Key Takeaways:

• POLITICS: U.S. Announces Bounties on Two Militia Leaders; Businessman Ali Al-Zaidi Named Prime Minister-Designate – Between April 23–27, the U.S. State Department’s Rewards for Justice program announced rewards of up to $10 million each for information on Abu Ala al-Walaie and Hayder al-Gharawi, leaders of Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada and Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, respectively. The U.S. government said the two men have been involved in killing fellow Iraqis and attacking U.S. diplomatic facilities in Iraq, as well as U.S. military personnel in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan. The announcements came less than two weeks after a similar reward was offered for information on Kataib Hezbollah leader Ahmad al-Hamidawi. On April 27, the Coordination Framework nominated 41-year-old businessman Ali Falih al-Zaidi as Iraq’s next prime minister. His nomination emerged as a compromise between the two main contenders, Nouri al-Maliki and Mohammed al-Sudani, ending five months of deadlock since the November 2025 election. Nine of the 12 CF leaders signed the document announcing the decision, though none of those who did not sign (Haider al-Abadi, Humam Hammoudi, and Abu Ala al-Walaie) have publicly opposed it. Hours later, President Nizar Amedi formally tasked Zaidi with forming a government. Said to be born in 1984 in the southern province of Dhi-Qar, Zaidi has no prior government experience and would be the youngest person to serve as Iraq’s prime minister. With degrees in law and finance, he is a prominent businessman said to have close ties to outgoing Prime Minister Sudani. Among other roles, Zaidi chairs Al-Janoob Islamic Bank, one of the institutions barred by the Central Bank in 2024 from conducting U.S. dollar transactions. His nomination was welcomed by major Kurdish and Sunni parties, as well as by the U.S. and UK embassies and several Arab states. Under Iraq’s constitution, the prime minister-designate has 30 days to present a cabinet to parliament, which must approve it by an absolute majority (166 out of 329 votes). Sources within the CF expect its factions to control 12 cabinet positions, with Sunni and Kurdish parties receiving 11 ministries. more…
• SECURITY & HUMANITARIAN: Drones Launched from Iraq Strike Kuwaiti Border Outposts; Notorious Sadrist Militiaman Faces Arrest Warrant – On April 24, two explosive drones launched from Iraq struck Kuwaiti border outposts, causing material damage but no casualties, according to Kuwait’s Defense Ministry. The drones were guided using fiber-optic wires, suggesting they were launched from a nearby area. Iraqi Interior Minister Abdulamir al-Shamari condemned the attack in a call with his Kuwaiti counterpart, Fahad al-Sabah, and said Prime Minister Sudani had ordered an investigation. On April 28, security forces raided the home of Esmail Hafidh al-Lami, a senior figure in Saraya al-Salam affiliated with Muqtada al-Sadr, carrying a warrant for his arrest. Forces seized large quantities of weapons and munitions from his residence in Sadr City but were unable to apprehend him. The warrant followed charges by the Baghdad mayoralty accusing Lami—also known as Abu Deraa—of storming government offices and threatening officials to secure a contract for one of his businesses. Lami is widely accused of playing a major role in sectarian killings in Baghdad during the 2006–2007 civil war. In other developments, between April 23–27, members of PAK and Komala—an Iranian Kurdish opposition group based in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region—said Iran launched new rocket and drone attacks on their camps in Erbil and Duhok. On April 28, three people, including two children, were killed when remnants of war detonated in separate incidents in Babylon and Wasit provinces. more…
• ECONOMY & CLIMATE: LNG Platform Delay to Exacerbate Summer Power Shortages; Baghdad Approves $1.5 Billion for Key Pipeline Project – On April 26, Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity warned of delays affecting a contract with Excelerate Energy to install a floating platform capable of supplying up to 750 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of imported LNG for power generation by June. The Ministry cited the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as the main cause of delays in shipping the platform from South Korea to the Port of Khor al-Zubair. Combined with declining gas imports from Iran and reduced domestic production, the delay could widen the gap between electricity supply and peak summer demand, the Ministry said. On the same day, the Iraqi government approved $1.5 billion in funding for the Basra–Haditha multi-directional oil pipeline, part of a project with total estimated costs of $5 billion. Prime Minister Sudani, who convened a meeting dedicated to discussing measures to accelerate work under contracts signed in 2024 and 2025, said the pipeline would provide strategic flexibility for crude exports via Turkey’s Ceyhan port as well as Syria’s Baniyas and Jordan’s Aqaba ports, while also improving supplies to central and northern refineries. The 685-kilometer pipeline is expected to carry up to 2.25 million bpd and is a key component of the long-delayed Basra–Aqaba project aimed at diversifying export routes. In other developments, on April 29, the head of Iraq’s State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) said northern exports via the Kurdistan Region pipeline to Turkey ranged between 160,000 and 200,000 bpd in April, well below earlier official projections of 340,000 bpd. 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: U.S. Announces Bounties on Two Militia Leaders; Businessman Ali Al-Zaidi Named Prime Minister-Designate

