"The necessary measures have been taken to remove these groups from the border areas, and they have been settled in distant camps in the centre of Kurdistan," Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told a press conference.

A year ago, Tehran launched several deadly missile and drone strikes on Kurdistan region. 

The strikes came just after protests began in Iran over the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, 22, an Iranian Kurd arrested for allegedly breaching the Islamic republic's strict dress code.

Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region hosts camps and rear bases operated by several Iranian Kurdish factions, which Iran has accused of serving Western or Israeli interests in the past.

In March, the two countries signed a "security" agreement covering their common border.

Tehran last month said that, under the deal, Iraq should disarm the groups before September 19, remove them from their bases and transfer them to camps.

"The September 19 deadline will under no circumstances be extended," and Iran will "assume its responsibility" if Iraq does not comply, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said at the time.

Without raising the question of disarmament, Hussein said his country had "begun implementing the agreement" and that he would bring this message to Tehran during a visit on Wednesday.

"We expect from the Iranian side that they do not turn to violence against Kurdistan or against the sovereignty of Iraq", he emphasised.

Hussein said negotiations with Iran would focus on how "to stop these opposition groups from crossing the border and using weapons against the Iranian government".

They would also address the importance of "avoiding threats of violence, and threats of bombing certain areas of Iraqi Kurdistan".

Until now, the regional government of Iraqi Kurdistan has not spoken publicly about implementation of these measures, even though several meetings between officials of the Kurdistan region and Iran have taken place.

A Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) delegation is scheduled to return to Baghdad on Friday to discuss the Kurdistan Region's share in the Iraqi budget, KurdSat reporter in Baghdad said.

The delegation is to meet with the Ministries of Oil and Finance and advisors to the Presidency of the Iraqi Council of Ministers, our reporter added.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) delegation was scheduled to visit Baghdad on Sunday, but the meeting was postponed at the request of the Iraqi Oil Minister, KurdSat has learnt.

The recent talks between the KRG and Baghdad is centered on providing salaries for the KRG employees from Baghdad, which the latter has refused to spend.

Director General of Envoys and Cultural Relations of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the Kurdistan region, Yasin Salih said they welcome the Iraqi prime minister's initiative to send 5,000 people to study abroad at the expense of the Iraqi government.

He said that last week, a delegation of higher education, with the relevant parties and advisors to the Iraqi prime minister and the head of the program to study abroad, met and learnt that 5,000 seats will be distributed among the Iraqi provinces and the Kurdistan Region according to the population.

The official also said that anyone can apply to the scholarships and the deadline is September 15th.

In an interview with Responsible Statecraft’s Tanya Goudsouzian President Dr. Latif Rashid touched upon many domestic and regional issues facing Iraq, among them were the Saudi-Iran rapprochement, water scarcity in Iraq, relations with the US and Turkey, terrorism, and religious authority.

Read the full interview here.

 

Nuri al-Maliki, the leader of the rule of law coalition, said in a televised interview about the relationship between the Da'wah party and the Sadr movement, and said that no political party or leader is against his return to politics.

Instead, the party has extended a hand of reconciliation to normalize relations, but his party and all other political parties are not against Sadr's return to politics, Al-Maliki noted.

Maliki also said that the issue belongs to the Sunni parties and must be resolved among themselves by a majority vote, and the Shiites support their final decision.

Regarding the appreciation of the dollar, al-Maliki said the Iraqi dinar began to depreciate against the dollar during the government of Mustafa Al-Kadhimi and as long as US sanctions on Iran remain, the dollar will not see stability in Iraq.

Iraqi Minister of Justice Khalid Shuani told reporters at a news conference that the Council of Ministers approved a bill regarding the agricultural land in Kirkuk and the disputed territories and the bill will be sent to the House of Representatives.

Shuani also said the bill covers Kirkuk and the disputed territories and will not harm any community in those areas.

He said that after the bill is passed, anyone affected will be compensated by the federal government.

 

He predicted that Iraq would hold talks with Syria to revive the Iraqi oil pipeline, the port of Banias, which leads back to the Mediterranean Sea, the PM noted.

He said that as the security situation in Syria improves, work will be done to export oil through the Syrian port, which will allow them to deliver oil to their customers quicker.

"Syria has a very large and well-known port on the Mediterranean Sea, so if Syria agrees to participate in the development roadmap through the Iraq-Syria-Turkey triangle," Al-Sudani said.

Prime Minister of Iraq Al-Sudani visited Syria and met with President of Syria as the first Iraqi prime minister to visit Syria since 2011.

During a visit to Baghdad Secretariat Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said simplifying procedures and paperwork in public offices will eliminate corruption.

The PM noted that 90 percent of the building permit process involves corruption and obstacles and stressed on working to fight corrupt people and “parasites.”

According to Sudan, some people are charging citizens for parking on the streets as contractors without any legal authorization.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani said in a statement today that he has reached an agreement with Iran to export to Iran crude oil and kerosene in exchange for Iranian gas.

Iraqi Prime Minister al-Sudani also added that the agreement would require Iraq to pay Iran's financial debts that could not be paid due to US sanctions.

