🤝🇮🇷🇮🇶 BAGHDAD & TEHRAN EXPAND REGIONAL STRATEGIC COOPERATION
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian have overseen the signing of major bilateral agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in Tehran to strengthen cross-border logistics, infrastructure, and institutional ties:
📜 Key Agreements & MoUs Signed:
1. 🚛 International Land & Freight Transport:
Formal agreement to streamline cross-border shipping, freight mechanisms, and commercial transport between both nations.
2. 🛤️ Kermanshah–Khanaqin–Baghdad Railway Corridor:
Strategic MoU to construct a direct rail connection linking Kermanshah – Khosravi (Iran) to Khanaqin – Baghdad (Iraq), expanding regional transit and trade networks.
3. 🏛️ Municipal Twinning (Baghdad & Tehran):
MoU establishing civic partnership and urban planning cooperation between the Mayoralty of Baghdad and the Tehran Municipality.
4. 💼 Public Administration & HR Training:
MoU focused on government management standards, administrative development, and civil service workforce training.
📝 Signatories: On the Iraqi side, the agreements were formally signed by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Electricity, Finance, and the Acting Minister of Planning.
❓ THE BIGGER DIPLOMATIC QUESTION
1- Was economic and infrastructural integration the sole motivation behind Prime Minister Al-Zaidi's sudden high-stakes visit to Tehran, coming just nine days after his Oval Office meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump?
2- Or was Baghdad serving as an uncredited diplomatic conduit—delivering backchannel messages and strategic warnings from the Trump administration directly to Iranian leadership amidst the intensifying regional confrontation?
☑️ Our website
🖋 @observer_5
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian have overseen the signing of major bilateral agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in Tehran to strengthen cross-border logistics, infrastructure, and institutional ties:
📜 Key Agreements & MoUs Signed:
1. 🚛 International Land & Freight Transport:
Formal agreement to streamline cross-border shipping, freight mechanisms, and commercial transport between both nations.
2. 🛤️ Kermanshah–Khanaqin–Baghdad Railway Corridor:
Strategic MoU to construct a direct rail connection linking Kermanshah – Khosravi (Iran) to Khanaqin – Baghdad (Iraq), expanding regional transit and trade networks.
3. 🏛️ Municipal Twinning (Baghdad & Tehran):
MoU establishing civic partnership and urban planning cooperation between the Mayoralty of Baghdad and the Tehran Municipality.
4. 💼 Public Administration & HR Training:
MoU focused on government management standards, administrative development, and civil service workforce training.
📝 Signatories: On the Iraqi side, the agreements were formally signed by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Electricity, Finance, and the Acting Minister of Planning.
1- Was economic and infrastructural integration the sole motivation behind Prime Minister Al-Zaidi's sudden high-stakes visit to Tehran, coming just nine days after his Oval Office meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump?
2- Or was Baghdad serving as an uncredited diplomatic conduit—delivering backchannel messages and strategic warnings from the Trump administration directly to Iranian leadership amidst the intensifying regional confrontation?
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
This media is not supported in your browser
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
More than 100,000 settlers at Ben Gurion Airport in the occupied territories are fleeing to Europe
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
Knesset Member Moshe Saada:
“We all know we are heading toward an attack on Iran, possibly as early as this weekend.”
🗣 Likud MK Slip of the Tongue:
Confirmed momentum toward launching a fresh strike against Iran, likely by the end of the weekend.
🇺🇸 Donald Trump:
“I am considering launching a large-scale attack, bigger than any prior strike, and I am close to making a decision”.
He added to journalist Barak Ravid that he is seriously weighing a return to full-scale warfare against Iran.
🌊 Strait of Hormuz: Reports indicate explosions heard in the area; the exact nature of the incident remains unconfirmed.
Will there be a full-fledged war?!
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
Crude has surged past $100/bbl as military escalations crush global oil bypass routes and burn diplomatic exit ramps.
Key Drivers:
⚓ Dual Chokepoints Sealed: Houthi strikes on Saudi tankers in the Red Sea have neutralized the primary alternative to the restricted Strait of Hormuz.
🛢️ Zero Buffer Left: Exhausted Strategic Petroleum Reserves leave central authorities powerless to cushion the shock.
