Biden hosts Iraqi leader after Iran's attack on Israel throws Middle East into greater uncertainty
Washington (AP): President Joe Biden is hosting Iraq's leader at the White House as fears grow for a major escalation in Mideast hostilities following Iran's weekend attack on Israel.
Biden was to meet Monday with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani for talks intended to focus primarily on US-Iraq relations, which had been scheduled well before the Iranian strikes.
But Saturday's drone and missile launches, including some that overflew Iraqi airspace, have underscored the delicate relationship between Washington and Baghdad, not least because of Iranian proxy groups that operate in Iraq.
The sharp increase in regional tensions over Israel's war in Gaza and the weekend developments has raised further questions about the viability of the two-decade American military presence in Iraq. However, a US Patriot battery in Irbil, Iraq, did knock down at least one Iranian ballistic missile, according to American officials.
Meeting with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Muhammad Ali Tamim before Biden's session with al-Sudani, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US was urging all parties to avoid escalation.
“In the 36 hours since, we have been coordinating a diplomatic response to seek to prevent escalation,” he said. “Strength and wisdom need to be different sides of the same coin.”
Tamim said the Iraqi government was equally concerned.
“The Middle East today is living in exceptional circumstances that have repercussions on our nations, and we hope escalations and tensions in the area will end," he said.
"The government in Iraq is warning about escalation and the area being dragged into wider war that will threaten international security and safety. And therefore, we call on all parties for self-restraint and to respect the rules of diplomacy and international laws,” Tamim said.
Complicating matters, Iranian proxies have initiated attacks against US interests throughout the region from inside Iraq. Those ongoing strikes have made US-Iraq discussions about regional stability and future US troop deployments all the more critical.
Monday's talks will also focus on economic, trade and energy issues that have become a major priority for Iraq's government, according to US officials.
The US and Iraq began formal talks in January about ending the coalition created to help the Iraqi government fight the Islamic State, with some 2,000 US troops remaining in the country under an agreement with Baghdad. Iraqi officials have periodically called for a withdrawal of those forces.
The two countries have a delicate relationship due in part to Iran's considerable sway in Iraq, where a coalition of Iran-backed groups brought al-Sudani to power in October 2022.
The US in recent months has urged Iraq to do more to prevent attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria that have further roiled the Middle East in the aftermath of Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel. Iran's weekend attacks on Israel through Iraqi airspace have further underscored US concerns, although al-Sudani had already left Baghdad and was en route to Washington when the drones and missiles were launched.
The US has also sought to apply financial pressure over Baghdad's relationship with Tehran, restricting Iraq's access to its own dollars in an effort to stamp out money laundering said to benefit Iran and Syria.
Most previous Iraqi prime ministers have visited Washington earlier in their tenure. Al-Sudani's visit was delayed because of tensions between the US and Iran and regional escalation, including the Gaza war and the killing of three US soldiers in Jordan in a drone attack in late January. That was followed by a US strike that killed a leader in the Kataib Hezbollah militia whom Washington accused of planning and participating in attacks on US troops.
Al-Sudani has attempted to maintain a balancing act between Iran and America despite being seen as being close to Tehran and despite several incidents that have put his government in an embarrassing position in relation to Washington.
Early in his term, a US citizen, Stephen Edward Troell, was shot and killed by armed men who accosted him as he pulled up to the street where he lived in Baghdad's central Karrada district with his family. An Iraqi criminal court convicted five men last August and sentenced them to life in prison in the case, which officials described as a kidnapping gone wrong.
A few months later, Elizabeth Tsurkov, an Israeli-Russian doctoral student at Princeton, was kidnapped while doing research in Iraq. She is believed to be held by Kataib Hezbollah. The senior US official said Tsurkov's case would also be raised during al-Sudani's visit.
Al-Sudani started his term with promises to focus on economic development and fight corruption, but his government has faced economic difficulties, including a discrepancy in the official and market exchange rates between the Iraqi dinar and the US dollar.
The currency issues resulted in part from a US tightening of the dollar supply to Iraq, as part of a crackdown on money laundering and smuggling of funds to Iran. The US has disallowed more than 20 Iraqi banks from dealing in dollars as part of the campaign.
The al-Sudani government recently renewed Iraq's contract to purchase natural gas from Iran for another five years, which could lead to American displeasure.
The Iraqi prime minister will return to Iraq and meet with the Turkish president following his trip to Washington, which could finally lead to a solution to a long-running dispute over exports of oil from Kurdish areas of Iraq to Turkey. Washington has sought to get the flow of oil to resume.
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Pizza Hut China debuts unusual bullfrog pizza, sparking mixed reactions online
Beijing : Pizza Hut China has taken a bold step into culinary experimentation by introducing a limited-edition pizza topped with deep-fried bullfrog, a move that has garnered both curiosity and criticism online. The unconventional dish was first highlighted by global food trend expert David Henke, who shared a photo of the new menu item on X (formerly Twitter), noting the diverse protein preferences in different cultures.
The pizza, known as "Goblin Pizza," features a thick crust, red sauce, a layer of parsley, and a whole deep-fried bullfrog as the centerpiece. The frog's "eyes" are created with halved hard-boiled eggs, each topped with a black olive, making for a visually striking presentation. According to Korean news outlet Maeil Business Newspaper, the unusual offering is a collaboration with Dungeons and Dragons, inspired by a character from the game.
Details about the availability of this new creation are limited, with no specific information provided on Pizza Hut’s official website. However, the quirky menu item has already become a talking point on social media, drawing a mix of reactions ranging from shock to curiosity.
On Reddit, a photo of the pizza was shared, fueling further debate. Some users labeled the dish as “pure blasphemy,” while one user went so far as to say, “This pizza is a felony.” Another asked, “Why ruin a pizza like that?”
Not all feedback was negative; one commenter admitted that while the frog might be off-putting, they'd be more accepting if the pizza underneath was satisfactory. Another joked, "You can ribbet this right into the garbage."
Amidst the critique, there were voices of intrigue. One foodie defended the dish, saying, “Fried frog legs are so good! Maybe next time, shred the frog leg meat and add it to the pizza—that would be pretty good.”