On April 23, the U.S. State Department’s Rewards for Justice program announced a reward of up to $10 million for information on Abu Ala al-Walaie (real name Hashim al-Saraji), leader of Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. The statement said KSS members under Saraji’s leadership have been involved in killing fellow Iraqis and attacking U.S. diplomatic facilities in Iraq as well as U.S. military personnel in Iraq and Syria. A few days later, the program announced a similar reward offer for information on Hayder al-Gharawi, leader of Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya. The notice accused Gharawi (real name Hayder Muzhir al-Sa’idi) of involvement in attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Iraq and U.S. military personnel in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan, including attacks that led to the deaths of U.S. servicemembers. The announcements came less than two weeks after Rewards for Justice offered up to $10 million for information on Ahmad al-Hamidawi, leader of Kataib Hezbollah.

On April 27, the Coordination Framework nominated 41-year-old businessman Ali Falih al-Zaidi to be Iraq’s next prime minister. Zaidi’s nomination emerged as a compromise between the two main contenders, Nouri al-Maliki and Mohammed al-Sudani, ending five months of deadlock since the November 2025 election. Nine CF leaders out of 12 signed the CF document announcing the decision although none of those whose signatures were missing (Haider al-Abadi, Humam Hammoudi, and Abu Ala al-Walaie) have publicly indicated that they oppose the majority’s action. In a ceremony attended by several CF leaders and judge Faeq Zaidan of the Supreme Judicial Council, President Nizar Amedi formally tasked Prime Minister-designate Zaidi with forming a governing cabinet. Said to be born in 1984 in the southern province of Dhi-Qar, Zaidi has no  prior government experience and would be the youngest person to serve as Iraq’s prime minister. With degrees in law and finance, he is a prominent businessman said to have close ties to outgoing Prime Minister Sudani. Zaidi’s cousin, Dhiya al-Zaidi, is a Baghdad lawmaker who ran in the November 2025 elections as part of Sudani’s electoral coalition. Among other business roles, Zaidi chairs Al-Janoob Islamic Bank, one of the financial institutions barred from conducting transactions in U.S. dollars. At the time, the ban—imposed at the behest of the Treasury Department—was described as part of efforts to combat fraud and money laundering. Zaidi’s nomination did not appear to draw immediate objections from other political blocs. Leaders of both the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), as well as the three major Sunni parties—Azm, Siyada, and Taqaddum—congratulated him on his nomination. The decision was also well received by key foreign powers. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad congratulated Zaidi, signaling that Washington has no objections to the CF’s choice, while UK Ambassador to Iraq Irfan Siddiq also welcomed the nomination. Several Arab leaders, including those of Syria, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, and Lebanon, spoke with Zaidi by phone to congratulate him. Under Iraq’s constitution, the prime minister-designate has 30 days to present a cabinet to parliament, where it must secure an absolute majority—166 votes out of 329—to win a vote of confidence. Sources from the Coordination Framework expect CF’s factions to control 12 cabinet positions, with Sunni and Kurdish parties receiving 11 ministries.

Sources cited in this section include: al-Sumaria, INA, ISHM archive, Rewards for Justice, Ultra Iraq, Kurdistan24, PUKMedia, Shafaq, Iraqi President’s office, Iraqi PM’s office, U.S. embassy, UK embassy.  

SECURITY & HUMANITARIAN: Drones Launched from Iraq Strike Kuwaiti Border Outposts; Notorious Sadrist Militiaman Faces Arrest Warrant

On April 23, members of PAK, an Iranian Kurdish opposition group based in Iraq, said that Iran launched new attacks with explosive drones on its offices in the Zararti region of Erbil province. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Meanwhile, local officials in the Basrma and Rezgari subdistricts of Erbil said that two additional drones were shot down without causing casualties or damage. A few days later, on April 27, another Iranian Kurdish opposition group, Komala, said that one of its camps in the Sordash region of Duhok province was struck by a rocket. A spokesperson for the group said the camp had been vacated and there were no casualties as a result of the attack.

On April 24, two explosive drones launched from Iraq struck two Kuwaiti border outposts, causing material damage to the structures but no casualties, the Kuwaiti Defense Ministry said in a statement. The drones were guided using fiber optic wires, the statement added, suggesting they were launched from an area not too far from the border. Iraqi Interior Minister Abdulamir al-Shamari condemned the attacks during a phone call with his Kuwaiti counterpart, Fahad al-Sabah, and informed him that Prime Minister Sudani ordered an investigation to identify the perpetrators and hold them accountable. 

On April 27, Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani ordered security forces to reopen the Green Zone complex in central Baghdad to civilian traffic for the first time in eight weeks. Authorities had sealed roads leading to the area following the March 1 clashes between security forces and rioters who attempted to reach the U.S. embassy compound inside the Green Zone.      

