Key Takeaways:

• POLITICS: New Generation Leader Receives Prison Sentence; Iraq and Oman Sign Two Dozen Agreements – On September 2, a court in Sulaymaniyah sentenced Shaswar Abdulwahid, head of the New Generation opposition party, to five months in prison. The case stemmed from charges filed by Shadi Nawzad, a former lawmaker from his party. Abdulwahid was arrested on August 12 under article 431 of the penal code, which deals with threats. The New Generation party denounced the ruling as a “political and predictable” move by the Talabani and Barzani families, who lead the Kurdistan region’s two ruling parties. On September 3, Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani arrived in Muscat on an official invitation from Sultan Haitham bin Tariq. During the visit, focused on bilateral cooperation and regional de-escalation, Iraq and Oman signed two treaties and 24 MoUs covering diplomacy, taxes, education, urban planning, finance, energy, intellectual property, defense, ports, oil marketing, and trade. In other developments, on August 30, Sudani spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron about preventing another regional war, Macron’s upcoming Baghdad visit, and preparations for a regional conference. On September 4, Iraq’s electoral commission said it had disqualified more than 700 candidates from November’s election. more…
• SECURITY & HUMANITARIAN: CENTCOM Chief and Sudani Reaffirm Force Withdrawal Agreement – On September 2, Admiral Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, met with Sudani in Baghdad. Both reaffirmed commitment to the September 2024 agreement calling for the end of the Global Coalition’s mission in Iraq by September 2025. The deal envisions most U.S. forces leaving by late 2025, with a small unit remaining in Kurdistan to support operations in Syria. That same day, an RPG accidentally exploded during a training exercise at the Sulaymaniyah military academy, killing one cadet and wounding three. Also on September 2, Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council reported that 33,536 people have been released since passage of a new amnesty law in January. On September 4, a legacy ISIS-era IED injured a civilian near Fallujah. more…
• ECONOMY & CLIMATE: U.S. Sanctions Oil Smuggling Network; Grid Loses 1.3 GW; Customs Revenue Rise – On September 2, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned shipping companies tied to Iraqi businessman Waleed Khaled Hameed al-Samarra’i, accused of smuggling Iranian oil. Samarra’i, an Iraqi–Saint Kitts and Nevis dual national, allegedly runs a UAE-based network generating nearly $300 million annually by blending Iranian oil with Iraqi fuel. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent asserted that “Iraq cannot become a safe haven for terrorists, which is why the United States is working to counter Iran’s influence in the country.” On September 3, Iraq’s Electricity Ministry said the national grid lost 1,300 MW after Turkey cut exports by 600 MW and the Kurdistan region reduced supply by 700 MW. On September 4, customs officials reported revenues of IQD 1.7 trillion in the first eight months of 2025, crediting the ASYCUDA system introduced in January. Annual revenues are expected to reach IQD 3 trillion, up from IQD 2 trillion in 2024. In other developments, on August 31, the Finance Ministry sent IQD 690 billion to the KRG for June public salaries. On September 2, Basra’s provincial council approved a temporary dam on the Shatt al-Arab to curb saltwater intrusion. That same day, the Trade Ministry launched a new business registration guide with the ILO. On September 3, the Water Resources Ministry ordered all licensed fish farms to switch to closed systems by January to conserve water. 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.

POLITICS: New Generation Leader Receives Prison Sentence; Iraq and Oman Sign Two Dozen Agreements

On August 30, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani spoke on the phone with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss bilateral relations and regional developments, including efforts to prevent another regional war, a statement by Sudani’s office said. Sudani told Macron that Iraq was ready to work with France, the U.S., and with Iran to avoid another military confrontation in the region. The two sides also discussed plans for an upcoming visit by Macron to Baghdad, and preparations for a regional conference in Baghdad to address pressing regional issues, the statement added. 

