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Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi dismissed nine officials on Saturday and ordered those accused of oil smuggling referred to the judiciary. The move followed an investigation into illicit operations in Jurf al-Sakher, a stronghold of the Iran-backed Kataeb Hezbollah group.
Zaidi’s military spokesman, Sabah al-Numan, said the prime minister acted “in light of the investigation’s findings.” Zaidi ordered that all individuals accused of involvement in the smuggling be sent to the courts, Numan said, without naming the suspects.
The dismissed officials include security and intelligence officers in Babylon province, a commander at the interior ministry and the director of the Oil Pipelines Company at the oil ministry. Numan did not explain what role each of them allegedly played in the smuggling.
Zaidi opened the inquiry earlier this week into oil smuggling in Jurf al-Sakher, in Babylon province south of Baghdad. Washington designates Kataeb Hezbollah a terrorist organization.
On Wednesday, the state news agency INA reported that “intelligence documents” containing satellite images showed crude oil and oil-derivative smuggling carried out by an armed faction in the area. The agency accused the unnamed faction of tapping into a pipeline there.
A committee investigating the allegations entered Jurf al-Sakher on Friday, accompanied by members of Kataeb Hezbollah. According to Numan, it “confirmed the accuracy” of the information.
Relations between Zaidi and Kataeb Hezbollah have worsened since the prime minister, who has close ties to the United States, vowed to ensure armed factions hand over their weapons to the state. Some groups have said they will disarm. Other powerful factions, chiefly Kataeb Hezbollah, have refused.
Senior Iraqi politicians previously told AFP that Zaidi had repeatedly said he was ready to “confront” groups that do not disarm. Kataeb Hezbollah has recently issued several sharp statements against him, accusing him of corruption and threatening his government.
A senior Iraqi politician told AFP that “it has become personal” between the two sides. The politician added that political leaders were working to defuse the tensions.
Zaidi came to power with US blessing, and Baghdad faces growing American pressure to rein in Tehran-backed armed groups and curb Iran’s influence. That is a difficult task in a country long caught between its two key allies, the United States and Iran.
Washington has accused Iraqi armed groups of involvement in oil smuggling. It 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. They stepped up their attacks in support of Tehran during the Middle East war.
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