Republican senators urge Trump to restore security details over Iran threat

Mohsen al-Mandalawi made the comment in a recent interview with Reuters, reflecting on significant shifts in the Middle East, including the weakening of Iran-aligned armed groups in Gaza and Lebanon and the overthrow of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad by rebel forces.

"Today, we have stability. Foreign companies are coming to Iraq," said Mandalawi, himself a businessman with interests in Iraqi hotels, hospitals and cash transfer services.

"Iraq has started to take on its natural role among Arab states. Iran is a neighbor with whom we have historical ties. Our geographical position and our relations with Arab states are separate matters," he said, speaking at his office in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, home to government institutions and foreign embassies.

"I don't think that the weakening of Iran will negatively impact Iraq."

Mandalawi’s support for limiting the power of Iran-backed armed groups comes despite his affiliation with Iraq's Shiite Coordination Framework, a bloc of politicians with close ties to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Iraq attempts to balance its relations with Tehran and Washington has been complicated by attacks on US troops and Israel by these groups following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, 2023.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein recently said that Baghdad is actively working to persuade these factions to disarm.

Mandalawi acknowledged that this process will take time but believes it is achievable given Iraq's growing focus on political and economic development.

"Limiting arms to the state is important and I hope that it will be implemented," he said.

“Forces and allies in the region have been instructed to act with caution as [the regime] feels an existential threat with Trump’s return,” the Iranian official said.

“In Iraq and Yemen, forces have been told not to target any American assets, and if they do, they are explicitly warned against using Iranian weapons,” the official added.

“They have been told to keep defensive positions for a while and to avoid any actions that might provoke the Americans.”

Last week, Iraq's Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said Baghdad is seeking to convince Iran-backed armed factions in the country to lay down their weapons or join the official security forces.

Iran’s UN ambassador also denied any involvement in or support for the training of Yemen's Houthis, just days before US President Donald Trump re-designated the group as a "foreign terrorist organization".

"As a result of the Biden administration’s weak policy, the Houthis have fired at US Navy warships dozens of times, launched numerous attacks on civilian infrastructure in partner nations, and attacked commercial vessels transiting Bab al-Mandeb more than 100 times," the announcement said.

The Iranian delegation plans to visit polling stations in the capital to closely monitor the electoral process.

Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, is seeking his seventh term in office.

The election has been widely criticized by opposition figures and international observers as lacking genuine competition. Many opposition leaders are either imprisoned or in exile, leading to allegations that the election is a mere formality to extend Lukashenko's rule.

The European Parliament has denounced the election as a sham, urging the international community not to recognize its results and to support the Belarusian people's pursuit of democracy and human rights.

Iran's own electoral process has been criticized by international observers, including Freedom House, which has noted the influence of Iran's Guardian Council, an unelected body that vets candidates, as a key factor limiting the country's democratic standards.

Freedom House says of Iran's democratic process: "The Islamic Republic of Iran holds elections regularly, but they fall short of democratic standards due in part to the influence of the hard-line Guardian Council, an unelected body that disqualifies all candidates it deems insufficiently loyal to the clerical establishment. Ultimate power rests in the hands of the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the unelected institutions under his control."

"The government has only been authorized to negotiate with European countries," Fada-Hossein Maleki said in an interview with the Didban Iran website in Tehran published Sunday.

"Iran is not the first, second, or even third priority for [Donald] Trump," Maleki added, the two countries not having diplomatic ties since 1980.

Maleki also highlighted that Iran has never entirely closed the door to negotiations in recent years.

"Some mediating countries, like Oman, have consistently maintained contact with both the Iranian side and Western parties, including the Americans," he said.

He emphasized that the Islamic Republic has always kept the path to dialogue open to demonstrate its adherence to international principles and norms, blaming the US for violating commitments by withdrawing from the JCPOA.

IRGC-affiliated Fars News reported that Araghchi met with Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, Taliban's prime minister, and Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, during the visit.

The trip is highly significant, with key issues on the agenda including the status of Afghan migrants, water rights disputes, and shared security concerns.

According to Iranian media, the discussions are expected to culminate in a comprehensive cooperation agreement aimed at addressing these critical matters.

The visit has drawn criticism both within Iran and among Afghans. The Iranian newspaper Jomhouri Eslami argued that the trip grants the Taliban undue legitimacy, adding that "no country, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, recognizes them."

Countries including the US, UK and EU, continue to designate the Taliban a terrorist organization.

The paper said that recognition of any Afghan government by Iran is conditional upon holding elections and respecting the will of the Afghan people, which the Taliban have continued to reject, opting instead for a tribal, autocratic system.