Author: Steven Sahiounie

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator As Iraq approaches its parliamentary elections scheduled for November 2025, the nation stands at a critical juncture. The upcoming vote, the sixth since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, is poised to shape Iraq’s political landscape amid ongoing challenges of sectarian tensions, economic recovery, and regional influences. With preparations intensifying, including exceptional parliamentary sessions to finalize electoral laws, the 2025 elections are already generating significant attention both domestically and internationally. Iraq’s political system, established under the 2005 Constitution, operates as a parliamentary democracy with a multi-party system. However, the country has faced…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Tomorrow, Lebanese voters will go to the polls in the first municipal elections in nine years. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam reported on Thursday that three people were killed in Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon on Wednesday. Despite daily Israeli airstrikes, which have killed at least 71 civilians since the ceasefire, the electoral process is on schedule for South Lebanon and Nabatiyeh governorates, according to Minister of Interior Ahmad al-Hajjar. Yesterday, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri called on voters to turn out on Saturday. Local authorities have been stepping up logistical and security arrangements on the…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator NBC news reported on a plan devised by U.S. President Donald Trump to relocate about 1 million Gazans to Libya, according to five people close to the plan. Denials of the plan were issued from various US and Libyan sources, but that doesn’t mean the plan was not real, or might not go ahead. Leaks from Washington, DC. is often a calculated method of determining a plan’s feasibility. Trump is looking at the situation in Gaza, from the perspective of the people living through a hell on earth experience delivered to them daily by…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator US President Donald Trump will hold separate phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today. Trump is seeking a ceasefire deal to end the bloodshed for both parties in Ukraine. Ukraine has reported that Russia launched its largest drone barrage since the start of its full-scale invasion in February 2022, firing a total of 273 exploding drones and decoys. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has discussed the war in Ukraine with leaders of the U.S., Italy, France and Germany in advance of Trump’s call with Putin. While Trump has insisted on…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator U.S. President Donald Trump told a packed house at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum, that he would lift all the sanctions against Syria, fulfilling a request from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). Trump’s decision marks the biggest chance for Syrian prosperity since the beginning of the conflict which began in March 2011 in Deraa. After a lavish welcome to the Kingdom, Trump praised the transformation in Saudi Arabia, and credited it on MBS, and his major reform program known as Vision 2030. “In Syria, they’ve had their share of travesty, war, killing many…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator The PKK announced on May 12 that they have ended their armed-struggle and have disbanded. Kurdish issues “can be resolved through democratic politics,” according to the announcement. In February, Abdullah Ocalan, leader of the PKK, wrote a letter from Imrali prison in Turkey, where he has been jailed since 1999. He called on the PKK to lay down its arms, saying “there is no alternative to democracy in the pursuit and realization of a political system. Democratic consensus is the fundamental way.” The PKK is a banned terrorist group in Turkey, the EU, UK…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator On May 7, the Indian armed forces launched a strategic attack on nine targets linked to the UN designated terrorist groups Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba, located in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir. Vikran Misri, India’s Foreign Secretary, said the decision was made to carry out the “proportionate” strikes to bring the terrorists responsible for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack to justice as Pakistan had failed to act against terrorist infrastructures under its control. By midnight, the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi landed in New Delhi amid the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, and will…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Twenty-two years have passed since the American invasion of Iraq, which destroyed the country, and Iraq has never recovered. The U.S. spent more than $1 trillion and lost about 4,500 troops in the effort to change the regime, which allowed American companies to loot the energy resources in Iraq. According to former Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Bin Faisal, America gifted Iraq to Iran on a golden platter. Iranian and American meddling is still the source of instability in Iraq today. Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein confirmed that the Arab Summit…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has occupied more territory in Syria, under a pretext of defending the Druze, a minority in Syria. The UN’s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen called for an immediate end to Israeli airstrikes. “I strongly condemn Israel’s continued and escalating violations of Syria’s sovereignty, including multiple air strikes in Damascus and other cities,” Pedersen wrote in a post on X. “I call for these attacks to cease at once and for Israel to stop endangering Syrian civilians and to respect international law and Syria’s sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity and independence,”…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentato On April 26, Hamas signaled readiness to negotiate a comprehensive deal to end the 18-month Gaza conflict, including the release of all Israeli hostages and a five-year ceasefire, according to a senior Palestinian official. The offer comes as Israeli airstrikes killed at least 35 Palestinians in renewed bombardments, exacerbating a humanitarian catastrophe described by the UN as “suffocating” Gaza’s 2.3 million residents. A Hamas delegation engaged Egyptian mediators in Cairo this week to discuss terms for halting the war, which erupted after the group’s October 7, 2023, deadly assault on Israel. The proposal, conveyed…