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1 July 2026
Iraqi prime minister says ‘no evidence’ attacks on Gulf states originated from Iraq
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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in Baghdad, Iraq on May 14, 2026. [Murtadha Al-Sudani – Anadolu Agency]
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi said there is “no evidence” that attacks against Gulf countries originated from Iraqi territory, while reaffirming that Baghdad will not allow its land to be used to target neighboring states.
In an interview with the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper published Monday evening, Zaidi discussed a host of issues, including restricting weapons to state control, combating corruption, economic reforms and Iraq’s foreign relations.
He said all security force commanders had been instructed to prevent any attempt to use Iraqi territory to launch attacks against neighboring countries.
“We will not accept dictates from outside our borders, neither from the East nor the West. Iraq’s decision belongs to its people,” he said.
Zaidi stressed that Iraq seeks to build strong relations with the international community and neighboring countries.
“After visiting the United States, we have working visits scheduled to Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Iran,” he said.
Regional tensions escalated when the US and Israel launched attacks against Tehran in February, killing more than 3,000 people, according to Iranian officials. Tehran retaliated with drone and missile attacks targeting Israel and Gulf countries hosting US bases.
Several Gulf states also came under attacks that they say were launched by Iran-backed armed factions in Iraq.
Monopoly of weapons
Zaidi said Iraq will hold a national conference later this year to reinforce the state monopoly of weapons. “There is no place for weapons outside the state, and we will not accept the existence of a state within a state,” he said.
He added that the government has already received weapons from Saraya Al-Islam, Asaib Ahl Al-Haq and Kataib Al-Imam Ali armed groups.
“The most important step is not merely handing over weapons, but severing the link between the armed faction and the fighters under its command.
“We believe resistance is a necessity, not a profession. That necessity no longer exists, and we will not accept a state within a state,” he said.
Zaidi announced Sept. 21 as a final deadline for armed factions to surrender their weapons to the authorities.
READ: Iraq detains politicians, officials in anti-corruption crackdown
Government spokesman Haider Al-Aboudi said Monday that the deadline coincides with the withdrawal of the US-led international coalition forces from Iraq under an agreement reached two years ago.
On June 3, military spokesman Sabah Al-Numan announced the formation of a committee tasked with ensuring that weapons remain exclusively under state control.
The issue of weapons outside state authority remains one of Iraq’s most pressing security and political challenges, with some armed factions operating under the umbrella of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) while others function independently.
The government says it aims to consolidate state authority over arms as part of broader efforts to strengthen domestic stability and shield Iraq from regional tensions.
Corruption fight
Zaidi described corruption as “a threat to the existence of the Iraqi state,” calling his government’s campaign against corruption “irreversible.”
“There are people seeking to steal Iraq, not to serve it,” he said.
The premier said he had instructed the Finance Ministry to open a special account to recover embezzled Iraqi funds.
Zaidi also pledged not to draw a salary, accept gifts or “allow his hand to touch public money.”
He said he will not seek a second term in office or establish a political party after leaving office.
Zaidi’s government was approved by the Iraqi parliament in May. His constitutional term is four years.
On Sunday, Iraqi authorities announced the arrest of several officials and lawmakers accused of financial and administrative corruption following confessions by detained Deputy Oil Minister Adnan Al-Jumaili.
Jumaili was arrested on June 2 over allegations of financial and administrative corruption and illegal contracts.
Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council later announced the seizure of about $23 million in cash and the confiscation of 70 properties and 21 luxury vehicles, in addition to about 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) of gold jewelry.
READ: Iraq sets Sept. 21 deadline for armed factions to surrender weapons
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Donald Trump explains why he established his Bored of Peace
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
1 July 2026
Palestine slams Israeli plan to establish 100 illegal settlement sites in occupied West Bank
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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and illegal Israeli settlers attend the inauguration ceremony of the illegal “Doren” settlement outpost, established south of Hebron in West Bank, on June 16, 2026. [Wisam Hashlamoun – Anadolu Agency]
Palestine on Tuesday strongly condemned Israel’s illegal settlement plan targeting about 100 locations inside the so-called Area A in the occupied West Bank, Anadolu reports.
“The move represents an additional development in Israeli colonial thinking and a blatant violation of international law and signed agreements,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry described the plan as “a systematic war crime” aimed at imposing new facts by force on occupied Palestinian land, undermining security and stability, and destroying the foundations of the two-state solution.
“Israel has no sovereignty over any part of the occupied Palestinian territory,” it said. “The occupation and settlement activity in all forms have no legitimacy and constitute a crime under international law, international consensus and UN resolutions.”
“Israel’s continued illegal occupation and colonial settlement system are the root of suffering and the main reason for the absence of security and peace in the Middle East,” the ministry continued.
It called on the international community and UN institutions, including the Security Council, to take practical deterrent measures to stop colonial settlement and compel Israel, as the occupying power, to comply with international law and UN resolutions.
READ: Israeli forces begin paving settlement road near Bethlehem, uproot olive trees west of Jenin
The ministry also called for implementing the 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, forcing Israel to abandon its colonial plans and abide by signed agreements, in a way that guarantees an end to the Israeli occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Israeli occupier groups are said to have prepared a plan to seize 100 strategic locations in the Palestinian Authority-administered Area A of the occupied West Bank.