He said the agreement between Iraq and Iran would end the gas shortage in Iraq and restore Iranian gas exports to the previous level of 10 million cubic feet per day.

In an interview with Alam TV President of Iraq Dr. Latif Rashid said, we will not allow any group to launch attacks on our neighbors from Iraq, and Iraq has strong coordination with Iran to secure their shared borders.

Talking on the Erbil-Baghdad relations the president noted that the relations between the two are good despite different opinions from both sides.

The president also said that the important thing is for the government to deliver its promises and work to make Iraq a self-reliant nation.

An AFP photographer saw thousands of small fish washed up on the banks of the Amshan river in Majar al-Kabir, an area in Maysan province that borders Iran.

The region is home to fabled marshes in the floodplain of the Tigris river, already suffering from the effects of global warming.

Iraq's agriculture ministry on Sunday announced it was forming a committee to look into the causes of the fish deaths, according to state news agency INA.

Environmental campaigner Ahmed Saleh Neema said "a rise in temperatures" leading to increased evaporation, coupled with reduced water flow contributed to "a lack of oxygen and high salinity" in the river.

Largely arid Iraq is ranked by the United Nations as one of the world's five countries most impacted by some effects of climate change.

It endures blistering summer heat and frequent dust storms. Declining rain over the past four years as well as upstream dams have reduced the flow of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers where ancient civilisations flourished.

Khodr Abbas Salman, a Maysan province official overseeing its marshes for the Iraqi environment ministry, told AFP that "according to terrain analyses we have conducted, the level of oxygen (in the water) is zero, in addition to a rise in salinity levels".

He joined a mission on Monday to inspect the deaths of "tonnes" of fish, he said, noting the Amshan's waters are home to nine species.

The fish "keep dying even now", he said.

Samples from both the fish and the water will be "analysed... to determine if there is any presence of chemical substances", Salman added.

But the high salinity levels may be enough to cause considerable damage.

The water can no longer "be used for agriculture. It would scourge the land if farmers use it for irrigation", Salman said.

He warned of further risks of pollution in the water and surrounding lands the more animals die.

"Any dead animal rots... which raises the level of pollution," he said. "The water's toxicity might increase and infiltrate the land too."

In a similar phenomenon in 2018, fishermen in the central province of Babylon found dead carp in their thousands, but an investigation failed to discern what had caused it.

The Iraqi Commission of Integrity said in a statement, that the former director of the Anbar Pension Directorate was arrested on corruption charges and he informed on the director of the investigation office of the Commission of Integrity in Anbar province.

He was involved in corruption cases in the province, mostly involving the implementation of fake pension transactions, through which they made large sums of money. He said the arrest warrant was issued for the director of the investigation office of the Commission of Integrity in Anbar province.

A security force arrested him and he is currently under investigation, according to the statement.

The Shiite Coordination Framework held its regular meeting at the home of Supreme Islamic Council Speaker Humam Hamudi in the presence of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Sudani and discussed several issues, including the burning of the Holy Qur'an by an extremist in Sweden.

According to a statement issued by the Coordination Framework, the meeting began with the Prime Minister's speech on the latest political developments.

The PM reiterated his opposition to the attack on the Holy Quran and praised the efforts of the government and the Ministry of Electricity to improve the electricity situation throughout the country, per the statement.

The coordination framework also expressed it support for the government in implementing the budget law and accelerating the service of citizens.

The framework also stressed Iraq's independence in dealing with its fiscal policies in the interest of Iraq.

The chairman of Supreme Judicial Council Fayeq Zeidan said in a statement that legal action will be taken against the person who burned the Qoran in Sweden under Article 14 of the Iraqi Penal Code.

According to the statement, Fayeq Zedan instructed the prosecutor general to take legal measures in coordination with the Karkh First Investigation Court.

The Iraqi The Iraqi refugee who burned the Holy Quran in Sweden should be extradited to Iraq and tried according to the law.

On the first day of Eid al-Adha, an Iraqi refugee named Salwan Momika burn a copy of Quran in front of the Great Mosque in Stockholm, Sweden that sparked widespread Muslim protests.

Mohammed Shia Sudani said on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, may God bring blessings, comfort, stability and peace to the people and their beloved people wherever they are.

We see this holy occasion as an opportunity to reaffirmed their commitment to continue everything that is the foundation of a prosperous future and a free life and providing a good life for all generations of the, including all its minorities.

We renew our commitment to loyal Iraqis to continue to work to build a strong Iraq that the nations can be proud of, he added.

US Ambassador to Baghdad Alina Romanowski tweeted that they have discussed the resumption of export of KRG oil export after meeting with Iraqi Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani.  They discussed encouraging US companies to invent in Iraq’s oil sector.

They also discussed resuming the export of the Kurdistan region oil that has been suspended for the past three months and to return oil to international markets and strengthen the Iraqi economy for the benefit of all Iraqis.

After three months of stopping the flow of oil of the Kurdistan region, it is expected that the KRG has lost $2.5 bn.