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By John Lee.

A US Federal Court has has issued a temporary nationwide block on President Donald Trump's ban on travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Judge James L Robart (pictured) ruled that the ban was unconstitutional, and it has been lifted with immediate effect.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer described the ruling as "outrageous".

A video of the court proceedings can be viewed here.

(Sources: BBC News, Reuters, The Independent)

By John Lee.

The United States has amended its visa ban to allow emigration by the families of Iraqi interpreters who served the United States government and military forces deployed in their country

According to the New York Times the change, recommended by the Pentagon, eased some of the anger generated in Iraq by President Donald Trump’s executive order imposing the ban.

The Pentagon recommended the exemption for holders of Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) and others who had demonstrated their commitment to American military forces.

(Source: New York Times )

By John Lee.

US President Donald Trump has taken aim at Iranian influence in Iraq. He commented on Twitter:

"Iran is rapidly taking over more and more of Iraq even after the U.S. has squandered three trillion dollars there. Obvious long ago!"

He also said:

"Iran has been formally PUT ON NOTICE for firing a ballistic missile. Should have been thankful for the terrible deal the U.S. made with them!"

Neither the President nor his team have given any clarification of what he means by "put on notice".

(Source: Twitter)

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi has said that Baghdad would not take ‘reciprocal measures’ against the recent US banning order against Iraqi citizens, issued by President Donald Trump.

Answering a question, Abadi stated that he did not want to harm US citizens in the country by applying reciprocal measures, for the time being.

Abadi however said that at a time when the US should be thanking Iraqis for their sacrifices in fighting terror, they have instead insulted them.

He also stated that the Iraqi government was studying several options to respond to the US decision and is also making contact with a number of US officials in the hope that the ban would be reversed.

Abadi also pointed out that a number of large US companies have interests in Iraq and are investing billions of US dollars in oil and services sectors, which Abadi hoped would continue in accordance with the US-Iraqi strategic agreement.

(Source: GardaWorld)

By John Lee.

According to various media reports, Iraqi lawmakers have said that they might ban US nationals from entering the country in retaliation against Donald Trump's executive order to deny Iraqis entry to the United States.

The parliament’s foreign affairs committee called on the government to act after Trump controversially ordered that citizens from Iraq and six other predominantly Muslim countries be refused entry to the US for at least 90 days.

Time magazine suggests that an Iraqi ban could affect thousands of American aid workers, contractors and journalists currently working in Iraq, "as well as more than 5,000 U.S. military personnel there to aid Iraqi forces in their effort to oust ISIS from Mosul and the country."

According to Iran's Tasnim News Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) have called on the Iraqi government to ban US nationals from entering Iraq and to expel those who are already in the country.

Meanwhile, a British MP who was born Baghdad has said he feels “demeaned and discriminated against” by the US's border clampdown. Nadhim Zahawi, a director of Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP), which has operations in Iraqi Kurdistan, called for President Trump to "think again" about the "hugely discriminatory" policy.

(Sources: Time.com, Reuters, Tasnim News, Evening Standard)

By John Lee.

US President Donald Trump has issued an executive order that will deny refugees and immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia entry to the United States.

The action, which has immediated effect, places a 90-day block on entry to the US for citizens from those countries.

It also stops indefinitely all refugee admissions from Syria.

According to a report from The Guardian, it is unclear whether the measure would apply to citizens of those countries on trips abroad who already have permission to live and work in the United States.

(Sources: The Guardian, Reuters)

By John Lee.

ABC News cites sources as saying that US President Donald Trump could suspend some immigration from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, either temporarily or "indefinitely".

They also say that the move by Trump, who is expected to visit the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday, could also impact refugees from countries with Muslim populations.

(Source: ABC News)

By John Lee.

Iraqi oil minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi [Allibi] met with ExxonMobil senior executive Brad Corson, to discuss development of the Iraqi oil industry.

Mr. Allibi said that the ministry of oil is aiming to develop relations with Exxon Mobil to develop the oil and gas sector in Iraq.

Mr. Corson said that his company is aiming to open new horizons of work with the ministry of oil to develop the work and go forward to achieve the desired goals.

Exxon's CEO, Rex Tillerson, is to join the incoming Trump administration as Secretary of State.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

By Adnan Abu Zeed for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. 

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry announced Dec. 2 the formation of a high-level committee to start implementing the Strategic Framework Agreement (SFA).

This reflects Iraq’s readiness for the era of US President-elect Donald Trump and to invest in the change of the US administration to garner support for its war on terror and for the reconstruction process.

The agreement, which was signed by both the United States and Iraq in 2008, affirmed political, diplomatic, defense, security and cultural cooperation in the fields of the economy, energy, health, technology and judiciary. However, Ahmed Jamal, the spokesman for the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, told Al-Monitor, “What has been achieved is merely limited to some security areas and the war on terror.”

He said, “The non-implementation of the agreement items falls mostly on the Iraqi side, especially in terms of technological, cultural, security, health and trade cooperation. This is due to the fact that the Iraqi ministries lack the plans and programs to implement cooperation and coordination with the American side, which prompted Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari to work on the formation of a committee under his chairmanship in November 2016 — dubbed the SFA Implementation Committee. Said committee includes many ministries’ undersecretaries as members.”

Jamal added, “The committee held a meeting last month and will continue to do so in order to prepare drafts for the plans that are being discussed with the Americans, to be converted into formal agreements that will be implemented within specific time frames.”

He also noted, “The Iraqi Foreign Ministry will work on starting coordination with the US State Department,” stressing that “Iraq expects Trump’s administration to attach great importance to supporting Iraq in the war on terrorism — namely in terms of armament — and to provide Iraq with US experience in the reconstruction of war-affected areas.”

Iraqis paid close attention to the US presidential race, especially to the candidates' positions on their country. Many Iraqis welcomed Donald Trump's presidential victory, as well as his anti-terrorism and anti-chaos rhetoric on Iraq.

Once the announcement came that Trump had won, many Iraqi politicians and citizens expressed joy. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi congratulated the new US president for his victory, and said that he looks forward to further cooperation between the two countries in all fields, particularly on security issues and the fight against terrorist groups in Iraq.

Iraqi President Fuad Masum and parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri also sent Trump congratulatory messages. Jabouri anticipated a Trump presidency to "bring gains for the Middle East and Iraq, particularly in the fight against terrorism and elimination of the Islamic State [IS] organization, in a way that brings about security and stability to the region and the world."

The government-funded Iraqi Media Network welcomed the Trump victory in an article that mentioned previous speeches of Trump, in which he said that he would defeat IS and that nobody would be tougher on IS than him, and so on. The author perceived Trump's Middle East policy to be closer to Iraq, as well as a deterrent to religious extremism in the region and the tide of Saudi Wahhabism.

Muwaffaq al-Rubaie, a leader and parliamentarian for the National Alliance and former national security adviser under the presence of US troops in Iraq, said Nov. 9 that Donald Trump's victory "is a good sign for the Middle East in general, and Iraq in particular."

He argued, "Obama withdrew US troops from Iraq in late 2011 without guarantees, which caused the return of terrorism to Iraq. Thus, Trump's victory would be a good thing for Iraq." He said that, in general, "Republicans are better than Democrats for Iraq, because everything that has happened to Iraq occurred under the Democrats' era."