Iran17 May, 20263 min read
Israeli Forces Kill Iraqi Farmer Awad Al-Shammari After He Stumbles on Secret Base
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Iraqi farmer killed by Israeli forces after stumbling onto a secret base in western Iraq. The base was covert, located in Iraq’s western desert, reportedly used to support air strikes.
Press TV was read line by line by the Watchdog: 3.1. See the score →
Secret base in Iraq
A New York Times investigation cited by Press TV says an Iraqi farmer, Awad al-Shammari, was likely killed by Israeli forces after stumbling on a secret Israeli military base in Iraq’s western desert during the US-Israeli war on Iran. Press TV says al-Shammari was on his way on March 6, 2026, to buy grocery supplies when he informed local security forces that he had sighted suspicious activity in the Najaf-Karbala desert. The report says hours before Iraqi troops would arrive, al-Shammari and two soldiers engaged the Israeli forces, and his vehicle was targeted in a helicopter airstrike, killing him and wounding two soldiers.
Press TV adds that al-Shammari’s family searched for two days before learning of his fate, and his cousin Amir said, “When we got there, we found the car and body burned.” Press TV also says the NYT sources reported a second Israeli base in the same desert that predated the latest war on Iran and was used during the war against Iran in June 2025.
Pezeshkian warns of intent
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the United States and Israel are pursuing divisive politics and creating distrust among Muslim countries to pit them against one another, according to Press TV. In a message carried by Press TV, Pezeshkian said, “The primary objective of the United States and the Zionist regime in attacking Iran was to create internal instability and attempt to weaken and overthrow the Islamic system.” Press TV reports Pezeshkian condemned the US-Israeli military aggression against Iran and the martyrdom of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, “several high-ranking commanders, ministers, innocent students, and citizens,” calling it a “grave crime in violation of all human, legal, and international norms.”
In the same report, Pezeshkian said the US and Israel sought to infiltrate armed terrorist elements from Iran’s northwest and southeast borders, while praising Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq for not allowing their soil to be used for actions against Iran. Press TV also says Pezeshkian expressed appreciation for Pakistan’s role in mediating a ceasefire agreement between Tehran and Washington 40 days after the US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran.
Deadlock and demands
WION reports that Iranian media said on Sunday the US had failed to make any concrete concessions in its latest response to Iran’s proposal for negotiations to end the war. Fars news agency, as cited by WION, said Washington presented a five-point list that included a demand for Iran to keep only one nuclear site in operation and transfer its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to the United States. WION says the US also refused to release “even 25 per cent” of Iran’s frozen assets abroad or pay any reparations for the damage inflicted during the war, according to the Fars report.
WION adds that Iran’s proposal sought an end to the war on all fronts, including Israel’s campaign in Lebanon, as well as the lifting of the US naval blockade on Iranian ports, and demanded a complete rollback of economic restrictions and lifting all US sanctions along with the release of Iranian assets frozen abroad. In parallel, WION says Iran’s armed forces spokesman Abolfazl Shekarchi warned US President Donald Trump against restarting attacks on Iran and said any further external aggression would meet a catastrophic domestic response, adding, “his country’s resources and military will be confronted with unprecedented, offensive, surprising and tumultuous scenarios.”