Iraq scraps Hezbollah, Houthis from terror listing
Shafaq News – Baghdad
Iraq has removed Lebanese Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi movement (Ansarallah) from its list of sanctioned groups, a senior Iraqi official said on Sunday.
In a post on Facebook, lawmaker-elect and former MP Mustafa Sanad, who is close to Iran-aligned armed factions, noted that the parliamentary Committee in charge of freezing terrorist assets finalized the decision, which would be officially published shortly.
The two groups had been included on Iraq’s list following United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions targeting terrorism and the financing of extremist organizations. The listing appeared in issue 4848 of the Iraqi Official Gazette on Nov. 17, 2025.
The move sparked immediate clarification from Iraqi authorities, including a statement and a document from the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) emphasizing that Baghdad’s previous approval applied only to individuals and entities connected to ISIS and al-Qaeda.
Caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani called for an urgent review of the decision, which quickly became a topic of debate among political circles, particularly those supportive of the so-called “Resistance Axis.”
Legal experts previously told Shafaq News that correcting decisions published in the Official Gazette is fully legitimate, adding that the international classification of Hezbollah and the Houthis as “terrorist organizations is based on binding UN Security Council resolutions.”
Read more: Iraq’s backtrack on Hezbollah–Houthi listing exposes ahigh-stakes regional tight rope
