ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s presidency said on Friday that it had no role in a decision to classify Yemen’s Ansarullah and Lebanon’s Hezbollah as terrorist organizations and freeze their assets. The decision has sparked protests.
“The Presidency further confirms that it became aware of this decision solely through social media and did not receive prior notification from any competent authority,” read a statement from the presidency’s media office.
On Thursday, news broke that Iraq’s Committee for Freezing Terrorist Assets had frozen resources belonging to Hezbollah and Ansarullah, more commonly known as the Houthis.
The presidency said “it was neither informed of nor did it approve of” the designation.
The Official Gazette of Iraq, al-Waqai’ al-Iraqiya reported that the Committee for Freezing Terrorist Assets, which is affiliated with the council of ministers, had decided to “freeze the movable and immovable assets and economic resources” of a list of entities that included the Lebanese Hezbollah Movement and Yemen’s Ansarullah Movement, citing their "participation in committing a terrorist act" as rationale for the decision.
Hezbollah and Ansarullah are key members of the Iran-led Axis of Resistance, which is a network of armed and political groups across the Middle East, including within Iraq.
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Baghdad on Friday in protest, demanding swift punishment for those responsible.
The protests are “a message rejecting the offensive decision against the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, and Yemen. We reject this action,” Samer al-Sudani, a member of the armed group Harakat al-Nujaba, told Rudaw.
“The aim of this decision is to fragment Shiite power and isolate Hezbollah from Iraq in order to dismantle the Axis of Resistance,” said Imad al-Basrawi, another protester.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani said the listing of Hezbollah and the Houthis was an “error” and ordered an investigation.
The presidency said that it only reviews and approves decisions from parliament and republic decrees. “Decisions issued by the Council of Ministers, the Committee for Freezing Terrorist Assets, the Anti–Money Laundering Committee, or any similar body are not submitted to the Presidency for approval,” it said.
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