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Alhurra Exclusive: Undisclosed Kurdish Agreement Clears Path for Election of New Iraqi President
Iraq’s two main Kurdish parties have reached an agreement to resolve the crisis over nominating a new president, with an official announcement expected early next week, according to Kurdish political sources who spoke to Alhurra. If finalized, the move could help resolve Iraq’s stalled selection of a new prime minister, a process that became more…
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Possible War Between the United States and Iran… Will the Gulf Be Spared?
Amid escalating exchanges between Tehran and Washington, a fundamental question has resurfaced: Are Gulf states truly prepared for a potential confrontation if warnings turn into a direct clash? In Tehran, officials are attempting to strike a balance between preparing for military confrontation and threatening to expand its scope. Iranian Chief of Staff Major General Abdulrahim…
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Iraqi Official to Alhurra: Two-Thirds of ISIS Prisoners Transferred to Iraq
An Iraqi security official told Alhurra that more than 4,800 Islamic State detainees had been transferred from Syria to Iraq as of Tuesday, while a U.S. defense official said the operation, which began last month, remains ongoing. U.S. Central Command announced on Jan. 21 the start of the transfer of about 7,000 ISIS detainees from…
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Sisi’s UAE Visit: Timing and Regional Stakes
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi made a short, unannounced trip to the United Arab Emirates, meeting with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The visit coincided with press reports suggesting differences between Egypt and the UAE over several regional files, including Sudan, Somalia, Libya and the Red Sea. The Egyptian presidency’s statement on…
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Tom Gross: Iranian Regime Faces Humiliation and Shifting Alliances
Analyst Tom Gross asserts the Iranian leadership faces a profound crisis of authority. In an interview with MBN, Gross detailed how recent military setbacks exposed the regime’s inability to protect its own elite. A 12-day military operation in June 2025 targeted the core of Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure. Israeli strikes killed the head of…
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The loud silence of Syria’s Christians
Since even before Syria’s longtime former leader Bashar al-Assad fled the country in December 2024, violent clashes between Druze factions and forces tied to the new government of President Ahmad al-Sharaa have killed as many as 2,000 people in the southern province of Sweida. Human rights activists have also reported widespread torture, rape, abductions and other abuses.…
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The Real Fight: Iran’s Proxies
Muscat is not only about centrifuges. It is also about Iran’s proxies, and Washington treated it that way from the start. U.S. and Iranian envoys met Friday in Oman with a narrow purpose: preventing a regional war driven less by Iran’s nuclear program and more by the armed network Tehran uses to project power across…
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Iraq’s Maliki Standoff: Three Exits, No Easy Way Out
Iraq’s political deadlock now turns on a single question: does Nouri al-Maliki come back? His bid to return to power has pushed the government formation crisis into a more volatile phase, deepening divisions inside the Shiite Coordination Framework and drawing an unusually blunt warning from Washington. For the second time, parliament failed to convene a session to elect…
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Muscat Talks Stall, Tensions Hold
Muscat delivered a pause in U.S.–Iran tensions, but the margin is thin. The talks ended “for now,” a wording U.S. officials say was intentional, a signal that the channel remains open even as both sides edge toward confrontation. A U.S. State Department official who works on Near Eastern affairs told MBN that neither side was ready to…
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Money for Corpses in Iran
When Jaafar Al-Yassi went to the forensic medicine center in Iran’s Ilam province to receive the body of his cousin, he did not expect the farewell to turn into a heavy financial bargain. He told Alhurra: “We submitted a request to receive my cousin’s body, but the security authorities informed us that we would not…