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
The News:
Speaking on the Decision Points podcast hosted by David Makovsky, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu openly boasted about how he brought a 7-slide presentation to Washington right after the election to dictate military action against Iran’s Fordow facility:
"I went to see Trump right after the election, and I came there with seven big slides. Slide one, slide two, slide three, slide four. 'Here's what we're going to do.' Not 'Are you allowing us or not allowing us?' 'Here's what we're going to do,' I told him... You have B-2s — these huge bombers. There's a site called Fordow... it's much more effective if you come and simply drop your heavy bombs there. He listened, and in the end he joined."
The Takeaway:
This isn't subtle diplomacy—it is a shameless display of foreign control. Netanyahu isn't even attempting to disguise the power dynamic. He walked into the White House with a pitch deck, issued directives rather than requesting permission, and treated the United States armed forces like an outsourced private security team.
When a foreign prime minister publicly brags on air about handing the U.S. President his target list and procuring 30,000-pound bunker-busters on demand, it leaves zero ambiguity: American sovereign military power is being operated on remote control 🇺🇸
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
🗓️ A U.S. federal judge has scheduled the trial of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores for June 1, 2027, following their forcible transfer to the United States after the U.S. military operation inside Venezuela on January 3, 2026.
📜 The Reality:
The military seizure of a sitting head of state from the territory of another sovereign nation constitutes a grave challenge to the principles of the UN Charter—including sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence, and the prohibition on the use of force except under narrowly defined circumstances.
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
The Observer
Alert 🚨 :
Haaretz:
Israel is preparing for the possibility of an Iranian attack on Saturday and Sunday.
☑️ Our website
🖋 @observer_5
Haaretz:
Israel is preparing for the possibility of an Iranian attack on Saturday and Sunday.
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
Al-Muraqeb
The Observer | Geopolitical Intelligence & Analysis
In-depth geopolitical analysis, military intelligence, and strategic assessments.
The US military is buying older-generation Patriot PAC-2 missiles for the first time in decades.
Here is what this actually means in plain terms:
🏭 Factory Bottlenecks: Factories can't manufacture newer, highly advanced PAC-3 missiles fast enough to keep up with current warfare needs.
Bottom Line: Washington is maxing out every available production line to avoid running out of air defense interceptors during escalating conflicts.
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
👍1
The Observer
🤝🇮🇷🇮🇶 BAGHDAD & TEHRAN EXPAND REGIONAL STRATEGIC COOPERATION Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian have overseen the signing of major bilateral agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in Tehran to strengthen…
🚨 Breaking | The New York Times:
🇮🇷 Iran has rejected a U.S. ceasefire proposal that was conveyed by the Prime Minister of Iraq.
☑️ Our website
🖋 @observer_5
🇮🇷 Iran has rejected a U.S. ceasefire proposal that was conveyed by the Prime Minister of Iraq.
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
👍2
🕊️ Farewell to Internationalist Fighter Kozo Okamoto… The Last Fedayeen of Lod Airport
Beirut | July 23, 2026
Japanese militant Kozo Okamoto, known within the ranks of the Palestinian resistance as “Ahmad al-Yabani” (Ahmad the Japanese), passed away at the age of 78 in Beirut’s southern suburbs after a revolutionary journey spanning more than five decades, during which he dedicated his life to the Palestinian cause. With his passing, a chapter closes on an era of revolutionary internationalism that transcended borders and national identities in defense of Palestine.
Okamoto was the last surviving participant in the 1972 Lod Airport operation, an event that became one of the most enduring episodes in the history of the Palestinian resistance. His name came to symbolize a man who chose to leave behind his homeland and nationality to join what he believed was humanity’s struggle against occupation.
🕊️ Farewell to a Man Who Never Compromised
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) mourned its longtime comrade, confirming that he passed away on July 23, 2026, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where he had lived for decades under the protection of the resistance after receiving political asylum in Lebanon in 2000.
Known among his comrades as “Ahmad the Japanese,” Okamoto remained steadfast in his convictions until his final days, despite years of imprisonment, pursuit, illness, and exile. He stood as a living witness to an era when solidarity with Palestine transcended geography and national identity.
He will be laid to rest in Beirut—the city that embraced him, just as it embraced generations of Palestinian fighters.
