As uncertainty sweeps through the Middle East, Iraq’s prime minister has been focused on development, travelling to London to negotiate a series of deals on the economy and security.

Yet it is the prospect of stability offered by a ceasefire in Gaza that represents a more valuable prize and it was on this subject that Mohammed Shia’ al Sudani seemed particularly frustrated when he met Sky News at a central London hotel.

He said: “The decision to stop the war is not just up to the Israelis, there are other factors that play a part, like the international community.

“Iraq has been seeking international partners to stop this destructive war, which [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has been trying to lengthen for various reasons, including internal political reasons that interest him. One of which is to embroil the region in all-out war to give him more time in office.”

Iraqi PM’s patience ‘running thin’

Disagreements and misunderstandings continue to bedevil the ceasefire deal and the imprecise wording contained within the agreement suggests that a respite from fighting could be short-lived. It was clear that Mr Sudani’s patience was running thin.

He said: “It’s more than 16 months now, that’s enough, it’s time for the international community to take action. It’s failed to carry its responsibilities in regards to the grave violations of the rules of war in Gaza.

“Everyone realises that this war, this genocidal war, must stop and that efforts should be made, regionally and internationally, to reconstruct Gaza.”

Sir Keir Starmer does not use words like genocide to describe Israel’s activities in Gaza – but that is a symptom of the West’s failure, said Mr Sudani, to enforce the values they claim to advance.

Frustration over West’s ‘failures’

He said: “It is not only me but everyone is frustrated with the international community, the failure to recognise the rules of war, international law, humanitarian law, principles of human rights, ideals which everybody says they are fighting for but they’re not. All of these things are thrown against the wall.”

Mr Sudani told Sky News that he shared his exasperation with Sir Keir when the two men met this week, yet it seems he has not had the opportunity to do the same with US president-elect Donald Trump.

The Iraqi PM said: “There was a phone call to congratulate him because he won the presidential election. It was a positive call, we both expressed our desire to cooperate.”

Read more from Sky News:
Gaza faces huge task of rebuilding
Families of hostages wait for news
Starmer makes surprise visit to Kyiv

Many believe Mr Trump’s re-arrival on the international scene will foster greater instability in the Middle East with his affinity for right-wing Israeli objectives. Furthermore, Mr Trump ordered the killing of key Iranian military leader, Qassem Soleimani, in the Iraqi capital Baghdad during his first term.

Careful not to judge Trump

Yet Mr Sudani was careful not to venture an opinion on Mr Trump.

“This is the choice of the American people, we have to respect their choice, our relations with the US are based on institutions, they’re governed by questions of strategy,” he said.

The Iraqi prime minister performs a political high-wire act, as he tries to maintain relations with Western leaders as well as Tehran, which provides funding and training to a number of militia groups which form part of Iraq’s security forces.

Munitions were routinely fired at Israel by some of these groups as the war in Gaza escalated.

“We’re not embarrassed in any way, we carry out our duties to enforce the law, to maintain security and stability in Iraq and reject all means of violence. We won’t allow any side to dictate the decision between peace and war,” he said.

Mr Sudani says he is in control.

“Yes, yes, certainly.”

The Joint Office of Energy and Transportation’s Communities Taking Charge Accelerator has awarded $43.7 million to 25 innovative EV charging projects across the US.

The Communities Taking Charge Accelerator was launched on April 16, 2024, and the funding comes from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The three main goals of the funding are to expand access to electrified mobility options for folks who don’t have access to home charging, accelerate opportunities for fleet electrification, and improve and advance managed charging systems to mitigate impacts and optimize usage of the grid.

On January 15, 25 project awardees were announced that impact 23 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Challenges that the projects will address include:

Solving for no-home charging. Not everyone has a driveway or garage to charge their EVs, e-bikes, or scooters. Projects are testing creative solutions like curbside chargers, multifamily charging setups, and shared community micromobility hubs. They also look at everything from rate design to building multimodal charging hubs, making it easier for people in apartments or urban areas to power up.

In this project, for example, Voltpost will install lamppost EV chargers in San Francisco using existing infrastructure.

Electrifying fleets for people and goods. Think of shared rides, carpool services, and last-mile delivery trucks. Electrifying these types of light- and medium-duty fleets could have a huge impact on reducing emissions. These projects aim to figure out how to charge fleets more efficiently, whether they’re transporting people or goods. It’s all about improving community access to clean transportation options while keeping operations smooth for fleet operators.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s project allows Metro Bike Share to increase access to electric bikes by implementing electrified stations with in-dock charging. 

Managed charging for clean reliable energy. Managed charging is about coordinating when and how EVs charge to avoid grid strain and use renewable energy whenever possible. Projects in this area are working on open-source tools and standards to make managed charging tech accessible and easy to integrate into today’s energy systems.

The University of Alabama is running a project to develop and implement an end-to-end multi-stakeholder EV charging management framework to enhance grid reliability.

Gabe Klein, executive director of the Joint Office, said, “This investment aims to expand transportation and energy infrastructure to meet the current and anticipated demands – from how people charge and use shared vehicle fleets including e-bikes around transit hubs to a new model for more affordable multifamily housing charging – advancing a more holistic energy and transportation ecosystem.”

Electrek’s Take

The Biden administration has been rapidly doling out funds to clean energy and EV projects, and it’s great to see the Communities Taking Charge Accelerator funds reach its recipients at the 11th hour. There are some great projects, which you can check out here.

Read more: Rivian powers Michigan’s first federally funded NEVI EV fast charger

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