Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi dismissed nine officials on Saturday following an investigation into oil smuggling in the Jurf Al-Sakher area. The region sits in Babylon province, south of Baghdad, and serves as a stronghold of the Iran-backed Kataeb Hezbollah group.
Baghdad faces mounting US pressure to rein in Tehran-backed armed groups and curb Iran’s influence. This presents a difficult task for a country long caught between the US and Iran. The prime minister came to power with US blessing and launched the probe into oil smuggling earlier in the week.
Military spokesman Sabah Al-Numan announced that the premier ordered all individuals accused of involvement in oil smuggling operations to be referred to the judiciary, based on the investigation’s findings. The spokesman did not identify the suspects.
The premier also ordered the dismissal of nine officials, including security and intelligence officers in Babylon province. An interior ministry commander and the director of the Oil Pipelines Company at the oil ministry were also removed from their posts. Numan did not elaborate on the specific roles of the sacked officials in the alleged smuggling operations.
A committee investigating the allegations entered Jurf Al-Sakher on Friday, accompanied by members of Kataeb Hezbollah. State news agency INA reported earlier in the week that intelligence documents containing satellite images showed crude oil and oil-derivatives smuggling operations carried out by an armed faction in the area. The report accused the unnamed faction of tapping into a local pipeline.
Numan stated that the investigating committee confirmed the accuracy of this information. Tensions have mounted between the prime minister and Kataeb Hezbollah since Zaidi vowed to ensure that armed factions hand over their weapons to the state. Some groups stated they would disarm, but powerful factions like Kataeb Hezbollah refused.
Senior Iraqi politicians previously said that Zaidi had repeatedly expressed readiness to confront groups that refuse to disarm. In response, Kataeb Hezbollah issued several sharp statements against the prime minister, accusing him of corruption and threatening his government.
A senior Iraqi politician said the dispute had become personal between Zaidi and the armed group. Political leaders are working to defuse these rising tensions.
Washington has previously accused Iraqi armed groups of involvement in oil smuggling. The US has also sanctioned Iraqi officials and entities for blending Iraqi and Iranian oil or selling Iranian oil as Iraqi to help Tehran evade sanctions. Pro-Iran armed groups have long targeted US interests in Iraq and stepped up their attacks in support of Tehran during the Middle East war.
