Presidency says it had no role in Hezbollah, Houthi listing
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Presidency said Friday it had no knowledge of, or role in, the decision that appeared to classify Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis as terrorist groups and freeze their assets, adding that such measures do not pass through the presidency for review or approval.
In a statement carried by local media, the presidency said it “denies having knowledge of or ratifying the decision to consider Ansar Allah and Lebanese Hezbollah a terrorist group and to freeze their assets and funds,” noting that only laws passed by parliament and republican decrees are sent to the presidency for scrutiny, ratification and publication.
“Decisions of the Council of Ministers, decisions of the Committee for Freezing Terrorists’ Assets, decisions of the Anti–Money Laundering Committee, and instructions issued by any entity are not sent to the Presidency of the Republic,” the statement said.
The presidency added that it only became aware of the move “through social media,” stressing that no official communication had been received on the matter and saying the clarification was required to set the record straight.
The clarification follows intense controversy over an issue of the official gazette, al-Waqa’i al-Iraqiya, that published a decision by the Committee for Freezing Terrorists’ Assets listing Hezbollah and the Houthis under terrorism financing measures.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered an “urgent investigation” into how the groups were included, saying the decision text “reflected positions that are not real” and that Iraq’s approval of a Malaysian request under United Nations counterterrorism resolutions was limited to entities linked to the Islamic State group and al-Qaida.
The Central Bank’s Committee for Freezing Terrorists’ Assets also said the appearance of Hezbollah and the Houthis on its list was an error caused by publishing an unedited draft, and pledged to remove their names in a forthcoming correction in the gazette.