2025-12-05T06:25:34+00:00
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Shafaq News
Seventeen days after
Iraq’s Official Gazette (Al-Waqae’e) published a decision placing Lebanon’s
Hezbollah and Yemen’s Ansarallah (the Houthis) on the national list for
freezing terrorist assets, the measure ignited a political storm on Thursday.
The backlash forced the government into an effective reversal, describing the
inclusion as a “technical error,” even though the decision had already taken
legal effect last month.
The episode unfolded
amid a tense regional climate shaped by ongoing conflict, shifting alliances,
and growing international pressure to curb the influence of Iran-aligned armed
groups.
For years, Iraqi
governments have attempted to maintain an official distance from both the Yemen
conflict and the confrontation between Israel and the Axis of Resistance, a
network of armed groups aligned with Iran and opposed to Israeli influence in
the region. At the same time, Shiite factions close to Iran expanded their
political, media, and logistical ties with Hezbollah and the Houthis.
After the Gaza war in
2023, the idea of “unity of fronts” gained momentum, with Iraqi factions,
Hezbollah, and the Houthis announcing drone and missile operations targeting
Israel and maritime routes, while others organized public fundraising campaigns
portraying themselves as part of a single regional front running from Baghdad
to Sanaa and Beirut. In this context, the sudden appearance of Hezbollah and
the Houthis on Iraq’s terrorism-related freezing list clashed with deeply
entrenched networks and narratives inside the country.
Reactions from Iraqi
factions reflected the scale of the shock. The political council chairman of
the US-sanctioned Harakat al-Nujaba, Ali al-Asadi, wrote on X that the Official
Gazette had now classified Hezbollah and the Houthis as terrorist
organizations, even though “their blood was shed on Iraqi soil to defend its
dignity and sacred places.” He called the decision “a betrayal” and said that
“such a government does not represent the proud Iraqi people.”
In contrast, figures
within the Reconstruction and Development Coalition (Al-Ima’ar wal Tanmiya) led
by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani insisted the matter was purely
administrative. Qusay Mahbuba, head of the Amarji Party and a senior member of
Al-Sudani’s Coalition, told Shafaq News that the process had no political
dimension, explaining that the Central Bank committee routinely handles lists
arriving from the United Nations, and it appeared to have transferred the list
“as is” without verifying it against Iraq’s official positions or reviewing the
entities involved.
Read more: Iraq can amend terror listings published in Official Gazette, legal experts say
“Iraq maintains its
own lists and does not adopt political stances against Hezbollah or the
Houthis. The committee treated the UN document as a settled fact when it was
not, and the mistake was discovered and corrected accordingly.”
Inside Iraq’s
political community, the decision raised suspicions about external pressure.
Researcher Sabah al-Ukaile said the publication created widespread surprise,
describing the move as unprecedented and contrary to Iraq’s long-standing
support for the Palestinian cause as well as public sentiment and religious
authorities.
Speaking to Shafaq
News, al-Ukaile considered classifying groups confronting Israeli occupation as
terrorists to be “shameful,” and suggested that the committee may have faced
pressure or had some form of prior coordination intended, in his view, to win
favor with the US administration and strengthen al-Sudani’s chances of securing
a second term.
From Beirut,
political analyst Amin Bashir said the development in Iraq cannot be separated
from a broader global effort to limit Iran and reduce the influence of its
armed proxies in Arab countries. “Since the 2023 Al-Aqsa Flood operation, it
has become clear that there is an international push to withdraw Iran-aligned
armed groups from regional battlefields and restrict weapons to states alone,”
he told our agency, pointing out that Iraq, like Lebanon, faces the issue of
weapons outside state control.
Bashir described the
publication of the decision as a way of testing public reaction, while the
subsequent retraction was understandable as a move to avoid internal
confrontation.
Yemeni writer and
analyst Hamid al-Bakhiti, who is close to the Houthis, downplayed the
implications of the decision, saying that the authorities in Sanaa did not view
it as a cause for tension with Baghdad. He explained that they respected that
the decision came from an Iraqi governmental committee and that it may have
been issued by mistake.
“The relationship
between Iraq and Yemen is historic and fraternal and would not be affected by
such measures,” al-Bakhiti told Shafaq News, adding that the Houthis viewed
Iraq with great appreciation and did not believe that a technical error of this
kind could influence ties between the two countries.
Iraqi law allows for
the correction of decisions published in the Official Gazette. Under Law No. 78
of 1977, the issuing authority is permitted to publish corrections or
clarifications when necessary. Article 8 of the Gazette Law stipulates that
typographical errors can be amended through an official statement, and if the
mistake originated within the Central Bank, the institution itself must issue a
corrective decision. However, the statement released by the Cabinet Secretariat
indicated that Hezbollah and the Houthis were listed without formal approval
for their inclusion, suggesting a procedural lapse that goes beyond a simple
publication error.
Neither Hezbollah nor
the Houthis issued any official comment on the Iraqi decision or on the
government’s subsequent reversal.
Although the
government described the episode as a technical error, it leaves lingering
questions about Iraq’s position in a volatile regional environment and about
the capacity of its institutions to prevent bureaucratic actions from triggering
political crises.
Read more: PM Al-Sudani’s 2nd-term bid raises fears of power consolidation
Written and edited by
Shafaq News staff.
