Key Takeaways:

• Iraq Says It Bagan Disarming Iranian Opposition Groups; Austria To Reopen Its Iraq Embassy; Barzani In Baghdad To Demand Budget Funds – On September 12, Iraq’s Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said from Tehran that Iraq has disarmed Iranian Kurdish opposition groups that have bases near the Iranian border as part of a security agreement signed in March. Hussein said that Iraq has also built camps to relocate the disarmed groups away from the border, adding that these Iranian Kurdish “refugees” would be under the protection of the UNHCR. Hussein described Baghdad’s progress in meeting its commitments under the March agreement as “approaching the final objective set for the plan in place.” At least one Iranian Kurdish opposition group, the Kurdistan Toilers, confirmed that it pulled its fighters away from the border. The group, however, did not say whether it had also surrendered its weapons. Last month, Iranian officials said Iraq had until September 19 to disarm “armed terrorist groups” that have presence in Iraq’s Kurdistan region and relocate their members elsewhere. On September 12, the foreign minister of Austria, Alexander Schallenberg, visited Iraq for meetings with Iraqi leaders, including PM Sudani, President Rashid, and KRG PM Masrour Barzani. During his visit, Schallenberg announced that Vienna plans to reopen its embassy in Baghdad and a consulate in Erbil. On September 14, KRG PM Masrour Barzani and his deputy visited Baghdad and met with PM Sudani in an attempt to resolve the dispute over the KRG’s share of the budget. Barzani said he insisted during the meeting that Baghdad should quickly disburse the funds so that the KRG can pay its civil servants’ salaries and stressed that the issue must not be subjected to political power struggles. The KRG argues that Baghdad has sent the region less than a quarter of the IQD11 trillion it was due to receive in the first eight months of the year. Barzani has reportedly also sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking for more pressure on Baghdad to break the deadlock and warning that this “campaign against us” could destroy “the very model of a Federal Iraq that the United States sponsored in 2003.” In other developments, on September 12, security forces arrested Ammar Sarhan, a prominent local activist in Basra who is running for office in Iraq’s upcoming provincial elections. The activist’s colleagues believe he was arrested because of year-old posts on social media in which he criticized the government and ruling parties. Authorities made the arrest under article 226 of the penal code, which is a Saddam-era law that criminalizes acts deemed “insulting to authorities.” more…
• KRG Says PKK Was Behind Recent Erbil Bomb; Officers Face Prison For Failing To Stop Rioters From Torching Sweden’s Embassy – On September 11, the Kurdistan region’s security council said that a September 1 bomb attack that struck Erbil had been planned by members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). According to the council, the 1 kilogram (2.2lbs) explosive device was planted by a PKK member who resides in the Chemchemal district of Sulaymaniyah. On September 12, Iraqi authorities sentenced 18 security officers to time in prison for their “failure to carry out their duties” to prevent rioters from attacking the Swedish embassy building in Baghdad and setting it on fire. The July 22 incident took place as hundreds of Muqtada al-Sadr’s followers protested the desecration of the Quran by an Iraqi refugee residing in Sweden. The officers received sentences ranging from 18 to 36 months. Muqtada al-Sadr, who supported the riots, condemned the government’s actions against the officers as similar to those of the Abbasids, in reference to the medieval dynasty’s oppression of Shia Muslims. In other developments, on September 11, two children were killed and a third was seriously injured when an explosive remnant of war detonated near them in the South Rumaila region of the province, near the Kuwaiti border. more…
• More Iraqi Banks Could Face U.S. Sanctions Over Lingering Money Laundering Risks – On September 14, U.S. officials warned that more Iraqi commercial banks could face sanctions and other restrictions unless the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) took further action to combat fraud, money laundering, and financial transactions that violate U.S. sanctions against Iran. The warning comes as the Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes at the Treasury Department held talks in Baghdad with PM Sudani and the CBI Governor that focused on Iraq’s efforts to crack down on money laundering and corruption in the financial sector. In July, the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve Bank of New York imposed sanctions on 14 Iraq banks over money laundering concerns involving the banks’ transactions with Iran. Speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, a Treasury official said that more Iraqi banks were still creating similar risks “that must be remediated.” In other developments, on September 11, PM Sudani said that maps of a major transportation corridor from India to Europe through the Middle East that was announced during a G20 summit last week showed that Iraq was not part of the corridor’s path. Sudani said that delays in building the country’s Faw port on the Persian Gulf was the main reason Iraq was bypassed by the designers of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (or IMEC). On September 13, the Iraqi Airways company said that it will commence regular commercial flights between Baghdad and the Chinese city of Guangzhou starting October 10. more…

For more background on most of the institutions, key actors, political parties, and locations mentioned in our takeaways or in the stories that follow, see the ISHM Reference Guide.

