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KDP and PUK Among Shia conflicts

The Coordination Framework parties announce a new coalition, the PUK is among the coalition, and the KDP has an agreement with Sadr and Sunnis. The numbers show that the KDP coalition is bigger than the PUK coalition in parliament. A New Alliance The parties in the Coordination Framework (Nuri al-Maliki, Hadi Ameri, Qais Khazaali, Faleh Fayaz, Haider al-Abadi, and Ammar Al-Hakim) intend to announce a new Alliance. The new Alliance is called "National Stability," as it is mentioned, apart from the parliamentarians of the Coordination Framework, the coalition includes some independent parliamentarians. "In the next session of the Iraqi parliament, the "National Stability" alliance will be announced," said Mohammed Shammari, a member of parliament from the State of Law Coalition. The Iraqi parliament will meet next Monday to vote on the formation of committees and divide parliamentarians into committees, which means the new coalition will be announced on Monday. according to Shammari, the number of parliamentarians in the new coalition is 88 and is likely to increase. The effort to form an alliance is aimed at establishing a majority parliamentary bloc, the bloc that will be appointed to form a new cabinet in Iraq. KDP and PUK in the equation The post of prime minister after the fall of Saddam's regime was given to Shia movements as a political ritual. But the results of last October's election divided Shias into two opposing sides. Muqtada al-Sadr, as the first winner of the election, joined the Kurdistan Democratic Party and Sunnis. The Sadr Coalition has more than 170 seats in the parliament, in return for which the parties within the Coordination Framework, known as the Iran-backed forces, have around 130 members, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is with this side. In this case, the majority of parliament is still with the tripartite coalition, Sadr + Barzani + Halbousi, as they have more seats than the new alliance. According to the Iraqi Federal Court's decision, the process of appointing the largest parliamentary bloc follows the election of the President of the Republic. Parliament determines the majority bloc and directs it to the new Iraqi president. President also appoints the bloc to form the new cabinet. Disrupting the election process of Iraq's new president relates more to the conflicts within the Shia home than the PUK and PUK conflicts over the post of President. The parties within the Cooperation Framework with the PUK have been able to control one-third of the parliament seats, thus creating obstacles to the election of the new president, and want to dismantle the Sadr+ Barzani+ Halbousi coalition. In return, the trilateral coalition remained united, and even though the Kurdistan Democratic Party, which is one of the parties in the coalition, has suffered some severe blows by the federal court. Now both Shia groups are betting on the abolition of the other, and Iran is against the Sadr Alliance. KDP and PUK Among Shia conflicts After the fall of the former Iraqi regime, this is the first time the Kurds have entered the conflicts within the Shia home. The Kurds and Sunnis have always avoided conflicts within the Shia home until they (Shia Groups) agreed on the prime minister's candidacy. But this time before the election was held, the KDP has signed an agreement with Sadr, and after the election, the PUK joined the parties in the Coordination framework. With this division among Shia sides, the KDP and the PUK opened the hand of the federal court over the Kurdistan Region, and after 10 years, the court independently made its decision on the issue of selling the region's oil, calling it unconstitutional. If the division of parliamentary seats remains the same. the legal quorum for holding the parliament session to elect the president will not be completed, and the process will be delayed further since the session requires the presence of 220 parliamentarians out of 329 parliamentarians. So far none of the two Shia sides and their allies' seats in the parliament have reached this number yet. Also, the process of forming the new government will not begin without electing the president.

