Iraqi PM orders urgent probe after Hezbollah and Houthis “mistakenly” added to asset-freeze list

Iraq’s prime minister, Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, has ordered an immediate investigation into what he described as an “error” that led to Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Ansarullah (the Houthis) being included on an Iraqi government list of organisations whose assets were to be frozen for alleged links to terrorism.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Sudani’s office said he had directed that “an urgent investigation be conducted, responsibilities identified, and those negligent held accountable for the error made in the Committee for Freezing Terrorists’ Assets decision … which included texts conveying positions that are not accurate”.

The statement stressed that Iraq’s approval of the asset-freeze measures was “limited to listing entities and individuals linked to the terrorist ISIS and al-Qaeda organisations”.

Earlier in the day, Iraqi and regional media reported that the Committee had ordered the freezing of “all movable, immovable and economic resources” belonging to Hezbollah and Ansarullah, accusing them of involvement in “committing a terrorist attack”.

However, shortly before Sudani’s directive, the Committee issued a clarification, stating that Decision No. 61 of 2025 — published in the Iraqi Official Gazette on 17 November — concerned the freezing of the assets of entities and individuals associated with terrorist groups. In an implicit reference to Hezbollah and Ansarullah, it explained that the appearance of certain names was the result of the list being “published before revision”, and confirmed that the Gazette would be amended to remove the organisations.

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