Iraq Says It Bagan Disarming Iranian Opposition Groups; Austria To Reopen Its Iraq Embassy; Barzani In Baghdad To Demand Budget Funds

On September 12, the foreign minister of Austria, Alexander Schallenberg, visited Baghdad for meetings with Iraqi leaders, including Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani, President Abdul-Latif Rashid, and his counterpart, Fuad Hussein. The talks with Sudani, during which Schallenberg was accompanied by representatives of Austrian companies, focused on economic cooperation in information technology, infrastructure, and health and education.  During his visit, Schallenberg announced that Vienna plans to reopen its embassy in Baghdad. Speaking at a joint press conference with Hussein, the Austrian minister also said that Iraq and Austria would sign a memorandum of understanding for cooperation on internal security and police training. During his meeting with Rashid, Schallenberg said his country was ready for cooperation in the field of water management and offered to share Austria’s experience with managing water crises along the Danube River. Schallenberg also visited Erbil and met with the prime minister of the Kurdistan regional government (KRG) and his deputy and discussed opening an Austrian consulate in the city.

On September 12, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said from Tehran that Iraq has disarmed Iranian Kurdish opposition groups that have bases on the border between Iran and Iraq’s Kurdistan region, as part of a border security agreement signed in March. Speaking alongside Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Iraqi minister said that Iraq has also built camps to relocate the disarmed groups away from the border, adding that these Iranian Kurdish “refugees” would be under the protection of the UNHCR. The Iraqi top diplomat described his government’s progress in meeting the commitments it had made to Iran as “approaching the final objective set for the plan in place.” Hussein called for resolving remaining problems through dialogue and cautioned that it was “not reasonable to threaten Iraq’s sovereignty and Iraqi Kurdistan with bombardment or a military campaign” when relations between the two countries “are excellent.” As of September 14, at least one Iranian Kurdish opposition group, the Kurdistan Toilers, confirmed that it had pulled its fighters away from the Iranian border, adding that the process was done in coordination with authorities in Erbil. The group, however, did not say whether it had also surrendered its weapons. Last month, Iranian officials said that the security agreement signed in March gave Iraq until September 19 to disarm “armed terrorist groups” that have presence in Iraq’s Kurdistan region and relocate their members elsewhere. This week saw a number of meetings about the status of the security agreement that involved several top Iraqi and Iranian officials. These included talks between Iraq’s national security adviser and the KRG interior minister, a meeting between the Iranian ambassador and the president of the KRG, and an event in which the Iraqi prime minister spoke to a group of Iranian journalists about his government’s “commitment to addressing Iran’s security concerns.” 

On September 12, local sources in Basra said that security forces raided the residence of a local activist who is running for office in Iraq’s upcoming provincial elections and arrested him. The arrested individual, Ammar Sarhan, is a prominent local activist and strong proponent of greater autonomy for the oil-producing Basra by giving it the status of a federal region. Sarhan’s colleagues in the Tajammo’ al-Fayha al-Fidrali party believe he was arrested because of year-old posts on social media in which he criticized government institutions and ruling parties. Authorities made the arrest based on article 226 of the penal code, which is a Saddam-era law that criminalizes acts considered to be “insulting to authorities.”

On September 14, KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and his deputy, Qubad Talabani visited Baghdad and met with Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani to discuss the dispute between the federal government and the KRG over the latter’s share of the Iraqi budget. Barzani said he insisted during the meeting that Baghdad should quickly disburse the funds allocated to the KRG according to the budget law so that it can pay its civil servants salaries. Barzani also stressed that the region’s share of the budget must not be subjected to political power struggles, a statement by his office said. The KRG complains that Baghdad has not met its financial obligations towards the region under the 2023 budget law. Specifically, the KRG argues that Baghdad has sent the region about IQD2.6 trillion since January while the region’s entitlement for the first eight months of the year stands at about IQD11 trillion. Last week, Iraq’s Finance Ministry said that the government issued instructions to the state-owned Rafidain and Rasheed banks to sign a loan agreement with the KRG Finance Ministry for the purpose of paying the salaries of civil servants in the Kurdistan region. The loan would be repaid from the funds allocated to the KRG under the federal budget “after they comply with the provisions of the budget law.” The KRG said the loans, set at IQD500 billion a month, were much smaller than the IQD1.375 trillion the region is entitled to under the budget, and insufficient to cover the public sector’s monthly payroll of IQD906 billion. The KRG also argued that it had met its obligations under the budget law, which requires it to hand over oil production and non-oil revenue to federal authorities. According to a report by al-Monitor, Barzani has recently written a letter to the U.S. President Joe Biden in which he asked for more pressure on Baghdad to break the deadlock. The letter reportedly warned that Baghdad and Erbil were “at another critical juncture in our history, one that I fear we may have difficulty overcoming. …[W]e are bleeding economically and hemorrhaging politically. For the first time in my tenure as prime minister, I hold grave concerns that this dishonorable campaign against us may cause the collapse of … the very model of a Federal Iraq that the United States sponsored in 2003 and purported to stand by since.”

