Sudani will be in parliament “to discuss the government’s policies and the measures taken to address the ongoing challenges and regional developments following the events of October 7, 2023,” a statement from his office said, adding that he will be present at his request.
Tensions in the Middle East have flared since October 2023 after Palestinian Hamas militants launched a large-scale incursion into southern Israel, killing more than 1,170 people, according to Israeli figures. The attack prompted a massive military response into Gaza from the Israeli army, killing over 43,000 people, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
The conflict soon spilled over into neighboring Lebanon, and exchanges of fire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group killed over 3,000 people since the conflict began, according to Lebanese health ministry figures. A US-brokered ceasefire is now in place in the country.
The Middle East last week again witnessed a flare-up in tensions amid a blistering offensive by jihadists and rebels in northern Syria which saw them seize swathes of territory from President Bashar al-Assad, including the northern city of Aleppo. They are currently marching southward toward Hama province.
“The session will also focus on the priorities and key aspects of the government program, review the progress made to date, and discuss the essential legislation necessary to fulfill the objectives of the development plans,” according to Sudani’s office.
Sudani was elected after the State Administration Coalition, an alliance of Shiite, Sunni, and Kurdish political parties in Iraq, successfully broke the political deadlock that suffocated the country and left it without a government for over a year.
He was the candidate of the Iran-backed Coordination Framework, and was selected to form his cabinet in October 2022 after a lengthy infighting between pro-Iran factions and prominent Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
