Iraq will remove Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis from an asset-freeze list, officials said on Thursday, after the Iran-aligned groups were mistakenly included in an earlier government publication, prompting confusion and criticism.
The Justice Ministry’s official gazette last month published a list of groups and entities whose funds would be blocked, naming both militant groups, a move that would likely have been welcomed in Washington and increased pressure on Tehran.
A letter from the acting deputy governor of the Central Bank asked the Committee for the Freezing of Terrorists’ Funds to delete the clause containing the names, two bank sources said.
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Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said Iraq had approved freezing only the assets of entities and individuals linked to Islamic State and al-Qaeda jihadists, in response to a request from Malaysia.
‘Hold accountable those responsible’
He said he had ordered an urgent investigation into the mistake “to hold accountable those responsible”.
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Sudani added that Iraq’s political and humanitarian positions on “the aggression on our people in Lebanon or in Palestine” were “principled and not subject to exaggeration”.