A draft UN report reviewed by Reuters found that Boeing 727 aircraft linked to a former U.S. military contractor's business network transported weapons, drones, mercenaries, and fighters to Darfur for the UAE-backed RSF militia.

Riyadh announced it had launched strikes on targets within Iraqi territory in retaliation for drone attacks on its oil facilities, claiming the drones were launched from Iraq and carried out by Iranian-backed militias.

The Jurf al-Naddaf incident exposed the Iraqi government’s struggle to bring Iran-backed militias under state control despite reported Iranian support for disarmament, raising concerns over state authority and possible foreign intervention.

A petition by a group of prominent Jordanian political figures calling for the removal of foreign troops from Jordan continues to fuel fierce debate.

Just days after Iraqi PM Ali al-Zaidi returned from a 5-day official visit to the U.S. where he met Trump and signed dozens of economic agreements, Ali Akbar Velayati, the Iranian supreme leader's senior adviser on international affairs, denounced the trip as "a badge of shame."