✊ From Tokyo to Palestine… The Journey of an Internationalist Revolutionary
On May 30, 1972, Okamoto, together with fellow members of the Japanese Red Army, Tsuyoshi Okudaira and Yasuyuki Yasuda, took part in the Lod Airport operation. The operation was carried out in coordination with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and was presented by the organization as a response to Israeli actions, including the destruction of civilian aircraft at Beirut International Airport in 1968.
Okamoto was captured following the operation and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was released in 1985 as part of a prisoner exchange between Israel and the Palestinian resistance, beginning a new chapter of his life in Lebanon, where he remained committed to the Palestinian cause until his passing.
🌍 A Symbol of Revolutionary Internationalism
Kozo Okamoto was more than a fighter; he became a symbol of a generation that believed Palestine was not merely the cause of one people, but the cause of free people everywhere.
He chose to leave his country and abandon the comforts of ordinary life to join the Palestinian resistance, convinced that confronting occupation was a moral and human responsibility that transcended national borders.
With his death, one of the last living figures embodying the era in which global liberation movements converged with the Palestinian revolution has passed into history.
🕊️ A Legacy That Will Endure
Kozo Okamoto’s name will remain etched in the memory of many as one of the most recognizable symbols of international solidarity with Palestine—a man who devoted the years of his life to his convictions, moving from prison to exile before finally finding refuge in Lebanon, the country that sheltered him until his final breath.
The body has departed…
But the story lives on.
Glory to those who dedicated their lives to Palestine.
May Kozo Okamoto, the internationalist fighter, rest in peace.
☑️ Our website
🖋 @observer_5
Beirut | July 23, 2026
Japanese militant Kozo Okamoto, known within the ranks of the Palestinian resistance as “Ahmad al-Yabani” (Ahmad the Japanese), passed away at the age of 78 in Beirut’s southern suburbs after a revolutionary journey spanning more than five decades, during which he dedicated his life to the Palestinian cause. With his passing, a chapter closes on an era of revolutionary internationalism that transcended borders and national identities in defense of Palestine.
Okamoto was the last surviving participant in the 1972 Lod Airport operation, an event that became one of the most enduring episodes in the history of the Palestinian resistance. His name came to symbolize a man who chose to leave behind his homeland and nationality to join what he believed was humanity’s struggle against occupation.
🕊️ Farewell to a Man Who Never Compromised
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) mourned its longtime comrade, confirming that he passed away on July 23, 2026, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where he had lived for decades under the protection of the resistance after receiving political asylum in Lebanon in 2000.
Known among his comrades as “Ahmad the Japanese,” Okamoto remained steadfast in his convictions until his final days, despite years of imprisonment, pursuit, illness, and exile. He stood as a living witness to an era when solidarity with Palestine transcended geography and national identity.
He will be laid to rest in Beirut—the city that embraced him, just as it embraced generations of Palestinian fighters.
✊ From Tokyo to Palestine… The Journey of an Internationalist Revolutionary
On May 30, 1972, Okamoto, together with fellow members of the Japanese Red Army, Tsuyoshi Okudaira and Yasuyuki Yasuda, took part in the Lod Airport operation. The operation was carried out in coordination with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and was presented by the organization as a response to Israeli actions, including the destruction of civilian aircraft at Beirut International Airport in 1968.
Okamoto was captured following the operation and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was released in 1985 as part of a prisoner exchange between Israel and the Palestinian resistance, beginning a new chapter of his life in Lebanon, where he remained committed to the Palestinian cause until his passing.
🌍 A Symbol of Revolutionary Internationalism
Kozo Okamoto was more than a fighter; he became a symbol of a generation that believed Palestine was not merely the cause of one people, but the cause of free people everywhere.
He chose to leave his country and abandon the comforts of ordinary life to join the Palestinian resistance, convinced that confronting occupation was a moral and human responsibility that transcended national borders.
With his death, one of the last living figures embodying the era in which global liberation movements converged with the Palestinian revolution has passed into history.
🕊️ A Legacy That Will Endure
Kozo Okamoto’s name will remain etched in the memory of many as one of the most recognizable symbols of international solidarity with Palestine—a man who devoted the years of his life to his convictions, moving from prison to exile before finally finding refuge in Lebanon, the country that sheltered him until his final breath.
The body has departed…
But the story lives on.
Glory to those who dedicated their lives to Palestine.
May Kozo Okamoto, the internationalist fighter, rest in peace.
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
❤3😢1💔1