Overview
- The international coalition will end its mission on 30 September, shifting full security responsibility to Iraqi forces and ending the coalition's formal anti‑ISIS role.
- Iraqi Kurdistan announced unification of all Peshmerga under the Ministry of Peshmerga, a step Baghdad praised as a way to tighten coordination with the national army.
- Explosions heard near Erbil airport on Sunday were later confirmed as military training and were not judged to pose a security threat by local counterterror units.
- Washington restricted visas and movement for parts of Iran's UN delegation before the General Assembly while U.S. officials and analysts report raised military readiness between the United States and Iran.
- Diplomatic moves this week include Abdullah Hamdok's U.S. tour to push a united civilian-led Sudan peace effort and calls from Gulf officials to put Gulf states at the center of talks with Iran, all against a backdrop of energy market concern after recent strikes on Russian fuel infrastructure.