the country.