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This year, World Refugee Day reminds us that every person has a right to seek safety whoever they are, wherever they come from and whenever they are forced to flee conflict or persecution.In Iraq and especially in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), we commend the people and authorities for the welcome extended to some 300,000 Syrian, Iranian, Turkish and other refugees and asylum-seekers of which over 90 percent live in the KRI.Today, as Iraq is recovering from years of armed violence and internal displacements due to the fight against ISIL (Daesh), UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, stands with refugees and communities who have been hosting them as the country heads towards stability and prosperity.UNHCR praises the authorities in Iraq, particularly in KRI, for providing healthcare and soon education to the refugees through their public systems, and for having allowed them to fend for themselves by getting jobs. Funding for humanitarian emergency responses around the world is being overstretched, as partners must address the needs of the 100 million people who have been forced to leave their homes, most recently in Ethiopia, Afghanistan, and Ukraine. Nonetheless,UNHCR remains committed to supporting the Iraqi and KRI authorities and people in their efforts to help refugees restore their lives with dignity. Today, on World Refugee Day, we celebrate the generosity that the authorities and people in Iraq, especially in the KRI, have demonstrated even during their own adversity: they have opened their doors and hearts to shelter and protect those displaced from neighboring countries and their own sisters and brothers who fled ISIL (Daesh) violence. Seeing today in Erbil how so many refugees have been able to resume dignified lives is a testament to their resilience, but also to the hospitality of their hosts. UNHCR remains committed to working together with the authorities and the international community to support host communities and refugees alike. On this day, it is also important to reiterate the importance of keeping borders open to allow safe passage to those who flee violence and persecution - whoever they are, wherever they come from, and whenever they are forced to flee, we must be prepared to welcome them, like Iraq and the KRI has done in particular in relation to Syrian refugees. said Jean-Nicolas Beuze, Representative of UNHCR in Iraq.Durable solutions for those who were forced to flee must be sought, especially in protracted situations and until the time refugees can go home in safety and dignity. In Iraq, UNHCR is investing in existing public services to strengthen their capacity to serve both host and displaced communities through readily accessible interventions of high quality. Ultimately, it is to the benefit of all that refugees become more self-reliant and engage in the local economy so that they no longer depend on humanitarian assistance and contribute to the communities that welcomed them.

The UN response in Iraq in relation to Iraqi families displaced by ISIL, many of whom have now returned home, is transitioning from a humanitarian response into one rooted in a development framework, working hand in hand with relevant public institutions. It is critical that refugees and asylum-seekers are not left behind while the country moves towards the achievement of sustainable development goals, leaving behind years of a daunting humanitarian crisis.By welcoming refugees, Iraq and the KRI have allowed those forced to flee to rebuild their lives free from discrimination and away from armed violence, providing them space to rebuild their lives in safety. UNHCR is committed to standing with the authorities and people in Iraq, including KRI, until long-term solutions are achieved.

[FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:]

Firas Al-Khateeb, Spokesman and Communication Officer

Baghdad, Iraq +964 780 918 9700 khateeb@unhcr.org

Shaza Shekfeh, Associate Communication Officer

Erbil, Iraq +964 770 494 6384 shekfehs@unhcr.org

Rasheed Rasheed, Senior Communications Associate

Dohuk, Iraq +964 750 713 0014 rasheedr@unhcr.org

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On World Refugee Day: Everyone has the right to seek safety - Iraq - ReliefWeb

Faezeh Rafsanjani, the daughter of late Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, revealed that her father sought an end to the Iran-Iraq war.

He proposed ending the war to then supreme leader Khomeini, but he refused, she revealed in an interview to Asharq television.

Moreover, she revealed that her father sought openness towards Saudi Arabia and backed restoring Irans relations with the United States.

He did not oppose ties with any country, except for Israel, she added.

Rafsanjani, who is a member of the reformist Executives of Construction Party, slammed the ruling conservatives in Iran, saying they are not seeking a nuclear deal with the West because they are actually benefitting from it.

She noted how many conservatives often slam the US and European countries, while their children purse an education in the West.

She doubted that a nuclear deal would be reached during the term of US President Joe Biden, noting that the Iranians and Americans were awaiting the outcome of the US Midterm elections.

Rafsanjanis father had pursued reform in Iran and sought openness with neighboring countries and the West.

His daughter called on her country to be open to the world because few Iranians really support being closed off from it.