Iraq in talks with Halliburton, Saudi Aramco to develop oil, gas in western desert

(Bloomberg) — Iraq is in talks with Halliburton Co. and Saudi Arabia’s Aramco to carry out oil and gas developments in the west of the country. Baghdad is in discussion with Halliburton Co. for a technical partnership to develop and operate oil and gas reserves in Anbar province near Iraq’s borders with Syria and Saudi Arabia, Iraq’s Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar said in an interview in Qatar. The ministry is finalizing the commercial terms and scope of work and Iraq’s government will sign the contract once it takes office, he said. The cost of the development will be covered by the Iraqi government and possibly Saudi Aramco if the oil giant decides to invest, the minister said. Iraq is also in talks with Aramco to fund and develop the nearby Akkas gas field, said Jabbar. The field has been idle for years due to internal strife before the government recaptured it back from Islamic State militants in late 2017. Korea’s KOGAS, which held a development contract for the field, is no longer involved in the project, said the minister. Gas from the field would be consumed in Iraq and help the country use less oil to produce electricity, said Jabbar. Natural gas is a cleaner-burning source of fuel for electricity production. Iraq is speaking to Qatar to supply liquefied natural gas until it produces enough gas of its own, Jabbar said. The Gulf nation, OPEC’s second-largest crude producer, aims to reach self-sufficiency in gas by 2025. The country is working on a plan to develop its vast gas fields with the aim of generating 80 percent of its gas locally, and it will only need to import LNG in the summer months of June, July and August, he said. Demand for air conditioning soars in that period, when temperatures often hit 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit). Iraq draws around 95 percent of its state revenue from oil sales. While consumers complain of the distress that high prices are inflicting, they offered some relief to the economy and boosted its foreign reserves. When oil prices plummeted at the beginning of the pandemic, Baghdad was in preliminary talks with the International Monetary Fund for a possible loan. Investments are still hobbled by years of conflict, terrorism, and insecurity.

UN ends Iraq's requirement to pay victims of Kuwait invasion

By Edith M. Lederer | AP UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Tuesday to end Iraq’s requirement to compensate victims of its 1990 invasion of Kuwait, with Baghdad having paid out more than $50 billion to 1.5 million claimants. Michael Gaffey, Ireland’s ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva and president of the governing board of the U.N. Compensation Commission, whose fund decided on the claims, told the council after the vote that the body’s work was a “historic achievement for the United Nations and for effective multilateralism.” “Ultimately, 2.7 million claims were submitted to the commission seeking $352 billion in compensation,” he said, and the $52.4 billion awarded to 1.5 million claimants “represents approximately 15% of the total claims.” Under a Security Council resolution adopted in April 1991 after a U.S.-led coalition routed Saddam Hussein’s forces and liberated Kuwait in the first Gulf War, Iraq was required to set aside a percentage of proceeds from its oil exports for the fund to compensate victims of the conflict. That share was 5% in 2013, when the council voted to end the possible military enforcement of several requirements imposed on Iraq after the invasion in recognition of improved relations with Kuwait. The level stood at 3% for Iraq’s final payment on Jan. 13. Gaffey said the governing council adopted its final decision on Feb. 9 declaring that Iraq’s government had fulfilled its international obligations to compensate for losses and damages suffered as a direct result of its unlawful invasion of Kuwait. He said the fund’s governing council gave priority to claims by individuals who were forced to leave Iraq or Kuwait, to those who suffered injuries or whose spouse, child or parent died, or who suffered personal losses of up to $100,000. He said this humanitarian decision “marked a significant step in the evolution of international claims practice.” But there were also companies and businesses that received funds. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation successfully claimed $14.7 billion for oil production and sales losses resulting from damage to the country’s oil fields during the 1990-91 Iraqi invasion and occupation. The Security Council resolution adopted Tuesday affirms that Iraq has fulfilled its international obligations, that “Iraq is no longer required to deposit a percentage of proceeds from export sales of petroleum, petroleum products and natural gas into the fund,” and that the commission’s claims process “is now complete and final and that no further claims shall be made to the commission.” The council terminated the commission’s mandate under the 1991 resolution and ordered it to conclude outstanding matters so it can close by the end of 2022. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told the council that his country has concluded “an important 30-years-long chapter and embarks on a new chapter in its diplomatic, political and economic journey.” “This will be an era of a more prominent regional and international role, commensurate with Iraq’s historical and cultural significance for the region and the world, an era during which Iraq will be an active member committed to the aspirations and goals of the international community,” he said. Kuwaiti Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi welcomed the resolution’s unanimous adoption and commended “such a historic achievement by the council in relation to its work on compensation.” “We are fully aware that the aim of compensation is not to punish the aggressor but rather to ensure accountability” and to hold the aggressor liable for damages and bring “trust to affected governments and individuals,” he said. Al-Otaibi said the world should not forget that establishing compensation and addressing the impact of aggression “are key to building trust, reconciliation and clearing any remaining issues that might in the future stand in the way of restoring and forging relations and achieving common interests of the states concerned.”

