None.

Trump calls Iranian Kurdish leaders based in Iraq: Report

The Axios news outlet is reporting that the US president has spoken with the leaders of the two primary Kurdish factions in Iraq, Masoud Barazani and Bafel Talabani, a day after the joint US-Israel attacks on Iran.

The outlet noted that the factions have thousands of soldiers along the Iran-Iraq border and control strategic areas that could be significant as the war develops.

It said Iraq’s Kurds also have close ties to Iran’s Kurdish minority.

An unnamed source told Axios that the “calls were the culmination of months of behind-the-scenes lobbying by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu”.

Israel has had close security, military and intelligence ties with the Kurds in Syria, Iraq and Iran for decades.

“It is the general view, and certainly Netanyahu’s view, that the Kurds are going to come out of the woodwork… that they’re going to rise up,” one official was quoted as saying.

Iraqi group claims attack on Erbil hotel housing US troops

There is an attack reported in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdish region near the border with Iran.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has claimed responsibility for carrying out a drone attack on a hotel that it said housed US troops in Erbil.

A video clip posted on Telegram by the Iraqi Naya news agency showed a building on fire in Erbil. The post claimed that drones were launched by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq towards “occupation bases”.

Drone shot down near Erbil airport

The Rudaw news outlet says a drone has been shot down near Erbil international airport in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq.

Footage posted by the outlet showed a small fire as smoke rose near the airport.

There was no immediate comment from Iraqi authorities.

US Embassy in Iraq orders government employees to leave country

The diplomatic mission has updated its travel advisory in Iraq, ordering nonemergency US government employees to leave the country “due to security reasons”.

It also said US government personnel in Baghdad were prohibited from using the city’s international airport over security risks.

State Department official Mora Namdar said on X earlier that US citizens should “DEPART NOW” from more than a dozen countries using available commercial transportation “due to serious safety risks”.

These are Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the occupied West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claims strikes in northern Iraq

Iran’s IRGC says it has destroyed what it describes as hostile targets in northern Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region.

In a statement, the IRGC said the sites belonged to groups it accused of planning to infiltrate Iran and carry out operations inside the country.

There was no immediate response from authorities in the Iraqi region regarding the reported strikes.

Iraqi oil exports at risk as storage pushed towards limits amid Strait of Hormuz bottlenecks

Iraq will ⁠be ⁠forced to cut its oil production by more than ⁠3 million barrels per day (bpd) in ⁠a few days if oil tankers cannot move freely through the Strait of Hormuz and ‌reach its loading ports, a news report says.

As of today, Iraq has decreased production from ⁠the Rumaila oilfield ⁠by 700,000 bpd and cut 460,000 bpd from the West ⁠Qurna 2 field, two unnamed Iraqi oil officials told the Reuters news agency.

Export disruptions from ⁠the Strait of Hormuz slowdown have pushed storage towards capacity limits in ‌Iraq’s southern ports, they said.

• The Rumaila oilfield is located in southern Iraq, about 50km southwest of the city of Basra.
• It was discovered in 1953 by the Basra Petroleum Company, a subsidiary of the Iraq Petroleum Company.
• The field is estimated to contain 17 billion barrels, representing 12 percent of Iraq’s total oil reserves, estimated at about 143 billion barrels.
• BP operates the Rumaila field, one of the world’s largest, in partnership with Iraq and PetroChina.
• The project was pumping more than 1.4 million barrels per day in 2024 and was at 1.2 million bpd at the beginning of last year, according to company data.
• West Qurna 2 production was just under 500,000 barrels per day.

US Embassy in Iraq says citizens should depart as soon as possible

The US Embassy in the Iraqi capital says Americans should leave the country immediately and urges against travel to Iraq “for any reason”.

“US citizens are advised against traveling to Iraq for any reason. US citizens currently in Iraq are strongly encouraged to depart as soon as possible when it is safe to do so, and to shelter in place until safe departure conditions are available,” the embassy said in a social media post.

“Iraqi officials may close and reopen the airspace at any time on short notice. Please contact your airline for the most up-to-date information on flights.”

Pro-Iran protesters previously attempted to enter the US embassy in Baghdad, and Iran-aligned militias have claimed responsibility for attacks on US facilities in the country.

Drone downed near Baghdad airport as Iraq attacked by Iran

A drone has been shot down near Baghdad airport, with no damage or injuries reported, according to the Iraqi News Agency.

Meanwhile, Associated Press journalists reported explosions and smoke rising, but no casualties, after a new wave of drone and missile attacks was intercepted over Erbil, the capital of northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

Multiple drones targeted areas around the US consulate building on Tuesday, but did not hit it directly.

Debris from the intercepted drones caused fires and property damage.