No red lines… Parliamentary Integrity Committee vows to expose big names in the theft of the century

Member of the Parliamentary Integrity Committee, Ahmed al-Shammari, revealed on Wednesday that there is close parliamentary and oversight activity underway to reopen the infamous “Steal of the Century” case in the coming days. He emphasized the determination to pursue and expose all names and figures involved in this major economic crime without any red lines.

Al-Shammari told the Information Agency, “The coming days will witness decisive and surprising developments regarding this case, as the true perpetrators will be revealed and brought down, regardless of their names, job titles, or party and political affiliations.” He expressed the committee’s insistence on fully recovering the looted funds and holding the perpetrators accountable.

He added, “The ‘Steal of the Century’ case was subjected to systematic procrastination and cover-ups during the previous government due to pressure and blatant interference by some influential political parties and entities to protect their interests and illicit gains.” He indicated that “the committee currently possesses new indicators and evidence that will bring everyone before the Iraqi judiciary to end the era of impunity.”

Almaalomah.me

The State of Law coalition is moving to challenge the vote on the government.

The State of Law Coalition parliamentary bloc revealed on Wednesday its imminent legal action to file a formal appeal with the Federal Supreme Court regarding the constitutional and procedural violations that occurred during the vote on the government program and the formation of the cabinet. MP Ibtisam al -Hilali, a member of the bloc, told Al-Maalomah News Agency that “the session to grant confidence to the government and the ministerial program was conducted in a manner that violated proper constitutional procedures.” She revealed that “the State of Law Coalition intends to appeal to the Constitutional Court due to the existence of highly significant objective and procedural grounds.”

She added that “the government program was passed without genuine discussion by members of Parliament, unlike previous sessions, and was limited to brief paragraphs.” She also pointed to “premeditated political intentions and a clear targeting of State of Law Coalition candidates by placing them at the bottom of the voting list, at a time when the sovereign Ministry of Interior should have been presented immediately after the Ministries of Finance and Oil.”

Al-Hilali accused the Speaker of Parliament of “passing the vote on the Ministries of Electricity and Transportation illegally and without a true count of the votes of the representatives present in the chamber,” asserting that “the lawsuit that will be filed before the Federal Court will be based entirely on these blatant constitutional violations.”

Almaalomah.me

Shaalan: The parliament’s leadership is responsible for obstructing the formation of the government.

MP Ali Shaalan pointed out on Wednesday a decline in the performance of the Speaker of Parliament during some recent periods, considering this stumbling block to have contributed to delaying the resolution of a number of scheduled issues within the parliament.

Shaalan told the Information Agency, “The Speaker of Parliament has not succeeded on several occasions in managing some sessions as required,” indicating that “the most prominent evidence of this is the failure to approve some of the appointed ministers for the remaining portfolios in Prime Minister Ali al-Zidi’s government.”
He added that “the current stage requires greater seriousness from the Speaker to overcome the political obstacles that are delaying the completion of the cabinet formation,” stressing the importance of activating the parliamentary role to ensure filling the ministerial vacancies and supporting the executive performance of the state.

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Al-Zidi directs the increase of oil exports and the diversification of export outlets.

Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi directed officials on Wednesday to follow up on the issue of increasing oil exports and diversifying export routes.

The Prime Minister’s Media Office stated in a press release received by the Information Agency that “Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi visited the Ministry of Oil headquarters in Baghdad today, where he chaired a meeting with senior ministry staff, in the presence of the Ministers of Oil and Foreign Affairs and the Director of the Prime Minister’s Office.”

The statement added that “the Prime Minister listened to a briefing presented by the Minister of Oil on the progress of the ministry’s projects, particularly those related to addressing the crisis of the Strait of Hormuz closure and the resulting halt in oil exports. He also reviewed ongoing associated gas projects and the main challenges facing their implementation.” The statement continued, “The meeting also discussed the issue of oil exports and finding diverse export routes, the mechanism for implementing Cabinet decisions in this regard, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ procedures for following up on agreements concluded with several neighboring countries for overland oil exports.”

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The era of raised hands is over… Parliament enters the era of electronic voting.

The adoption of electronic voting technology in the Iraqi Parliament represents a strategic step towards enhancing the freedom of expression of representatives and ending the skepticism and controversy that have long accompanied the manual counting and sorting of crucial legislation.

The Iraqi Parliament is entering a new phase with the initiation of efforts to adopt electronic voting technology, a move aimed at bolstering transparency and accountability among representatives, and eliminating the doubts that previously plagued manual vote counting.

Member of Parliament Yasser Iskandar Watout confirmed that a group of representatives intends to compel the Parliament’s leadership to transition to electronic voting within the parliamentary chamber, following the example of advanced legislative and international institutions.