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Faezeh Rafsanjani: My Father Tried to Convince Khomeini to End War with Iraq - Asharq Al-awsat - English

Iraq temporarily closed Baghdad airport Monday as choking clouds of dust blanketed the capital, the latest crippling sandstorm in a country that has warned climate change poses an "existential threat".

It was the tenth such storm since mid-April to hit Iraq, which has been battered by intense droughts, soil degradation, high temperatures and low rainfall linked to climate change.

Earlier this month, to mark World Environment Day, President Barham Saleh warned that tackling climate change "must become a national priority for Iraq as it is an existential threat to the future of our generations to come".

The sun eventually reappeared on Monday afternoon, after a thick white dust had covered Baghdad and surrounding areas through the morning, with visibility slashed to a few hundred metres (yards).

Officials at Baghdad airport announced the temporary suspension of flights, before they were restarted at around 10:30 am (0730 GMT).

In Najaf, a Shiite holy city in central Iraq, the airport briefly suspended operations in the morning before reopening a few hours later when the dust passed.

Airports have been forced to suspend flights several times due to sandstorms in recent weeks.

In May, sandstorms sent thousands of people to hospital with respiratory problems, and left one person dead.

Iraq, which is entering the scorching summer season when temperatures at times surpass 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit), is ranked by the United Nations as one of the world's five most vulnerable nations to climate change and desertification.

The environment ministry has warned that over the next two decades Iraq could endure an average of 272 days of sandstorms per year, rising to above 300 by 2050.

The World Bank warned in November that Iraq could suffer a 20 percent drop in water resources by 2050 due to climate change.

Water shortages have been exacerbated by the building of upstream dams in neighbouring Turkey and Iran.

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Iraq swept by tenth sandstorm in weeks - Al-Monitor

The Iraqi Electricity Ministry has begun paying off its debts for gas imports from Iran that were hindered due to the US sanctions on the Islamic Republic since.

Iranian Petroleum Minister Javad Oji said on Wednesday that the country received $1.6 billion of the debts after aspokesman for Iraqi Electricity Ministry, Ahmed Moussa, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) on Tuesday that Baghdad would pay the debt within two days.

The Iraqi spokesman issued a statement stressing the necessity to pay the Iranian gas debts overdue since 2020to prevent a decrease in the quantities of gas flow to the country.

He also thanked Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimifor his care, direct supervision, and the role of the parliament, which understands the countrys dire need of electricity.

US banking sanctions imposed on Iran hindered payments by Iraq although Iran on many occasions announced receipt of payments.

Last Wednesday, the Iraqi parliament passed an emergency finance bill for "food security and development" -- totaling 25 trillion Iraqi dinars, approximately over $17 billion -- to pay debts to Iran to ensure gas supplies and stop worsening power cuts. Of that, $2.6 billion will be allocated to settling Iraq's gas and electricity debts, as well as for buying further energy supplies from abroad.

Despite its immense oil and gas reserves, Iraq remains dependent on imports to meet energy needs, especially from neighboring Iran, which currently provides a third of Iraq's gas and electricity needs.

Iran had demanded Iraq pay $1.6 billion it owes for gas imports by the start of June to guarantee further supplies, as it is cutting or reducing supplies regularly due to its own shortages.

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Iraq Reportedly Starts Paying Its Debts For Gas Imports From Iran -

Members of security forces inspect the scene of an explosion in Baghdad. Reuters

The US two-party system has developed over this period into a competition between warring cultures. Democrats have taken the high road as the party of ideals and positive policies on education, health, and welfare which are designed to benefit the whole society. Republicans have taken the low road as the party of white, largely male grievance with the aim of obstructing efforts to improve the lives of underprivileged white, brown and black citizens. This culture war, which peaked during the Trump administration, has made the US ungovernable.

The current phase of deadlock in the US stems from the refusal of ex-President Donald Trump, his faction in the Republican party and his supporters to concede that he lost the 2020 election to incumbent Joe Biden. Biden, who received 81 million popular votes, clinched victory by winning 306 electoral college votes against 232 for Trump, who garnered 74 million popular votes. The result could not be more conclusive than that. Nevertheless, Trump not only challenged the result with 63 court cases in key states but also urged his backers to mount a violent coup against Congress on January 6th, 2021, ahead of the meeting to formally validate Bidens victory.