On April 28, security forces raided the home of Esmail Hafidh al-Lami, a senior figure in Saraya al-Salam affiliated with Muqtada al-Sadr, carrying a warrant for his arrest. Security forces reportedly seized large quantities of weapons and munitions from Lami’s residence in Sadr City but were unable to arrest him because he had fled the scene, according to security sources. Reports said the arrest warrant was issued after the Baghdad mayoralty filed charges accusing Lami of storming local government offices and threatening city officials to pressure them into awarding a contract to one of his businesses. Lami is widely accused of playing a major role in the sectarian killings that plagued Baghdad during the 2006–2007 civil war.

On April 28, Babylon police said two children were killed and two others wounded when a remnant of war accidentally detonated near them in the Iskandariyah subdistrict. Explosives experts later discovered and removed several other unexploded cluster submunitions from the scene, police said. The same day, security sources in Wasit province said a civilian was killed when a landmine left over from the Iran-Iraq War detonated in the Zurbatyah district near the Iranian border.

Sources cited in this section include: Rudaw, Kuwait’s Defense Ministry, Shafaq, al-Ghad, al-Sumaria, Baghdad Today, al-Sa’a. 

ECONOMY & CLIMATE: LNG Platform Delay to Exacerbate Summer Power Shortages; Baghdad Approves $1.5 Billion for Key Pipeline Project

On April 26, Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity voiced concern about delays affecting a contract with Excelerate Energy to install a floating platform by June to process imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the country’s power plants. In a statement, the Ministry cited logistical challenges linked to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to normal commercial shipping as a source of concern over delays in installing the platform. The facility is expected to be shipped from South Korea and installed at the Port of Khor al-Zubair under a $450 million agreement signed last October, the statement said. When installed, the platform is expected to provide up to 750 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of natural gas that is to be supplied by Excelerate as well. Combined with declining gas supplies from Iran—now at 15 million cubic meters per day, down from the contracted 50 million—and reduced domestic production due to curtailed oil operations, the delay in installing the LNG platform could widen the gap between electricity generation and peak summer demand, the Ministry cautioned.

On April 26, Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani approved $1.5 billion in funding this year for the Basra-Haditha multi-directional oil pipeline project under the Iraq-China project financing agreement, with total estimated costs reaching $5 billion. During a meeting dedicated to the project, officials reviewed implementation delays and measures to accelerate work under contracts signed in 2024 and 2025 (between Basra Oil Company and the Oil Projects Company, and between the latter and the state-owned steel company, respectively). Sudani said the pipeline would provide strategic flexibility for crude exports via Turkey’s Ceyhan port as well as Syria’s Baniyas and Jordan’s Aqaba ports, while also improving supplies to central and northern refineries. He framed the project as a contingency against potential disruptions to Iraq’s current export routes and ordered the formation of a special body, led by the deputy oil minister and including senior advisers and officials, to oversee implementation. The Basra-Haditha pipeline is planned to be 685 kilometers in length and 56” in diameter with a capacity to move up to 2.25 million barrels per day (bpd). It represents a crucial component of the planned Basra-Aqaba oil export pipeline, a long-delayed project that aims to diversify Iraq’s oil export routes through direct access to the Red Sea via Jordan.

On April 27, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources said talks with Baghdad had failed over the amount of wheat the federal government will purchase from farmers in the Kurdistan Region this season. A ministry official said Baghdad had agreed to receive only 292,000 tons, despite regional production expected to exceed 1.5 million tons and Erbil seeking federal procurement of at least 1 million tons due to a strong harvest driven by abundant rainfall. The ministry criticized the decision, noting Baghdad purchased 400,000 tons last year despite drought conditions. Officials also objected to a federal decision to reduce the procurement price from IQD 850,000 per ton last year to IQD 700,000 this season, warning the lower price and limited procurement quota would impose significant losses on farmers as unsold surplus would likely be pushed into local markets at prices too low to cover production costs.

On April 29, the director general of Iraq’s State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO), Ali Nazar al-Shatri, said the country’s northern crude exports via the Kurdistan Region pipeline to Turkey ranged between 160,000 and 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) in April. Shatri did not explain the discrepancy with earlier official statements indicating exports could rise to 340,000 bpd. He added that southern exports through the Gulf remain very limited and “cannot be compared” to pre-war levels of roughly 3.4 million bpd. While Shatri did not provide specific figures, recent reports suggest tanker traffic at Basra ports has been extremely limited, with indications that only one tanker lifted Iraqi crude during April—though this figure has not been independently confirmed.

On April 29, Iraq’s Oil Ministry announced that an accelerated phase of the Bin Omar gas development project has been completed ahead of schedule. The extension of new pipelines between the field and gas network of the Basrah Gas Company, done over the last few weeks, allows for the delivery of up to 80 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of raw gas for processing at a water separation station at the North Rumaila oil field, according to Shakir Luaibi, head of production operations at Bin Omar. The project will contribute to the production of up to 600 metric tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) per day, nearly 65 MMcf/d of natural gas for power generation, and 1,800 bpd of condensates, Sabir added. The ministry had signed a contract in January 2024 with Halfaya Gas Co. (part of the Raban Al Safina Group) to capture and produce up to 300 MMcf/d of natural gas. At the time, it said the first phase—targeting 150 MMcf/d—would be completed within 36 months. 

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

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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