Thursday, 22 October 2026

Elsewhere in relations with Iran, Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran senior member Amanj Zibaee on Thursday dismissed reports of Iranian Kurdish opposition groups’ disarmament and expulsion as “propaganda”. He said his group was aware of events in Baghdad but had received no official statement on the matter. Iran’s ambassador to Iraq, Mohammad Kazem Al-e Sadegh, had said Tuesday that Baghdad agreed to expel the groups and hand their members to Tehran. Kurdistan Region Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed said Erbil had no representatives at that joint security meeting. Zibaee praised the Kurdistan Regional Government’s “very positive role” and said his group took its political situation into consideration.

Separately, Central Bank figures released Thursday showed bank deposits recovered in August while lending continued to shrink. Deposits rose about 2% to 103.065 trillion dinars, from 101.008 trillion dinars in July. They remained 7.2% below their level at the end of 2025. Cash lending fell by 172 billion dinars to 71.261 trillion dinars, leaving it 5.7% below the end of 2025. The figures cover the period before Iraq’s 7 October dinar devaluation. They also precede Finance Minister Falih al-Sari’s Monday instruction to Rafidain Bank to resume public-employee lending and expand private-business financing.

Communications Minister Mustafa Sanad said Thursday that Waze is not banned in Iraq, but he still intends to block it once local alternatives are ready. At Baghdad’s Internet Governance Forum, he said young Iraqi developers and local companies had proposed mapping and traffic applications. He called for support for Iraqi software development to reduce reliance on imported apps. Communications and Media Commission head Baligh Abu Kalal separately said no decision had been made to shut down Waze. Banning an application requires investigation and completion of procedures, and Waze will remain available until a decision is made, he said.

Nujaba military assistant Abdulqader al-Karbala'i on Wednesday rejected restriction, handover and disarmament of the movement’s weapons. He also reaffirmed its decision to stay out of the political process. Sabereen News (KH — affiliated) and Unit 10,000 (KH — affiliated) relayed his weapons statement rather than declaring a separate KH position. His rejection followed the Coordination Framework’s Monday reaffirmation of the 30 June 2027 deadline for bringing weapons outside official authority under state control. Al-Hurra meanwhile reported that Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi had sought to overcome US objections to Deputy Prime Minister Laith al-Khazali’s (AAH — leader) appointment by arguing that AAH had agreed to relinquish its weapons. Citing two Iraqi political sources and an Iraqi source in Washington, it said al-Zaidi argued that accepting the appointment could encourage other factions to disarm.

The government’s enforcement of weapons control also drew a parliamentary challenge on Thursday. Hoquq MP Saud al-Saadi (KH — parliamentary bloc) questioned the constitutionality of pursuing critics of weapons-control decisions, following the government’s Monday direction to pursue incitement to violence or obstruction of state weapons control under the Anti-Terrorism Law. He requested clarification of the legal basis and compatibility with freedom of expression. On Al-Ahad TV (AAH — official), National Media Observatory member Wael al-Rikabi supported pursuing alleged inciters provided it did not become censorship. Political-affairs researcher Imad al-Musafir warned against using enforcement against opinion-makers. Naram Sin Foundation for Dialogue and Development president Haider al-Barzanji instead called for media regulation and limits on freedom.

In Maysan, residents demonstrated on Thursday against the government’s closure of the Shib border crossing. Provincial Council Security Committee head Qasim Issa urged reopening on iNEWS (KSS — affiliated), saying the crossing had no security or technical defect. He said food trucking had been disrupted and closure would harm Iraq rather than Iran and leave many unemployed. That differed from government spokesman Haider al-Aboudi’s technical-unreadiness explanation, relayed by Unit 10,000. Council spokesman Hakim Atiya told Al-Ahad that Baghdad had not consulted Maysan’s local government and the council had formally sought reopening. Al-Janoub TV (Harakat al-Jihad wal-Bina — official) carried a request attributed to al-Saadi for parliament to examine the closure’s reasons, consequences and government handling. The movement’s official channel republished the request, while Al-Janoub also reported Tehran’s displeasure and fears of paralysis in Iraqi trade.

Separately, Al-Mashhad alleged on Wednesday, citing unnamed Iraqi sources, that Houthis operating from Iraq attacked Saudi Arabia with support from Kataib Hezbollah, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada and Nujaba. It said this prompted al-Zaidi to consider closing Houthi offices in Iraq under US pressure to prevent attacks on neighbouring countries. The faction-support allegation remains unverified, and the three factions have not commented. Security Media Cell head Lt. Gen. Saad Maan, however, denied that Houthi members were operating in Iraq. Erem News also relayed Kan’s unverified allegation of PMF military participation in Yemen, based on the death of First Lieutenant Ahmad Awwad Kazim al-Lami of the PMF’s 28th Brigade. His obituary described his death as an unfortunate accident. Unit 10,000 meanwhile criticized what it described as Aaidh al-Qarni’s declaration of jihad against Yemen, contrasting it with Palestine.