Although both these efforts failed, Trump continues to insist the election was stolen and is backed up by lawmakers in the Republican party, which he dominates, and millions of loyalists. Consequently, the Republicans who form a minority in the House of Representatives and hold 50 of the 100 seats in the Senate, have tried to block key Biden legislative initiatives in order to ensure Democrats lose seats in the mid-term elections in November as well as seats and the presidency in 2024.

The Republicans blocking strategy is harming the deeply divided American people as well as Biden who is faced with multiple crises: COVID, mask mandates, climate change, gun rights, high rents, the Ukraine war (for which he is partially responsible) and consequent inflation leading to rising fuel and food prices.

This disruptive strategy has succeeded. Biden entered office with an approval rating of 57 per cent but this has fallen to 39 per cent in latest opinion polls. Trumps rating stands at 43 per cent with an unfavourable rating of 52 per cent. However, his approval rating is 10 points higher than at the time he left office. Analysts say Trump is likely to stand again in 2024.

Last October, Iraq went to the polls to elect a new parliament. Independent-minded Shia cleric Muqtada Al Sadrs party won 73 seats out of 329 while his allies, the Progress Party of former and current assembly speaker, Muhammad Al Halbousi, and the Kurdish Democratic Party led by Masoud Barzani came in second and fourth, with 37 and 31 seats, respectively. While Sadr managed to recruit other parties with 14 seats, a total of 155, in support of a majority rather than a consensus government, he did not gain the 165 needed.

Since Sadrs majority government would exclude the pro-Iranian politicians and militia leaders who lost seats it is hardly surprising that they would do their best to obstruct his plan.

The third largest party, ex-Premier Nouri Al Malikis State of Law, was fourth with 33 seats (a gain of 8 since 2018) but his chief partner, the Fatah coalition of pro-Iranian Shia parties headed by Hadi Al Amiri shrunk from 48 to 31 seats. While claiming it could secure a majority, the opposition also failed to collar deputies for a cabinet minus Sadr and his allies.

They have blocked Sadr by boycotting sessions of parliament, denying him the two-thirds quorum needed to appoint a president. He would name a prime minister who would form a government. This has gone on since parliament met in January and chose Halbousi as speaker. Consequently, Iraq has had for more than a year a caretaker government which serves as a stop-gap cabinet but cannot adopt and implement essential reforms Iraq dearly needs.

Last week, Sadrs deputies resigned their seats and he proclaimed that he and his party were withdrawing from politics due to the corrupt political system.

So far, the opposition has not tried to form a quorum and proceed with choosing a president and prime minister but, according to the constitution, vacant seats are to be filled with the next highest candidates. While the opposition could gain an additional 50 seats, this will not provide a majority.

Populist Sadr who has a large following and a well-armed militia cannot be ignored. He could change his mind about fielding candidates in an early election. He had vowed to stay out of the 2021 contest but ordered his party to campaign and won the most seats.

Having itself had a broken political system for decades, the US imposed a sectarian colonial divide-and-rule system on Iraq although a similar model has led to two civil wars and total dysfunction in Lebanon.

Under the Iraqi system, the president must always be a Kurd, the prime minister a Shia, and assembly speaker a Sunni. Senior cabinet portfolios are distributed among sectarian factions.

This has produced paternalism, patronage, and massive corruption in governance, the administration, security services and armed forces.

To make matters worse, the Bush administration empowered Iraqi Shia exiles who were, and remain, loyal to Iran which has heavily influenced Iraqi politics since 2003-2004. Iraqs first post-war prime minister, Nuri Al Maliki, marginalised the Sunni Arab community, prompting disaffected Sunnis to join Al Qaeda and Daesh.

By calling for a secular government, Sadr had hoped to break the grip of sectarianism, end the influence of both Iran and US in Iraqs domestic affairs, and tackle corruption. He has adhered to the line of young Iraqis who, in October 2019, began protesting mismanagement, graft, sectarianism and foreign interference. It remains to be seen how his latest move impacts the system and whether young Shias will return to the streets demanding regime change.

If the weak Biden administration refuses to re-enter the 2015 agreement to limit Irans nuclear programme in exchange for lifting sanctions, Iran will tighten its grip on Iraq and other allies in the Eastern Arab World, maintaining long-term rivalries and instability in this fragile region.

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US has imposed divide-and-rule system on Iraq - Gulf Today