Key Takeaways:
- POLITICS: Parliament’s Vote Recognizing Halabja as Iraq’s 19th Province Faces Legal Challenge; Sudani to Seek 2nd Term in Office – On April 14, Iraq’s parliament voted to approve a bill recognizing Halabja as Iraq’s 19th province. The vote took place during a session chaired by Deputy Speaker Mohsin al-Mandalawi and attended by 178 representatives, according to a statement from parliament’s press office. The vote drew criticism from lawmakers who accused Mandalawi of “conspiring” to let the vote proceed despite an alleged lack of quorum. Some of the strongest objections came from the Sadiqoun bloc (representing Asaib Ahl al-Haq), whose members said they will seek a motion to remove Mandalawi from legislative leadership. Objecting lawmakers, reportedly including independents, have filed a lawsuit with the Federal Supreme Court seeking to overturn the vote, arguing that quorum was lacking, with only 80 lawmakers allegedly present. On April 16, Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani announced that he plans to compete in the next parliamentary election, scheduled for November, and seek a second term in office. Sudani did not mention whether he plans to form his own party or enter into a coalition with other political groups. The announcement came a day after Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) began registering political parties and coalitions for the upcoming election. The registration period runs from April 15 through May 4. On April 16, Sudani also said he had sent an official invitation to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to attend the next Arab League summit meeting, which Iraq will host next month. more…
- SECURITY & HUMANITARIAN: Police Ordered to Record Interrogations Following Torture Incident; Baghdad Moves Iran-Backed Groups Away from Syria Border – On April 14, Prime Minister Sudani instructed police departments to begin video recording all interrogations with suspects. The new policy aims to “protect detainees and defendants in order to achieve justice and preserve the dignity of individuals,” according to a statement from Sudani’s office. The move comes amid growing demands for action to prevent police brutality and follows an incident in which a man died while in custody at a Baghdad police station, where he was allegedly beaten to death. On April 17, news reports said the Iraqi government has adopted a plan to replace Iran-backed militias deployed along the Syrian border with more disciplined PMF units affiliated with the shrines of Najaf and Karbala. The plan reportedly aims to ease tensions with the new Syrian government and local tribes in Anbar, and to avoid conflict with the U.S. and Israel. According to the report, the PMF’s 44th and 72nd brigades (Liwa Ansar al-Marji’iyah and Liwa Ashoura, both affiliated with the shrines) have recently been deployed to the border in the al-Hadhar–Sinjar sector and the Akashat sector, respectively. Meanwhile, the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah, Liwa al-Tufouf, and Kataib al-Nujaba have withdrawn from al-Qaim and nearby towns. In other developments, on April 16, Iraqi authorities repatriated 856 Iraqi nationals comprising 238 households from al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria. This marks the 25th group of al-Hol residents (and the 9th this year) to return to Iraq as part of a program to repatriate all Iraqi nationals from the camp. The number of returnees now stands at approximately 15,000, with another 15,000 still awaiting return, according to Iraqi migration officials. more…
- ECONOMY & CLIMATE: Iraq Launches New Project to Expand Oil Export Capacity; Intense Sandstorm Sends Thousands to Hospitals – On April 13, the state-owned Basra Oil Company signed a contract with Italian and Turkish companies to build a new subsea oil export pipeline. Italy’s Micoperi and Turkey’s Esta will build a 48-inch pipeline extending 70 kilometers from oil export storage depots to multiple offshore loading platforms in the Gulf. The project includes constructing new links to the al-Basra Oil Terminal and Khor al-Amaya Oil Terminal and building a separate single-point mooring (SPM-4, with a capacity of 900,000 barrels per day) for oil loading. The new pipeline will have the capacity to move up to 2.4 million barrels of oil per day, offering Iraq increased flexibility in transporting crude oil from production sites to offshore export platforms. On April 14, a heavy sandstorm swept through southern and central Iraq, shutting down the Najaf and Basra airports as visibility dropped below 1,000 meters. More than 3,700 people sought hospital treatment for various respiratory problems, according to Iraq’s Health Ministry, with Basra province accounting for more than a quarter of all cases. In other developments, on April 17, Iraq’s Industry Ministry launched a project to rebuild and operate a major fertilizer factory in Salah ad-Din province. The facility, originally built in the late 1980s and later destroyed during the war with ISIS, will produce more than 600,000 tons of urea nitrogen fertilizer per year. The project, awarded to a Qatari company, is expected to cost over $1 billion and become operational within four years. more…
For more background on most of the institutions, key actors, political parties, and locations mentioned in our takeaways or in the stories that follow, see the ISHM Reference Guide.