Key Takeaways:

• • POLITICS: Sudani Refers Former Governor to Court; State of Law Opposes Second Term for Sudani – On September 21, Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani approved the findings of the investigative committee on the July mall fire in al-Kut, which killed dozens. The investigation concluded that several officials were “negligent in fulfilling their duties” and had allowed construction without proper permits. Based on these findings, Sudani referred former Wasit governor Mohammed al-Mayahi, along with the provincial civil defense director, current and former Kut mayors, and other officials, to the judiciary. Mayahi, who resigned days after the fire, accused Sudani of politicizing the case and punishing him for refusing to join his electoral coalition. On September 23, State of Law spokesman Aqeel al-Fatlawi said the bloc opposes a second term for Sudani, accusing him of using public service projects to boost his coalition’s campaigns. Fatlawi also charged that Sudani had sidelined Coordination Framework partners while prioritizing “pleasing external parties,” a likely reference to the U.S. and Western allies. In other developments, on September 22, Coalition 19, a network of human rights groups in the Kurdistan region, condemned a ban on press conferences in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, calling it an illegal violation of free expression. more…
  • SECURITY & HUMANITARIAN: Korea to Deliver Air Defense Batteries to Iraq; Election Campaigns Spark Militia Clashes in Basra- On September 24, South Korea’s Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-baek met PM Sudani in Baghdad to discuss defense cooperation. Ahn confirmed that Seoul will deliver air defense batteries ordered by Iraq early next year. In 2024, Baghdad awarded a $2.8 billion contract to LIG Nex1 to supply eight M-SAM II (Cheongung II) batteries. That same day, a gunfight broke out between Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Saraya al-Salam militia members in Basra’s Abu al-Khaseeb district, reportedly after one faction placed campaign posters near an office of the other. Footage shows men tearing down a billboard as gunfire erupts. In other incidents: on September 21, an IED killed two Iraqi soldiers and wounded an officer in Anbar; and local sources in Diyala said unidentified individuals set fire to a mosque under construction near Baquba, in an incident linked to intra-Sunni rivalries involving the group al-Madkhaliyah. more…
  • ECONOMY & CLIMATE: Iraq Commissions First Solar Plant; Sudani Hails “Historic” Oil Export Agreement – On September 21, Iraq commissioned its first industrial-scale solar power plant in Karbala, producing 22 megawatts, with output expected to reach 75 megawatts in two months. On September 25, Sudani announced a “historic agreement” with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and international oil companies to resume exports through the Iraq–Turkey pipeline, suspended since March 2023. He said the deal “guarantees fair distribution of wealth, diversifies export outlets, and encourages investment,” calling it “an achievement we’ve awaited for 18 years.” The announcement followed a provisional deal reached a day earlier with eight of the oil companies, which said it protects their contracts and financial rights. No restart date was given, but one CEO said exports via Ceyhan would resume “as soon as possible” once the agreement is formalized. On September 25, Iraq’s Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) reported that August exports averaged 3.351 million bpd, generating $7.162 billion in revenue. 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: Sudani Refers Former Governor to Court; State of Law Opposes Second Term for Sudani

On September 21, Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani approved the findings of the investigative committee regarding the deadly fire incident that destroyed a mall in the city of al-Kut in July, killing dozens. The investigation confirmed that several officials were negligent in fulfilling their duties and failed to uphold their responsibilities, a statement by Sudani’s office said. These officials, the statement continued, allowed the mall owner to proceed with construction without a permit. These officials also failed “to take the legal and administrative measures mandated by law to minimize losses and protect citizens’ lives.” Based on these findings, Sudani decided to refer the former governor of Wasit to the judiciary, along with the provincial civil defense director, the former and current mayors of Kut, the director of electricity distribution, and officials who approved the mall’s electricity connection. Sudani also directed the relevant ministries to form investigative and disciplinary committees to take the appropriate disciplinary actions against those involved. The former governor of Wasit, Mohammed al-Mayahi, who had resigned days after the fire, accused Sudani of politicizing the incident and investigation. In a statement, Mayahi claimed that Sudani was punishing him for refusing to join his electoral coalition.  