On August 31, Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) said it disqualified a new group of 28 candidates from competing in the next parliamentary election in November. The following day, IHEC said it disqualified yet another group of 34 candidates. And on September 2, the commission said it disqualified an additional 22 candidates from competing in the upcoming election. IHEC documents circulating online show the disqualifications were related to candidates having criminal records or  suspected ties to the Ba’ath Party. Meanwhile, IHEC this week said it reversed earlier decisions to disqualify 27 candidates. Adding the latest disqualifications to earlier figures reported by IHEC brings the number of candidates who have been disqualified from running in the November election to about 730 (an official with IHEC confirmed on Thursday that the number indeed “exceeded 700”). 

On September 2, a court in Sulaymaniyah sentenced the head of the New Generation opposition party, Shaswar Abdulwahid, to five months in prison, Kurdistan24 reported. The sentence was issued in connection with charges filed against Abdulwahid by Shadi Nawzad, a former female lawmaker from his own party, the report added. Police had arrested Abdulwahid from his residence on August 12 on an arrest warrant citing article 431 of the Iraqi penal code, which deals with threats, a police spokesman said at the time. In a statement, the New Generation party criticized the prison sentence as a “political and predictable” move by “the Talabani and Barzani families,” in reference to the two ruling parties in the Kurdistan region.

On September 3, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani arrived in the Omani capital Muscat on an official invitation from Sultan Haitham bin Tariq. During the visit, which involved talks focusing on bilateral cooperation and de-escalation of regional conflicts, Iraq and Oman signed two treaties and 24 memorandums of understanding covering cooperation in various fields. The agreements deal with diplomatic exchanges, taxes, tourism, education, urban planning, financial markets, banking, energy, intellectual property, defense industries, port operations, oil marketing, and trade, among other sectors.  

Sources cited in this section include: Ultra Iraq, al-Sumaria, Rudaw, ISHM archive, al-Mada, Kurdistan24,  Peregraf, Iraq Observer, Iraqi PM’s office.

SECURITY & HUMANITARIAN: CENTCOM Chief and Sudani Reaffirm Force Withdrawal Agreement

On September 2, Admiral Brad Cooper, the chief of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) met in Baghdad with Prime Minister Sudani to discuss security relations between the U.S. and Iraq. During the talks, the two sides discussed ongoing steps to implement their September 2024 agreement, which called for ending the mission of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS by the end of September 2025. Sudani and Cooper reaffirmed Washington’s and Baghdad’s commitment to implementing all parts of the agreement, a statement by Sudani’s office said.  They also discussed the future of security cooperation on the bilateral level and exchanged ideas about further cooperation and development of relations, the statement added, without offering details. Under the agreement, most U.S. troops would leave Iraq by the end of 2025, leaving behind a small detachment in Kurdistan to support anti-ISIS operations in neighboring Syria. The remaining U.S. troops would withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2026, but personnel involved in bilateral security cooperation would remain.

On September 2, a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) accidentally exploded during a training exercise at the military academy in Sulaymaniyah, killing one cadet and wounding three, Iraq’s Defense Ministry said in a statement. Authorities opened an investigation to determine the circumstances of the incident. 

On September 2, security sources in Baghdad said that unidentified individuals used a hand grenade in an attack that targeted a home in al-Saydiyah neighborhood of Baghdad. The attack caused minor damage to the building but there were no reports of casualties. 

On September 2, Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) said that a total of 33,536 people have been released from the country’s prisons and other detention facilities as a result of the Amnesty Law amendments that parliament passed in January. The statement indicates that nearly 2,000 people have been released from custody since the last update on the process provided in August. According to a prior SJC statement, a total of 119,315 convicts and suspects will ultimately be released under the amended amnesty program.

On September 4, police sources in Anbar province said that a legacy improvised explosive device (IED) left over from the war with ISIS detonated in a valley south of Fallujah. The explosion seriously injured a sheep herder who was working in the area, the sources added. 

Sources cited in this section include: Iraqi PM’s office, Baghdad Today, ISHM archive, al-Sumaria, INA, Shafaq. 

