Wednesday, 14 October 2026

Al-Zaidi arrived in Riyadh on Wednesday for an official visit. In an Asharq Al-Awsat article on Tuesday, he had stressed respect for neighbouring countries’ sovereignty and preventing Iraq from becoming a source of regional concern. His visit follows Iraqi-Saudi discussions about doubling the planned Najaf solar plant from 1,000 to 2,000 megawatts. Baghdad is also preparing to host the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers on 17–18 October, when Iraq will take over its presidency from Turkiye. Conference spokesman Ambassador Hassanein Kamel said Wednesday that 53 of the 57 member states had confirmed attendance. The remaining four are expected to confirm within the next two days.

Iraq raised military readiness to its highest level, prioritising air defence. Authorities are also investigating unidentified aerial activity over western and southern Iraq since the U.S.-led coalition left on 30 September. A security source told 964media that movements were monitored between 1 and 12 October, but authorities had not established their nature or identified the aircraft. The source said Baghdad remained in contact with coalition commanders, particularly those now based in Jordan, over military coordination and airspace. Parliamentary Security and Defence Committee member Mazen Gharib said lawmakers were examining reports of American aircraft operating over Iraq and seeking verification of their activities.

Separately, Baghdad fish sellers said customers had stopped buying after Environment Minister Sirwa Abdulwahid’s remarks about river pollution and medical waste. They said much of their stock came from dedicated fish farms and the Euphrates rather than the Tigris, which was the focus of the minister’s comments. At Wednesday’s Czechia Water Business Forum, Deputy Water Resources Minister Raed al-Jashami said 67 stations along the Tigris and Euphrates needed repairs and maintenance. He estimated that six million cubic meters of waste were discharged into the two rivers. Al-Jashami also identified overlapping responsibilities among ministries as an obstacle to effective water management.

Sadiqoun general-body member Hakim al-Muhammadawi (AAH — Sadiqoun) warned on Tuesday that failure to pass the PMF law would bring mass demonstrations, speaking on Al-Ahad TV (AAH — official). He also pledged to stop those interfering with fighters’ and wounded personnel’s rights. Earlier that day, Sadiqoun MPs Zaman al-Tamimi and Wafaa al-Tai (AAH — Sadiqoun) had demanded an urgent investigation into reported assaults on wounded PMF protesters, with al-Tamimi addressing Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi. Sabereen News (KH — affiliated) placed the reported assaults near the Green Zone, on the suspension-bridge side toward al-Zawiya. Wounded PMF member Ahmed Saleh had alleged on Al-Ahad that Faleh al-Fayyad was obstructing salaries ordered paid by the prime minister and withholding protesters’ files from his office. Saleh also alleged that riot-control personnel beat protesters and a lieutenant colonel threatened arrest and torture. On Wednesday, MP Saad Shakir urged the government to expedite submission of the PMF Authority bill for upcoming parliamentary agendas.

Commander-in-Chief spokesman Sabah al-Numan said on Tuesday that most factions had responded positively to the 30 June 2027 deadline for bringing their weapons under state control, speaking at the MERI Forum in Erbil. He also said authorities would accommodate faction weapons while preventing activity outside state authority. On Wednesday, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, citing unnamed Iraqi sources, reported near-final understandings on handing faction weapons to the state by that deadline. Those sources said al-Zaidi had conveyed warnings of possible U.S. sanctions affecting PMF brigades. They also said he had warned faction leaders that retaining weapons would ultimately result in salaries being cut for fighters in four brigades. The near-final understandings remain an unnamed-source report, not an identified faction’s announced commitment.

Hoquq MP Miqdad al-Khafaji (KH — parliamentary bloc) pledged on Tuesday to boycott Thursday’s parliamentary session, in remarks carried by Al-Nujaba TV (Nujaba — official). He said he would not vote to create new ministries or deputy-prime-minister posts, citing inflated offices and waste of public money. Al-Muhammadawi instead backed completing the cabinet on Thursday, on Al-Ahad. He argued that the prime minister needed deputies to distribute responsibilities. He also called the Migration Ministry Babylon’s entitlement but said it would not go to a vote if disputes remained. The boycott pledge belongs to al-Khafaji, rather than a bloc-wide Hoquq decision.

Separately, Unit 10,000 (KH — affiliated) warned on Tuesday that what it called aggression against Yemen would have consequences and would not pass silently, following Kataib Hezbollah’s earlier call for Yemeni fighters to continue attacks on Saudi Arabia. Al-Ittijah TV (KH — official), through its Sanaa correspondent, reported that Yemeni armed forces had told Saudi civilians to evacuate immediately. The correspondent also attributed a promised painful response to those forces. Al-Nujaba TV described renewed war in Yemen as pressure on Riyadh and an opportunity for Tehran. Al-Zaidi, meanwhile, arrived in Riyadh on Wednesday for an official visit, his office acknowledged. In an Asharq Al-Awsat article on Tuesday, he had stressed respect for neighbouring countries’ sovereignty and preventing Iraq from becoming a source of regional concern.