The Iraqi government has granted Nato permission to stay in the country and continue its training mission, said the alliance’s Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg.
Mr Stoltenberg confirmed the organisation’s continued roll in Iraq as member nations’ defence ministers met in Brussels.
“The government of Iraq has confirmed to us their desire for a continuation of the Nato training, advising and capacity-building activities for the Iraqi armed forces,” he said.
“We will only stay in Iraq as long as we are welcome."
The permission is a reversal by the Iraqi government, which had demanded all foreign troops be removed from its territory after the killing of Iranian general Qassem Suleimani near Baghdad in January.
The stage has been set for Nato to agree to expand its advisory and training role in Iraq, which was urged by the US.
Under the initiative, those training Iraqi troops as part of the global coalition against ISIS will effectively come under the Nato banner.
The alliance has not provided details about how many of its troops might be added to the advisory mission.
But Mr Stoltenberg is expected to make further announcements after the Nato ministerial meeting on Friday if the mission is approved.
Officials have said that “a couple of hundred” troops would change roles.
The first step would be to expand the training to three more bases in central Iraq.
A second step, possibly over summer, would hand to the mission more activities that are being handled by the coalition.
After the Suleimani killing and the increased tension it caused with Tehran, US demands over Nato engagement in the Middle East became more urgent, even if ill-defined.
As Iranian retaliation was expected, US President Donald Trump called on Nato to do more in the region.
Before the ministerial summit, Kay Bailey Hutchison, the US ambassador to Nato, said the change would please the White House.
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
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116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
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Specs
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The years Ramadan fell in May
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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TOURNAMENT INFO
Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri
Results:
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 (PA) | Group 1 US$75,000 (Dirt) | 2,200 metres
Winner: Goshawke, Fernando Jara (jockey), Ali Rashid Al Raihe (trainer)
7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas (TB) | Listed $250,000 (D) | 1,600m
Winner: Silva, Oisin Murphy, Pia Brendt
7.40pm: Meydan Classic Trial (TB) | Conditions $100,000 (Turf) | 1,400m
Winner: Golden Jaguar, Connor Beasley, Ahmad bin Harmash
8.15pm: Al Shindagha Sprint (TB) | Group 3 $200,000 (D) | 1,200m
Winner: Drafted, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (D) | 1,600m
Winner: Capezzano, Mickael Barzalona, Sandeep Jadhav
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (T) | 2,000m
Winner: Oasis Charm, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
10pm: Handicap (TB) | $135,000 (T) | 1,600m
Winner: Escalator, Christopher Hayes, Charlie Fellowes
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Stage 2
1. Mathieu van der Poel (NED) Alpecin-Fenix 4:18:30
2. Tadej Pogacar (SLV) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:06
3. Primoz Roglic (SLV) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:06
4. Wilco Kelderman (NED) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:06
5. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:08
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
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