ECONOMY & CLIMATE: U.S. Sanctions Oil Smuggling Network; Grid Loses 1.3 GW; Customs Revenue Rise

On August 31, the federal Finance Ministry sent a sum of IQD 690 billion (approximately $525 million) to the Kurdistan regional government (KRG) to pay the salaries of Kurdistan’s public sector employees for the month of June. The payment, which was conditionally approved on August 26, was released after the KRG sent the federal government a sum of IQD 120 billion (approximately $91 million) as remittance for non-petroleum revenue generated during the corresponding month, in accordance with the budget agreement that Baghdad and Erbil announced in July. 

On September 2, the U.S. Treasury Department said it imposed sanctions on shipping companies and ships linked to an Iraqi businessman for being involved in smuggling Iranian oil by disguising its origin as Iraqi oil. The businessman, Waleed Khaled Hameed al-Samarra’i, is a dual citizen of Iraq and the island nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Commenting on the move, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent warned that “Iraq cannot become a safe haven for terrorists, which is why the United States is working to counter Iran’s influence in the country.” Bessent added that Washington remains “committed to an oil supply free from Iran and will continue our efforts to disrupt the ongoing attempts by Tehran to evade U.S. sanctions.” Treasury estimates that the UAE-based network run by Samarra’i generates close to $300 million a year from its sanctions-evasion activities, which rely primarily on blending Iranian oil with Iraqi fuel to hide its origin.  

On September 2, the provincial council in Basra approved a plan to build a temporary dam on the Shatt al-Arab waterway in an effort to mitigate the ingress of salt water from the Gulf and protect fresh water supplies for the city. The planned dam is to be constructed at the site of the Sindbad Island in northern Basra. In July, amid a worsening water crisis impacting Basra, Iraq’s Water Resources Ministry said that two consulting firms were looking into the possibility of building a dam on Shatt al-Arab, and mentioned at the time that the dam may become a viable solution should water flow drop below 50 cubic meters per second. It is unclear how long the dam construction would take once a final decision is made. 

On September 2, Iraq’s Ministry of Trade formally launched a business registration guide that was developed in cooperation with the International Labour Organization (ILO) with support from the Italian government. The registration guide is designed to offer “entrepreneurs and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises…a clear, step-by-step process to register their businesses,” ILO said in a statement. The guide was developed with the aim of simplifying registration procedures and encouraging small and medium business formalization to allow more of them to “access legal protections, financing, and public services, while contributing to the creation of decent work through social security coverage, wage protection, and greater enterprise sustainability,” the statement continued. 

On September 3, Iraq’s Water Resources Ministry said that all owners of licensed fish farms will be required to switch to the closed system of fish farming starting in January of next year. The new policy is meant to conserve water by reducing losses caused by traditional fish farms that utilize unlined dirt ponds. Violators will risk losing their licenses, according to the deputy director for irrigation projects management in the ministry. 

On September 3, Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity said the national grid lost about 1,300 megawatts of power as supplies decreased from Turkey and the Kurdistan region. According to a ministry spokesman, the Kurdistan region has decreased its power contributions to the national grid from 1,800 megawatts to 1,100 megawatts as the region rolls out its Ronaki project to deliver 24/7 power to its residents. Meanwhile, Turkey has halted all electricity supplies to Iraq, which stood at 600 megawatts, because Baghdad has failed to pay arrears owed to Ankra on time, the spokesman added.  

On September 4, Iraqi customs officials reported a significant increase in customs revenue this year, attributing the improvement to the ASYCUDA system, which Iraq began using earlier this year. During the first eight months of 2025, customs revenue reached IQD 1.7 trillion (approximately $1.3 billion) and is expected to reach IQD 3 trillion by year end, according to the head of the Customs Commission, Qasim Thamir. For comparison, total revenue in 2024 stood at IQD 2 trillion, which in turn was nearly double the annual average over the last 20 years, Thamir explained. 

Sources cited in this section include: Kurdistan24, ISHM archive, Treasury Department, Baghdad Today, Reliefweb, INA, Rudaw.

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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