Latest news with #Basra
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Iraq Says 50 Israeli Warplanes Planes Violated Its Airspace
Iraq's representative to the United Nations said 50 Israeli warplanes planes violated Iraqi airspace shortly before a UN meeting on the Israel-Iran conflict on Friday. Abbas Kadhom Obaid Al-Fatlawi, charge d'affaires of Iraq's UN mission, told the UN Security Council the aircraft came from the Syrian-Jordanian border areas. "Twenty airplanes started, followed by 30 airplanes heading to the south of Iraq, and they flew over Basra, Najaf and Karbala cities," he said. "These violations are violations of international law and the UN Charter," he said, adding: "They also constitute a threat to the sacred sites and regions which might cause strong popular reactions, considering the importance of these holy sites for our peoples."
Al Arabiya
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Iraq says 50 Israeli warplanes planes violated its airspace
Iraq's representative to the United Nations said 50 Israeli warplanes planes violated Iraqi airspace shortly before a UN meeting on the Israel-Iran conflict on Friday. Abbas Kadhom Obaid Al-Fatlawi, charge d'affaires of Iraq's UN mission, told the UN Security Council the aircraft came from the Syrian-Jordanian border areas. 'Twenty airplanes started, followed by 30 airplanes heading to the south of Iraq, and they flew over Basra, Najaf and Karbala cities,' he said. 'These violations are violations of international law and the UN Charter,' he said, adding: 'They also constitute a threat to the sacred sites and regions which might cause strong popular reactions, considering the importance of these holy sites for our peoples.'
Reuters
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Iraq says 50 Israeli warplanes planes violated its airspace
WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) - Iraq's representative to the United Nations said 50 Israeli warplanes planes violated Iraqi airspace shortly before a U.N. meeting on the Israel-Iran conflict on Friday. Abbas Kadhom Obaid Al-Fatlawi, charge d'affaires of Iraq's U.N. mission, told the UN Security Council the aircraft came from the Syrian-Jordanian border areas. "Twenty airplanes started, followed by 30 airplanes heading to the south of Iraq, and they flew over Basra, Najaf and Karbala cities," he said. "These violations are violations of international law and the UN Charter," he said, adding: "They also constitute a threat to the sacred sites and regions which might cause strong popular reactions, considering the importance of these holy sites for our peoples."
Arab News
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Thousands protest in Iraq against the Iran-Israel war
BAGHDAD: Thousands of supporters of powerful Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr rallied Friday in Baghdad and other cities against Israel's war with Iran, AFP correspondents said. 'No to Israel! No to America!' chanted demonstrators gathered after Friday prayers in the Sadr City district of Baghdad, Moqtada Sadr's stronghold in the capital, holding umbrellas to shield themselves from Iraq's scorching summer sun. 'It is an unjust war... Israel has no right' to hit Iran, said protester Abu Hussein. 'Israel is not in it for the (Iranian) nuclear (program). What Israel and the Americans want is to dominate the Middle East,' added the 54-year-old taxi driver. He said he hoped Iran would come out of the war victorious, and that Iraq should support its neighbor 'with money, weapons and protests.' In Iraq's southern city of Basra, around 2,000 people demonstrated after the prayers, according to an AFP correspondent. Cleric Qusai Assadi, 43, denounced Israel's use of Iraqi airspace to bomb Iran. 'It is a violation of Iraq's sovereignty,' he said, warning against 'a third world war against Islam.' Echoing the views of Sadr, Assadi said that Iraq should not be dragged into the conflict. In a statement earlier this week, Sadr condemned 'the Zionist and American terrorism' and the 'aggression against neighboring Iran, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen,' referring to Israel's military operations in those countries. Sadr, who once led a militia fighting US-led forces after the 2003 invasion, retains a devoted following of millions among the country's majority community of Shiite Muslims, and wields great influence over Iraqi politics. He has previously criticized Tehran-backed Iraqi armed factions, who have threatened US interests in the region if the United States were to join Israel in its war against Iran. On Friday, Israel launched a surprise attack targeting Iran's military and nuclear sites and killing top commanders and scientists, saying it was acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, an ambition Tehran denies having. The assault has prompted Iran to retaliate with barrages of missiles aimed at Israel, with residential areas in both countries suffering. Iraq is both a significant ally of Iran and a strategic partner of Israel's key supporter, the United States, and has for years negotiated a delicate balancing act between the two foes. It has only recently regained a semblance of stability after decades of devastating conflicts and turmoil.
The National
a day ago
- The National
'It's all a farce': Travel nightmare for Iraqis stranded by Israel-Iran war
The scenes outside Iraqi Airways offices in several countries have become all too familiar: angry travellers desperate to return home, shouting at employees, families waiting for hours and some even sleeping outside in hopes of securing a ticket. The air war between Israel and Iran has led to widespread airspace closures in several Middle East countries, including Iraq, as missiles soar across the sky. It has forced the cancellation and delay of hundreds of flights at airports, leaving thousands of travellers stranded abroad. 'The situation is absolutely ridiculous,' Iraqi citizen Mujtaba told The National as he stood outside an Iraqi Airways office in Beirut late on Wednesday. "It's all a farce." Along with two friends, Mujtaba, 26, left for Beirut in early June for the Eid Al Adha holiday. They were supposed to return on Monday. 'I have been here for four days now going back and forth,' he said. 'They are cheating us, there are families who ran out of money and others do not have anything to eat,' he added. Pressure to act Under mounting pressure to act, the Iraqi government is allowing flights in and out of the country only through Basra International Airport in the south. It has urged its citizens to arrange flights to any neighbouring countries, or to cross to Iraq by land. Authorities have also convinced Turkey, Jordan and Kuwait to ease visa regulations for Iraqis, so they can receive the documents on arrival and be able to cross borders. 'There are thousands of travellers we can't cope with,' an official with Iraqi Airways told The National. 'In some cases we need the government to reach agreements with states in order to allow us to use their airspace, or to land in their airports – that's why there are delays in getting them back." The Iraqi government on Saturday began arranging trips over land for Iraqi Hajj pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia. Iranian pilgrims were also taken home overland through Iraq. Many travellers have alleged that Iraqi Airways employees were taking advantage of the situation, demanding exorbitant prices for tickets. 'They asked us to pay about $850 only to secure a seat,' Mujtaba said. The Iraqi Airways official said they were inv e stigating such claims. Another traveller in Dubai, who requested anonymity, waited for three days to get his ticket. 'It was chaos over the past days, but thanks to the Iraqi consular and the embassy employees who oversaw the process today, they carefully checked the lists and co-ordinated with Baghdad on numbers and names," he said. Many Iraqis have turned to public Facebook groups in search of guidance on how to reach neighbouring countries by land. Some offered guidance on the best ways to send money to stranded families. The situation is further complicated by increased transport fees on land, making it difficult for those who managed to return by land to afford transport. The price of a seat in a taxi and SUV from Amman to Baghdad has jumped from $50 to between $250 and $300. Israel last Friday launched its largest ever attack on military and nuclear sites in Iran, killing senior commanders in the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as well as nuclear scientists, and damaging atomic sites such as Natanz and Isfahan. Israel described the operation as necessary to prevent Tehran from moving closer to acquiring a nuclear weapon. At least 585 people, including 239 civilians, have been killed and more than 1,300 wounded in Iraq since the outbreak of the confrontation, according to an Iranian human rights group in Washington. Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones in retaliatory strikes that have killed dozens of people in Israel and wounded hundreds more. Some have hit apartment buildings in central Israel, causing heavy damage, and air-raid sirens have repeatedly forced Israelis to run for shelter.
