Iraqi politician Al-Araji dismisses significance of U.S. efforts against Iraq’s judiciary

NEWSROOM – Former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Baha Al-Araji said Iraq’s top judicial official, Faiq Zaidan, was targeted by U.S. Congress members due to his stance on the Gaza conflict and the Iraqi judiciary’s arrest warrant for former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Al-Araji’s statement followed reports that U.S. Congress member Mike Waltz planned to introduce an amendment to the foreign appropriations bill designating the head of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council as an “Iranian-controlled asset.”

In an interview with Dijlah TV, Al-Araji accused Waltz of “supporting the Zionist cause” and being a close Trump supporter. He added that Zaidan’s positions on Gaza and the Trump arrest warrant had “caused significant discomfort” to those implicated.

The arrest warrant for Trump was issued following the assassination of the Deputy Head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, and the former head of the Iranian Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani. Al-Araji noted that although Zaidan was not directly involved in issuing the arrest warrant, such a decision would not have been possible without his strong leadership at the judiciary’s helm.

Al-Araji dismissed Waltz’s efforts as merely a “proposal” unlikely to pass in Congress. Al-Araji urged the Iraqi Parliament to issue a formal stance regarding Waltz’s proposal.