Pro-Iranian parties in Iraq are seeking to persecute Iraq’s speaker of parliament, Mohammed al-Halbousi. This is part of a pattern of Iranian-backed groups trying to remove any Sunni politicians who rise too high in Iraqi politics. In the past Iraq did something similar, targeting Tariq al-Hashimi, a politician who rose to prominence before being targeted by Shi’ite ruling parties in 2012.  

The new controversy is centered on Halbousi, who has been the speaker of parliament since 2018. In Iraq, the prime minister is generally a Shi’ite, the president is a Kurd, and a Sunni receives the speakership. This is similar to the sectarian politics of Lebanon. It breeds instability and creates incentives to persecute people for various reasons.

Halbousi is being persecuted on various charges, including forgery. He is also accused of “normalization with Israel” despite no evidence of this. He was also accused of having signed a contract with a US firm.  

Ousted as speaker over the allegations, Iraq has now been plunged into another round of turmoil. Several ministers in the government have resigned in protest. Iraq’s top court had ousted him as speaker and Halbousi has said this is unconstitutional. It’s not the first time Iraqi courts have appeared to make sectarian decisions. They have also been used against the Kurdish autonomous region.  

According to Kurdistan24, “Ali al-Zubaidi, a member of the Fatah Alliance, said that following the decision of the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court, former Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi will be prohibited from traveling and will be subject to a forced stay order.”

Now Iraq is seeking to arrest the ousted speaker. “The initiative to restore relations with Israel has been thwarted by al-Halbousi’s removal, and numerous other cases [where he has been charged] will be examined and dealt with,” Zubaidi noted, according to Kurdistan24.  

Using Israel-hatred as political fuel

Iraq’s pro-Iranian politicians often spread conspiracies about Israel. For instance, they often accuse the Kurdistan region of being pro-Israel. In addition, researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, who is an Israeli and Russian citizen was kidnapped by Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah in March. Recently they released a video of her. This is part of the Iranian attempt to attack Israel throughout the region.

It’s unclear what comes next for Halbousi. Sunni parliamentarians and Sunni groups will not be pleased with this new attempt to persecute one of their leaders. However, after the war on ISIS, many Sunni groups appear weaker in Iraq, and the country is largely controlled by Iran and its militias. Hashimi, when he was persecuted, fled to Turkey where he was offered refuge.

Seth Frantzman is the author of Drone Wars: Pioneers, Killing Machine, Artificial Intelligence and the Battle for the Future (Bombardier 2021) and an adjunct fellow at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies.