Sunday, 25 October 2026

Separately, security sources said an explosive-laden drone attacked an Iranian Kurdish opposition camp northeast of Erbil on Saturday. Iranian media reported Sunday that Tehran had struck an Iranian Kurdish base in Iraq with drones. The reports follow the Kurdistan Freedom Party’s statement that Iran fired four ballistic missiles at its Harir-Balisan base on Wednesday. Elsewhere, security forces recovered drone wreckage in the Shabram area of Al-Salman district in Al-Muthanna on Sunday, prompting the dispatch of an explosives disposal team.

Islamic Resistance in Iraq accused American combat and reconnaissance aircraft on Saturday of 171 violations of Iraqi airspace between 30 September and 23 October. Alsumaria reported Sunday that weapons recently transferred from Iran to Iraqi faction sites were suspected of having been struck, with a large shipment believed destroyed; the transfers and strikes remain unverified. In Maysan, Al-Ghadeer TV (Badr Organization — official) reported residents blocking roads serving oil companies on Sunday over the government’s 21 October closure of the Sheeb crossing with Iran to passengers, vehicles and commercial trucks. Provincial Council head Mustafa Duair set a Thursday deadline and threatened civil disobedience and roadblocks, according to Sabereen News (KH — affiliated). Elsewhere in the south, Basra heavy equipment owners protested Sunday after fuel allocations had been suspended for about two weeks, warning that they could block roads to oil fields unless supplies resumed. Separately, Deputy Prime Minister Laith al-Khazali (AAH) and Labour Minister Mohammed al-Mousawi (AAH) met Reconstruction and Development Alliance head Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Saturday. Shafaq News interpreted al-Khazali’s 15 October appointment as greater institutional access for factions cooperating with the government’s weapons-control plan, which sets a 30 June 2027 deadline. That connection was Shafaq’s interpretation, not an appointments-for-weapons agreement acknowledged by AAH or the government.

In Zakho, a $20.155 million Nissan distribution and training facility opened Sunday. The facility will distribute vehicles across the Kurdistan Region and Iraq and train company staff. Around 2,000 Nissan vehicles are expected to pass through each month after entering through the Ibrahim Khalil International Border Crossing. At the ceremony, Jetour Auto and Harlem Group signed a memorandum of understanding for a Jetour automotive project in the Kurdistan Region. Barzani also laid the foundation stone for Motorplex Iraq, a $15 million sports and tourism project.

Islamic Resistance in Iraq accused American combat and reconnaissance aircraft on Saturday of 171 violations of Iraqi airspace between 30 September and 23 October. Jaafar al-Husseini, identified as the statement’s spokesman, demanded that Baghdad disclose the facts and take a clear position. Unit 10,000 (KH — affiliated) separately alleged that aircraft operating from bases in Jordan and Turkey violated Iraqi sovereignty on Friday. It listed 10 MQ-9s, two DASH-8s, two E-11s and three Akıncı aircraft. Alsumaria reported on Sunday that weapons systems recently transferred from Iran to Iraqi faction sites were suspected of having been struck, with a large shipment believed destroyed. Unnamed sources quoted by Asharq Al-Awsat said Iraq believed Israel had struck two sites storing Chinese-made shoulder-fired air-defence systems sourced from Tehran, The Jerusalem Post reported. The weapons transfers and strikes remain unverified.

The resistance statement also criticised airport and Iran-border crossing closures as compliance with American dictates. In Maysan, Al-Ghadeer TV (Badr Organization — official) reported residents blocking roads serving oil companies on Sunday over the closure of the Shib border crossing with Iran. Al-Nujaba TV (Nujaba — official) carried the protesters’ “No borders, no oil” slogan. iNEWS (KSS — affiliated) attributed to protesters a three-day reopening deadline, after which they would announce further steps. Provincial Council head Mustafa Duair set a Thursday deadline and threatened civil disobedience and roadblocks, according to Sabereen News (KH — affiliated). Speaking to Al-Janoub TV (Harakat al-Jihad wal-Bina — official), Duair said Maysan was being sacrificed for America through the crossing’s closure.

Separately, Deputy Prime Minister Laith al-Khazali (AAH) and Labour Minister Mohammed al-Mousawi (AAH) met Reconstruction and Development Alliance head Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Saturday. Al-Ahad TV (AAH — official) reported that al-Sudani congratulated them on assuming their posts and that their discussion covered coordination with government institutions, services and faster completion of vital projects. Shafaq News interpreted al-Khazali’s 15 October appointment as greater institutional access for factions cooperating with the government’s weapons-control plan, which sets a 30 June 2027 deadline. That connection was Shafaq’s interpretation, not an appointments-for-weapons agreement acknowledged by AAH or the government in its report.

On public employment, Sakr al-Muhammadawi (AAH — Sadiqoun MP) congratulated contract and daily-wage workers on Saturday over their proposed regularization in the 2027 budget. Al-Ahad’s accompanying graphic referred to 120,000 contractual positions. The parliamentary Finance Committee supported the prime minister’s direction to move those workers onto the permanent payroll, Al-Ghadeer reported. Al-Ahad also carried Reconstruction and Development Coalition leader and former MP Adnan al-Danbus’s criticism of public-sector overstaffing and limited employee productivity. National Wisdom Movement spokesman Hussam al-Hassani likewise described surplus staffing but defended the government as only five months old and carrying a substantial inherited economic burden.