Sulaimaniyah City, Iraq – Iraq’s leaders pushed to postpone parliamentary elections fearing public discontent would lead to their removal from power, an analyst with ties to the government says.
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, President Barham Salih, and Speaker of the Parliament Mohammad al-Halbusi wanted a later vote over concerns about their prospects for re-election and sought to buy time, said Mohammad Bakhtiar, a Kurdish political analyst who meets regularly with Iraqi decision-makers.
“At least two of the three leaders of Iraq who favoured early election have realised that their chances of being re-elected are minimal,” Bakhtiar said.
In a bid to delay the elections, the three Iraqi leaders met on January 12 and later with the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and election commission officials, he told Al Jazeera.
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Iran to form NATO defence and security pact with allies
Iranian military officials inspect the underground missile base built on the shore of the Persian Gulf in southern Iran of Hormozgan on January 8, 2021 [Sepahnews - Handout / Anadolu Agency] January 19, 2021 at 4:07 pm
The Iranian parliament announced yesterday that it is preparing a draft resolution on a defence and security treaty for the Axis of Resistance which it will sign with its allies, states and non-state actors alike.
Although an informal alliance already exists, the aim of the NATO-style treaty is to oblige members to respond collectively to any attack on any members by Israel or other hostile states.
Brief Analysis
The latest sanctions against a senior leader in the Iranian-backed terrorist militia are a reminder that such figures cannot slip onto the political spectrum merely by changing their job title.
On January 13, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced new sanctions on Abdul-Aziz al-Mohammadawi (usually known as Abu Fadak, sometimes Abu Hamid), the acting deputy chairman of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). He was designated for terrorist activities under Executive Order 13224. In 2012, then-vice president Joe Biden promised, “If you attack innocent Americans, we will follow you to the end of the earth.” Abu Fadak is guilty of doing just that, and designating him shows that the United States will not let its most determined adversaries sidestep accountability just by joining the security forces of the Iraqi state.
The outgoing US administration
blacklisted a second senior leader in Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) in the space of a week. The PMF is an umbrella group composed mainly of Iran-backed Shiite militias and the move is intended to increase pressure on Iran’s proxies in the country.
On Wednesday, the US State Department listed
Abd Al Aziz Malluh Mirjirash, the PMF chief of staff and Iran-allied militia leader, as a “specially designated global terrorist” for his role in undermining security in Iraq. Mirjirash goes by two nom de guerres, Abu Fadak and sometimes, Al Khal, or “the uncle”. He is also known by his tribal name Al Muhammadawi.
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