Will the Iraqi Parliament Meet the Required Quorum?

Draw Media: The Iraqi parliament will not meet the required quorum, The President of the Republic will not be elected on Monday, Barham Salih will continue in the post of President of the Republic. There are Expectations that if the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Shia parties can secure 110 seats, they can disrupt the parliamentary meeting to elect the president of the Republic, which will disrupt the process of forming a government too. There is no solution except for having an agreement. More details of this report... The Great Monday The Iraqi parliament will meet next Monday to elect a new president. This is the great Monday of the settlement of the PUK and KDP conflicts over the post of President of the Republic, which will also put aside conflicts within the Shia home. resolving or reaching a months-long dispute. The Iraqi federal court, which has the highest legal authority in Iraq and can only appeal the constitutional provisions, responded today to Barham Salih, the president of the Iraqi. Barham Salih, in a letter, asked the federal court to clarify the legal proportions of the parliamentary session for electing the president. How many parliament members should be attended in the session to be held legally? Some lawmakers said that the president would be elected by a vote of two-thirds of the 239-members in the first round of the election. If 220 members attend the meeting hall, the meeting will begin. Yusuf Muhammad, the former speaker of the Kurdistan Parliament, was one of those who defended this point of view. On the contrary, there were other opinions, saying that the required quorum of two-thirds voters is for electing the president not the quorum of the meeting. One of those who supported this opinion was the well-known jurist Tariq Harb, who died yesterday and he was unable to see that his point of view would be rejected by the federal court The case is settled by the court The federal court today settled its decision about this legal dispute, in response to Barham Salih's letter and stated: Under Article 70 of the Constitution, the President of the Republic will be elected by a vote of two-thirds of the members of parliament, and the quorum on the election of the President of the Republic is two-thirds. Does Parliament Meet the Quorum? Now that the federal court has spoken, it has become clear to all parties that next Monday's session on the election of the President of the Republic will require 220 members of parliament to be present, otherwise, the legal quorum would not be met and the election of the President of the Republic will be postponed. If the current political alliance remains the same as Monday and no new political agreement is held between the parties, the parliamentary session would have difficulties reaching a quorum, how? The Sadr + Halbousi + Barzani coalition, which has about 175 votes, to complete the 220 members, needs 45 more votes. In this case, if other forces like the New Generation Movement and Imetidad Movement support this alliance, the number of this alliance is still 200 and requires 20 more seats to complete the quorum. The Sadr's enemies and their alliance, which are (parties in the Coordination Framework + PUK) In the best case, they would reach about 100 members of the parliament, and they alone cannot prepare a quorum of 220 votes for the session. But those who fear the majority of Sadr+ Halbousi+ Barzani, if they can increase their number to 110, can make problems for the legal quorum and create a stagnant situation. What's the solution? The only solution to this situation is for Sadr to agree to the participation of the parties in the coordination framework (Maliki, Ameri, Qais Khazali, Faleh Fayaz, Abadi, and Hakim) in the new cabinet, which would make them participate in the parliamentary meeting and solve the legal issues within the framework of an agreement. Sadr is still insisting that Nouri al-Maliki should not participate in the government, but he has opened the door for other parties to participate, and the parties in the coordination framework say we will not participate without Maliki. A moderate solution is being discussed but has not yet reached an agreement. If President would not be elected? Iraq's constitution sets a 30-day deadline for the election of the president after the first session of parliament. The new round of the Iraqi parliament (the fifth round) held its first meeting on January 9, 2022. The Iraqi parliament has set a deadline for the election of the president on Monday, Feb 7. If there is no legal date for the parliamentary session on Monday and the president of the Republic is not elected, Barham Salih will continue his post as president until the parties reach an agreement and the new president is elected. If the legal quorum would not be met on Monday, Feb 7, and the president would not be elected, then Barham Salih will continue on his post as the president until the parties reach an agreement and the new president will be elected.