On September 22, Coalition 19, a network of human rights organizations in the Kurdistan region, condemned a decision by authorities banning press conferences in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, calling it an illegal violation of free expression. In a statement issued Monday, the coalition demanded the removal of the requirement for prior authorization to hold press conferences and urged that civil society and professional groups be allowed to operate freely without interference. The statement followed recent incidents. Last Saturday, security forces blocked a teachers’ group from holding a press conference outside the Kurdistan Parliament and barred journalists from covering the event. About a week earlier, authorities prevented another group from holding a press event in Sulaymaniyah’s Nali Park. Coalition 19 emphasized that Law No. 11 of 2010, which regulates demonstrations in the Kurdistan Region, does not apply to press conferences. Authorities, however, now require prior approval even for indoor media events, the statement charged. The coalition, overseen by the Metro Center for Journalistic Rights, cited Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, affirming the right to freedom of opinion and expression, including the right to seek and share information without restriction.

On September 23, a spokesman for the State of Law coalition, led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said the bloc is opposed to supporting Prime Minister Sudani to remain in office for a second term after the November election. The spokesman, Aqeel al-Fatlawi, accused Sudani of using government projects that provide public services to boost the campaigns of candidates from his own electoral coalition. Fatlawi also charged that Sudani has ignored his political partners in the Coordination Framework and prioritized “pleasing external parties,” likely referring to the U.S. and western allies. Fatlawi acknowledged that “many members and candidates” have abandoned the State of Law coalition to join Sudani because the latter controls resources that can be exploited for campaign purposes. The claims are a clear sign of rising competition between the former allies. 

Sources cited in this section include: Iraqi PM’s office, ISHM archive, Ultra Iraq, Peregraf, Bas News, Iraq Observer. 

SECURITY & HUMANITARIAN: Korea to Deliver Air Defense Batteries to Iraq; Election Campaigns Spark Militia Clashes in Basra

On September 19, Iraq’s Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) said that it provided intelligence that led to an airstrike by the International Coalition in Syria that killed a senior ISIS militant named Omar Abdulqadir Bassam (also known as Abdulrahman al-Halabi). The slain militant, whom the  CTS had been tracking for months, was in charge of planning ISIS operations outside Iraq and Syria, including attempted attacks in Europe and the United States, the CTS added. 

On September 21, Iraq’s Joint Operations Command said that two soldiers from the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) were killed and an officer was wounded in an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion in Anbar province. The CTS troops were inspecting the site of an earlier airstrike on ISIS hideouts in the Suhoul Rawa region of Anbar when the explosion happened, inflicting the casualties, the Command added. 

On September 21, local sources in Diyala province said that unidentified individuals set fire to a mosque under construction near Baquba and vandalized the building. According to the sources, the attackers wrote the phrase: “Leave—no place for al-Madkhaliyah” on the mosque’s walls. The Salafi al-Madkhaliyah movement in Iraq has recently faced accusations linking it to the killing of Sheikh Abdulsattar al-Qaraghouli, the imam and preacher of Karim Al-Nasir mosque in Baghdad’s Dora district. The incident comes a few days after Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani replaced the head of the Sunni Endowment Department, in a move that was linked to the assassination and reports of growing internal power struggle within the Sunni religious establishment caused by the rising influence of al-Madkhaliyah. 

On September 22, security sources in the Kurdistan region said that Akbar Haji Rostam, a senior figure in the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and veteran Peshmerga fighter, was murdered in his farm in the Kefri district of Sulaymaniyah province. Two suspects in the murder investigation were arrested by authorities in Baghdad as they were attempting to leave the country through Baghdad airport, Kurdistan24 reported. The motive remains unclear.

On September 23, local sources in Wasit province said that protesters blocked the main road between al-Kut and Baghdad with burning tires to protest the alleged death of a person during interrogation by an unspecified security agency. The protesters claimed the victim died due to torture during interrogation. 