Sources cited in this section include: INA, Iraqi PM’s office, Kurdistan24, al-Sumaria, ISHM archive, Rudaw, al-Monitor, Shafaq, al-Mada, the KRG. 

KRG Says PKK Was Behind Recent Erbil Bomb; Officers Face Prison For Failing To Stop Rioters From Torching Sweden’s Embassy

On September 7, security sources in Diyala province said that ISIS militants attacked an Iraqi army outpost in al-Khaylaniyah area of the Muqdadiyah province. The attack wounded one soldier from the army’s 4th brigade, 1st division. 

On September 9, the counter-terrorism service of the Kurdistan region said that a Turkish military drone struck a group of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) members near the village of Bsaawi in the Mawat district of Sulaymaniyah province. The airstrike killed two PKK members and wounded a third, the statement added.  

On September 11, security sources in Basra said that two children were killed and a third was seriously injured when an explosive remnant of war (ERW) detonated near them in the South Rumaila region of the province, near the Kuwaiti border. 

On September 11, the Kurdistan region’s security council said that a bomb attack that struck Erbil earlier this month had been planned by members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). According to a statement by the council, the 1 kilogram (2.2lbs) explosive device was planted by a PKK member who resides in the Chemchemal district of Sulaymaniyah province. The statement added that authorities in Erbil have sent their counterparts in Sulaymaniyah a warrant to apprehend the suspect. The bomb in question exploded on September 1 on a pedestrian bridge across the 60 Meter Street in central Erbil. The explosion caused some material damage to the bridge but there were no reports of casualties. 

On September 12, news reports said that Iraqi authorities had sentenced 18 security officers to time in prison for their “failure to carry out their duties” to prevent rioters from attacking the Swedish embassy building in Baghdad and setting it on fire. The July 22 incident took place as hundreds of Muqtada al-Sadr’s followers protested the desecration of the Quran by an Iraqi refugee residing in Sweden. Eight of the officers were sentenced to three years in prison, while seven are to spend 27 months, and the remaining three received sentences of 18 months each, the reports added. Some of the officers worked in diplomatic protection units, while others were Baghdad police officers. Commenting on the reports, Sadr condemned the government’s actions against the officers as similar to those of the Abbasids, in reference to the medieval dynasty’s oppression of Shia Muslims. There were unconfirmed reports on September 13 that Interior Minister Abdul-Amir al-Shamari issued orders to reduce the sentences and allow the 18 officers to keep their jobs. 

Sources cited in this section include: Shafaq, NINA, al-Sumaria, Rudaw, ISHM archive, al-Hurra, Mawazin. 

More Iraqi Banks Could Face U.S. Sanctions Over Lingering Money Laundering Risks

On September 11, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani said that maps of a major transportation corridor that would link India to Europe through the Middle East that was announced during a G20 summit last week showed that Iraq was not part of the corridor’s path. Sudani said that delays in building the country’s Faw port on the Persian Gulf was the main reason Iraq was bypassed by the designers of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (or IMEC). On the sidelines of last week’s G20 summit in New Delhi, the EU, India, Saudi Arabia, UAE, U.S. and other G20 nations signed a memorandum of understanding on IMEC. The two-part corridor would link India to the Middle East by seaports and link the Middle Eastern countries by rail, allowing for cheaper and more fuel-efficient flow of goods and energy to Europe. President Biden said the ambitious plan would foster a “more stable, more prosperous and integrated Middle East,” adding that it would create “endless opportunities” for renewable and clean energy, as well as better internet connection via sea cables. 

On September 13, the Iraqi Airways company said that it will commence regular commercial flights to the Chinese city of Guangzhou starting October 10. A statement by the national carrier said the move comes in response to rising demand for travel between Iraq and China. Flights will depart from Baghdad to Guangzhou twice a week using the company’s “newest airplanes,” the statement added. 

On September 14, U.S. officials warned that more Iraqi commercial banks could face sanctions and other restrictions unless the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) took further action to combat fraud, money laundering, and financial transactions that violate U.S. sanctions against Iran. The warning comes as Elizabeth Rosenberg, the Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes at the Treasury Department, held talks in Baghdad with Prime Minister Sudani and CBI Governor Ali al-Allaq that focused on Iraq’s efforts to crack down on money laundering and corruption in the financial sector. In July,  the CBI barred 14 Iraqi banks from conducting transactions in the U.S. dollar after the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve Bank of New York imposed sanctions on those banks over money laundering concerns involving the banks’ transactions with Iran. Speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, a Treasury official  said that more Iraqi banks were still creating similar risks “that must be remediated,” adding that “it would be great if the central bank took the opportunity to address it directly, which would perhaps obviate the need (for the U.S.) to take any further actions.”

Sources cited in this section include: Ultra Iraq, Reuters, INA, ISHM archive, Shafaq. 

Derived from firsthand accounts and Iraq-based Arabic and Kurdish news sources, the Iraq Security and Humanitarian Monitor is a free publication of the Enabling Peace in Iraq Center.

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