The Possibility of Canceling Sadr, Barzani, Halbousi Agreement

Draw Media Ismail Qaani's visit to Masoud Barzani changed the situation, according to the Draw investigations, Qaani was successful in convincing Barzani to prevent Sadr to form the new government one-sided. Qasim Soleimani's successor was in Erbil to deliver a message from the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Kurdistan Democratic Party. Iranians want to keep Barzani away from Sadr, and there is a proposal for the KDP and PUK to withdraw their candidates for the Iraq Presidency. According to information Draw Media obtained from sources within the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Ismail Qaani, commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps visited Erbil and met with senior KDP officials.

The Chance For Rizgar Amin to Be an Iraqi President Is Increasing

Draw Media According to the information, Draw Media obtained, there is an attempt to withdraw both the PUK and KDP candidates, Barham Salih and Hoshyar Zebari, and Kurds enter Baghdad with one candidate and prevent the conflict that is expected to reach its peak during the election of the Iraqi President. In this case, the Chance for Rizgar Amin to be an Iraqi president is increasing, since he has potential support from both sides. Rizgar Mohammed Amin is the former chief judge of the Iraqi Special Tribunal's Al-Dujail trial. Based on the information that Draw Media received, the Iranians support Barham Salih as a Kurdish candidate for the Iraqi President, but to prevent deterioration of the region's situation, their efforts are now in the direction that convinces Barzani and Talabani to withdraw their candidates and, appointing another candidate who has the approval of both sides. And Barzani told the Iranian delegation, Bring me another Mam Jalal, and we will all support him.

US agrees to withdraw 'remaining combat troops' from Iraq

DRAW: The US has agreed to withdraw its remaining combat forces from Iraq, at a date to be determined in talks with Baghdad, and remain in the country solely in an advisory and support role against terrorists. “US forces are in Iraq at the invitation of Iraqi Government to support the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) in their fight against ISIS,” said a joint statement following the “strategic dialogue” between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein on Wednesday. “Based on the increasing capacity of the ISF, the parties confirmed that the mission of U.S. and Coalition forces has now transitioned to one focused on training and advisory tasks, thereby allowing for the redeployment of any remaining combat forces from Iraq, with the timing to be established in upcoming technical talks,” the statement added. Hussein and Blinken agreed to “continue bilateral security coordination and cooperation” between the US and Iraq and emphasized in the joint statement that “the bases on which US and Coalition personnel are present are Iraqi bases and their presence is solely in support of Iraq's effort in the fight against ISIS.” Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS) claimed a large portion of Iraq and Syria in 2014, prompting the US to send troops back into Iraq as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. Even though the last territory claimed by the IS “caliphate” was liberated in March 2019 by US-backed militia in Syria, Washington has kept combat troops in the region citing fears of a “resurgence.” On Sunday, two rockets were fired on the Balad air base near Baghdad, which hosts US contractors in addition to Iraqi troops. They missed the base and hit a nearby village instead. There were no casualties. This follows a March 15 attack on the base with five rockets. While no group has claimed responsibility, the US has blamed Shia militias – which Washington says are backed by neighboring Iran – for the attacks. The militias have demanded the departure of some 2,500 US troops currently stationed in Iraq, calling their presence an occupation. The US had invaded and occupied Iraq in March 2003, and did not withdraw until December 2011.