On September 24, the Defense Minister of South Korea, Ahn Gyu-baek, visited Baghdad for talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani that focused on cooperation in weapons procurement, according to a statement by Sudani’s office. During the talk, the Korean minister affirmed that Seoul would continue to work towards delivering the air defense batteries that Iraq had ordered from Korea by early next year. In 2024, Baghdad awarded a contract worth $2.8 billion to South Korean defense manufacturer LIG Nex1 to supply the Iraqi military with eight batteries of the M-SAM II or Cheongung II air defense system. Iraq will be the fourth country to operate the medium range missile system after South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

On September 24, security sources in Basra said that a gunfight erupted between members of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq militias and their rivals in Muqtada al-Sadr’s Saraya al-Salam militia in the Abu al-Khaseeb district. The clashes, which reportedly caused injuries on both sides, began after one militia (most likely the Asaib) placed election campaign posters near an office of the other militia (most likely the Sadrists who will boycott the vote). Footage from the scene shows men tearing down what appears to be a campaign billboard while gunfire is heard in the background. 

On September 25, security sources in Baghdad said that unidentified gunmen opened fire from a moving vehicle on two civilians in another vehicle, killing both instantly. Authorities opened an investigation to determine the motive behind the attack, which took place in al-Saydiyah neighborhood of the capital. 

Sources cited in this section include: INA, Shafaq, The New Arab, ISHM archive, al-Aalem al-Jadeed, Baghdad Today, Kurdistan24, Iraq Observer, Mawazin. 

ECONOMY & CLIMATE: Iraq Commissions First Solar Plant; Sudani Hails “Historic” Oil Export Agreement

On September 21, Iraq commissioned its first ever industrial-scale solar power plant. The new facility, built in Karbala province, is currently producing 22 megawatts of power, with output set to rise to 75 megawatts in two months, Prime Minister Sudani said during the commissioning event. 

On September 23, news reports mentioned that Iraq’s oil exports to Jordan have been suspended for nearly three months amid disputes over transportation costs. According to reports, Iraq halted the exports on June 26 as the two countries negotiated the transportation costs, with Iraq seeking to lower them from $16 per barrel to $12 per barrel, while Jordan trying to keep the fees unchanged. Iraq typically trucked an average of 10,000 barrels per day (bpd) to Jordan at a discount accounting for the high cost of transportation. Oil export data released by Iraq’s Oil Ministry confirms that exports to Jordan were halted in July and August. 

On September 25, Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani announced that his government has reached a “historic agreement” with the Kurdistan regional government (KRG) and oil companies operating in Kurdistan to resume oil exports via the Iraq-Turkey pipeline. In a brief statement, Sudani said the agreement “guarantees fair distribution of wealth, diversifies export outlets, and encourages investments,” hailing the deal as “an achievement we’ve awaited for 18 years.” The announcement comes a day after eight oil companies operating Kurdistan’s oil fields said they reached a provisional agreement with the federal government and the KRG to resume oil exports, which have been suspended since March 2023. The KRG Natural Resources Ministry said on Wednesday that one company had not signed the trilateral agreement, but did not reveal its identity. The companies are “optimistic” about the agreement and said it ensures the protection of their contracts and financial rights. While a specific date to restart exports had not been announced, the CEO of HKN, Russell Freeman, mentioned that “once the agreement is officially announced by the relevant authorities, oil export operations from the Kurdistan Region via the Ceyhan port will resume as soon as possible.”

On September 25, Iraq’s Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) said that crude oil exports during August totaled more than 103.89 million barrels, for an average of 3.351 million bpd. The August exports are about 12,000 bpd below the levels SOMO reported for July. SOMO data said the exports generated $7.162 billion in revenue, slightly lower than June’s revenue of $7.184 billion. Nearly all of the exports came from fields in southern and central Iraq and were exported through the ports of Basra. Exports by trucks to Jordan and by pipeline from the northern fields in Kirkuk and the Kurdistan regional government, remained suspended. 

Sources cited in this section include: Iraq Observer, INA, ISHM archive, Iraqi PM’s office, SOMO, Kurdistan24, 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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