Tuesday, 29 September 2026

Iraq’s Central Specialized Anti-Corruption Court sentenced sitting MP Mohammed Farman Shahir Salman al-Jubouri to seven years in prison for illicit enrichment, the Federal Integrity Commission announced Tuesday. The court ordered repayment and fines totalling 28,157,250,476 dinars. It imposed a separate three-year sentence for concealing funds, with the longer sentence to be served. It also ordered the seizure of his assets and allowed the commission to seek compensation once the verdict becomes final. Separately, a senior source cited by the Iraqi News Agency said investigations involving former Oil Ministry official Adnan Jumaili had widened to lawmakers and political figures. The source said authorities had ordered property seizures and issued warrants for suspects who had left Iraq; al-Jubouri’s ruling follows recent prison sentences against other lawmakers.

Abu Mujahid al-Asaf (Kataib Hezbollah — security official) warned that a government failing Iraqis would be brought down “by any means”, challenging Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi over restrictions on Iranian aviation. Three Iraqi airports suspended Iranian flights on Friday, Reuters reported. Al-Asaf said resistance forces would warn aircraft they deemed hostile in Iraqi airspace and then work to shoot them down. He also warned that restrictions continuing after 1 October could lead to closure of crossings with countries participating in them. Government spokesperson Haider al-Aboudi said Iraqi Airways had resumed Najaf–Iran flights but Iranian airlines remained barred. A sit-in called by Nujaba began at Najaf airport on 28 September; Hussein al-Saidi (Nujaba — Executive Council deputy chairman) later asked participants to suspend it after being told the airport would open. Hamid al-Musawi (Badr — parliamentary bloc spokesman) accused Najaf’s governor of seeking to stop Iranian aircraft landing, while Ahmad al-Asadi (AAH — Sadiqoun MP) said parliament was acting against the ban; neither statement established a reversal. The coalition military mission is scheduled to end on 30 September.

The Kurdistan Regional Government demanded that its 14.14 percent population share determine its allocation in Iraq’s 2027 federal budget. It accused Baghdad of reducing the Region’s census share through disputed calculations, including the exclusion of displaced people and refugees. A report prepared by the KRG’s negotiating delegation put the federal figure at 12.68 percent. Erbil’s demand comes as the Finance Ministry’s 2027 budget draft undergoes ministerial review, before agreement on the Region’s allocation. Separately, higher-degree holders and top university graduates demonstrated in Baghdad for public-sector appointments in that budget. Kurdistan24 reported that security forces used force to disperse protesters and that several graduates were injured. Both the KRG’s allocation and the graduates’ requested jobs remain demands on a draft budget, not approved spending.

Iraq increased crude allocated for export through the Kirkuk system to about 250,000 barrels per day, from roughly 225,000, a North Oil Company source told Shafaq News. The source put Kirkuk-field crude allocated to exports at about 180,000 barrels a day and Kurdistan Region supply at about 70,000. The source also linked the increase to more crude trucked from Basra into the export system. The oil moves through Turkey to Ceyhan for shipment. The additional pipeline volume comes after state marketer SOMO offered late-September cargoes while high freight costs complicated sales; the reported increase concerns oil moving through Kirkuk, not the sale of those cargoes.

Separately, gasoline imported from Syria is entering Iraq and being used to cover domestic demand, Oil Ministry spokesperson Salim Rukabi said. Authorities are working to raise deliveries to as many as 200 tankers a day, Kurdistan24 reported. Its figures put daily gasoline demand at 32 million to 33 million litres, against domestic production of about 27 million to 28 million. The ministry’s account advances the supply effort beyond the earlier arrival of gasoline trucks through the al-Waleed crossing. Parliament has called for an urgent supply plan.

Abu Mujahid al-Asaf (Kataib Hezbollah — security official) said a government failing Iraqis would be brought down by any means as he challenged Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi over restrictions on Iranian aviation. He said resistance forces would warn aircraft they deemed hostile in Iraqi airspace and then work to shoot them down. He also warned that continued restrictions after 1 October could lead to closure of crossings with countries participating in them. Al-Ittijah TV (KH — official) carried his statement. Separately, a Russia Today report attributed a warning of measures against al-Zaidi’s government after 1 October to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq; its headline went further, saying the government could be brought down. An unnamed Coordination Framework source cited by Eram News said armed factions were preparing political and field escalation over the flights, but said they had not decided to topple the government. Al-Asaf’s threat is public; the wider preparations and the separate Islamic Resistance warning remain press-attributed accounts.

Al-Nujaba TV (Nujaba — official) said a sit-in called by Nujaba began at Najaf airport’s gate on 28 September over restrictions on Iranian flights. Hussein al-Saidi (Nujaba — Executive Council deputy chairman) then asked participants to suspend it after contacts told him the airport would open; he said they would return in greater numbers and anger if it did not. The protesters’ closing statement demanded cancellation of the restrictions across Iraqi airports. Iraq’s senior state leaders instead backed the government’s request for a U.S. Treasury exception for Najaf. Government spokesperson Haider al-Aboudi said Iraqi Airways had resumed Najaf–Iran flights while Iranian airlines remained unable to operate at Iraqi airports. Al-Kornet al-Kata'ibi (KSS — affiliated) described the Najaf ban on Iranian aviation as ended, while Sabereen News (KH — affiliated) said the reported service covered Iraqi Airways alone. Al-Ahad TV (AAH — official) had reported an ambassador’s expectation that Iranian companies would resume flights through Najaf; the government spokesperson said Iranian airlines still could not operate at Iraqi airports.

The Najaf arrangement left lawmakers pressing over the restrictions. Hamid al-Musawi (Badr — parliamentary bloc spokesman) accused the Najaf governor of seeking Transport Ministry approval to stop Iranian aircraft landing at the airport. Al-Musawi argued that the investment-run airport was outside the ministry’s authority and asked the governor to explain his insistence; the governor’s alleged request remains his account. Ahmad al-Asadi (AAH — Sadiqoun MP) said parliamentary action was under way to prevent the ban, warning of heavy economic losses. Al-Ittijah TV reported Najaf MPs were gathering signatures to host al-Zaidi. Those efforts follow earlier calls for a resolution and an extraordinary session; al-Asadi announced no vote or motion.

The coalition’s military mission in Iraq is scheduled to end on 30 September, the date al-Asaf said Iraqis would celebrate the expulsion of U.S. and NATO forces. Al-Kornet al-Kata'ibi relayed the Peshmerga Ministry’s warning that the Kurdistan Region would be left without air defence after the departure. 964media reported the ministry's position that Baghdad was responsible for protecting the Region’s airspace. On weapons, Shafaq News cited an informed source saying Iraq’s four senior authorities were due on 28 September to discuss bringing armed factions’ weapons under state control; that was a planned discussion, not an agreed measure. State of Law leader Nouri al-Maliki had said a committee would announce a weapons-control programme and timetable on 30 September, not that weapons would be handed over that day. Al-Nujaba TV carried the Central Committee for Popular Organization’s announcement of a Baghdad rally at 4 p.m. on 30 September to mark the scheduled departure.