The Israel Hayom newspaper said the plan, prepared by the Settler Farms Association and the Havat (Farms) Forum, aims to fundamentally reshape the map of the occupied territory.
The proposal outlines a mechanism for deploying forces to approximately 100 strategic sites in the West Bank on what it describes as an “execution day.”
The locations are located in Area A, which, under the 1995 Oslo II Accord, is under the administrative and security control of the Palestinian Authority.
The Israeli army carries out near-daily raids in West Bank cities and towns, often involving arrests, field interrogations and home searches.
Israel was established in 1948 on lands occupied by armed Zionist groups that carried out massacres and displaced at least 750,000 Palestinians. It later occupied more territories and refused to withdraw or allow the establishment of a Palestinian state.
READ: Trump rebuked Netanyahu over Gaza: ‘All the Jews are sick of you’ – CNN
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Donald Trump explains why he established his Bored of Peace
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
1 July 2026
Badenoch accused of Trumpian obsession in pro-oil and gas speech
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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/badenoch-accused-trumpian-obsession-pro-oil-and-gas-speech
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch delivers a speech on the economy at Victory Services Club, central London, June 29, 2026
TORY leader Kemi Badenoch was accused today of a Trumpian obsession in a pro-oil and gas speech.
Ms Badenoch said the economy was “in limbo” while businesses waited to see what Andy Burnham would do if he became the next prime minister.
“Britain is facing a summer of chaos,” she said in a speech in London.
“It is time to get Britain drilling again and if Andy Burnham had any sense, he would sack [Energy Secretary] Ed Miliband, not make him chancellor.”
The MP for North West Essex has previously called for more oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.
Uplift deputy director Robert Palmer said: “Kemi Badenoch’s Trumpian obsession with oil and gas is blinding the Conservative Party to the reality of how climate change is affecting Britain right now.”
He said last week’s heatwave had seen schools shut, trains stopped and people’s health suffering, with likely fatalities, arguing that continued fossil fuel burning is driving more frequent and intense heatwaves in Britain.
“The science is clear, there can be no new oil fields if we want to stay within safe climate targets,” Mr Palmer said.
“Yet Kemi Badenoch’s response is to want to abandon those targets and drill even more.
“Pushing ahead with this reckless approach will leave ordinary people paying the price, through more extreme heat, more damaging floods, and the rising costs that come with climate breakdown.
“Either Kemi Badenoch believes, like Trump, that climate change is a ‘con job’ or she is simply willing to ignore the consequences for us and our children.”
He warned more drilling would not cut energy bills but would increase oil company profits and worsen the climate crisis, calling it “profoundly irresponsible.”
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/badenoch-accused-trumpian-obsession-pro-oil-and-gas-speech
Nigel Farage urges you to ignore facts and reality and be a climate science denier like him and his Deputy Richard Tice. He says that Reform UK has received £Millions and £Millions from the fossil fuel industry to promote climate denial and destroy the planet.
UK Conservative Party leader Kemi ‘not a genocide’ Badenoch explains her reality that the Earth is flat, the Moon is made of cheese and that she was born from
Unicorn horn dust
30 June 2026
Morning Star Editorial: Burnham’s promise of ‘change’ will be judged on what comes next
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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/burnhams-promise-change-will-be-judged-what-comes-next
Andy Burnham delivers a speech at the People’s History Museum, Manchester, to pledge to give Britain the “circuit-breaker it needs” whilst unveiling his plans for devolution and the economy, June 29, 2026
…
The lack of detail justifies caution for the left. “Greater public control” stops short of renationalisation of core sectors, a minimum requirement to stop the fleecing of the British people, water pollution and the protection of vested interests in fossil fuels.
Reindustrialisation will not happen by osmosis, nor will it be possible to deliver without a national industrial strategy and substantial public investment.
Regeneration dependent on the “public/private partnership” redolent of the Blair/Brown governments is likely to deliver the same PFI rip-off currently impoverishing the NHS and education. The power that Burnham wishes to devolve will be largely in the hands of directly elected mayors who will have the power to over-rule local authorities with minimal scrutiny or accountability between elections. In turn these mayors will be vulnerable to corporate lobbying, especially from a construction sector which has driven large-scale council estate and town centre demolition and redevelopment in the face of huge community opposition.
While the implied devolution of the “Whitehall machine” to local government may be a good thing, what will it mean for civil servants and quango employees, thousands of whose jobs may be redeployed around the country?
…
A new programme to build council homes at scale while welcomed needs to answer how it will be delivered given the lack of design and build expertise in local authorities and over-reliance on large-scale private developers who are entirely profit-driven. Will the emphasis shift from demolition to refurbishment and retrofitting the existing stock and empty homes to bring them back into use?
The trade union movement and wider left must now pile on the pressure to ensure the lack of detail is not some devilish portent, but a promise of an end to neoliberalism as the first step to socialist renewal.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/burnhams-promise-change-will-be-judged-what-comes-next
30 June 2026

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