Watout told Al-Maalomah, “Relying on modern electronic voting technologies will dispel the suspicions and doubts that have plagued the process of counting representatives’ votes by raising hands.”

He pointed out that “the current manual mechanism compels many political blocs to resort to the Constitutional Court and file appeals that can be lengthy, thus disrupting and delaying the enactment of laws and decisions that directly impact citizens’ lives.”
For his part, former MP Hussein Ali Mardan called on the Parliament and the leaders of the political blocs to make the voting process in the upcoming session exclusively electronic, stressing that this measure is the only way to end the doubts and ensure the transparency of future decisions.

Mardan told Al-Maalomah, “Adopting an electronic voting mechanism removes doubts and accusations against the Parliament’s leadership and gives the MP’s vote its true value by publicly displaying their name and electoral card before the public and the Iraqi people.”

He added, “Announcing the names places the MP in a position of responsibility and accountability before their constituents regarding their choices concerning laws or candidates for office.”

Mardan emphasized that “any non-electronic voting mechanism will be completely unacceptable, as it opens the door wide to the exchange of accusations of treason and suspicion between political forces and the people’s representatives.”

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Al-Khafaji: Washington controls exchange rates and exploits oil revenues to impose its will on Baghdad.

Member of Parliament Miqdad al-Khafaji confirmed on Wednesday that the United States of America holds the reins of the Iraqi economy and directly controls the dollar exchange rates, indicating that the mechanism for supplying oil funds gives Washington the power to impose its will on Baghdad.

Al-Khafaji told Al-Maalomah News Agency that “Iraq is experiencing accumulated economic crises, the most prominent of which is the financial crisis related to the mechanism for supplying it with revenues from crude oil sold in global markets.”

He added that “all Iraqi oil export revenues go directly to the US Federal Reserve,” explaining that “the United States controls the mechanism for releasing these funds and supplying them to Iraq.”

He explained that “this dominance gives Washington direct and significant influence in determining and shaping the exchange rate policy of the US currency (dollar) within the Iraqi local market.”

It should be noted that the continued economic pressures and restrictions on Iraqi funds present the government with a real test of its ability to protect national sovereignty and regain control over the country’s financial and oil resources.

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The coordination framework denies the “single basket” agreement to pass the remaining portfolios

Member of the Coordination Framework, Uday Abdul-Hadi, denied on Wednesday the existence of an agreement to pass the remaining ministerial portfolios in Ali al-Zaidi’s government according to the “single package” principle.

Abdul-Hadi told Al-Maalouma that “the understandings reached in recent days focused on proceeding with the completion of the remaining ministerial portfolios in al-Zaidi’s government after the Eid al-Adha holiday, while emphasizing the need to respect the entitlements of the political blocs and currents,” denying “what has been circulating about an agreement to pass the remaining portfolios according to the single package principle.”
He pointed out that “among the remaining portfolios are three sovereign ministries,” indicating that “the period after Eid al-Adha will be filled with intensive meetings and discussions in order to schedule a decisive session of the Council of Representatives to vote on the nominees.”

Abdul-Hadi confirmed that “none of the names proposed in the first session have changed so far,” noting that “changing names is possible and depends on the views of the blocs that hold ministerial positions within the agreed-upon understandings.” He stressed that “the coming days will be crucial in answering many questions.”

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Based on the Federal Court’s decision, a parliamentary request was submitted to Al-Zidi to cancel the decisions of the “caretaker government”.

Member of the Legal Committee in the Iraqi Parliament, MP Mohammed Jassim Al-Khafaji, revealed on Wednesday that an official letter was sent to Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi, demanding a review of the decisions and cancellation of the contracts taken by the previous government headed by Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, after it became a caretaker government.

According to the document issued by the MP’s office, which was obtained by Shafaq News Agency, the request was based on constitutional articles (61/Second) and (78 and 80), and in accordance with the decision of the Supreme Federal Court No. (213/Federal/2025), which set the date for the previous government to transition to managing daily affairs starting from November 11, 2025.

Al-Khafaji explained through his official accounts that during that period, decisions were issued that he described as “numerous and dangerous,” noting that they included contracts and procedures with broad financial, political, economic and social impacts, and that they were contrary to the constitution because they do not fall within the duties and powers of caretaker governments.

The previous caretaker government had taken a series of decisions that sparked widespread controversy within popular and political circles, including imposing financial amounts under the name of “service fees” on mobile phone companies, and increasing customs duties on imported goods and merchandise.

Shafaq.com

The UAE condemns the attack on the Barakah nuclear power plant: Baghdad is urged to immediately cease its attacks.

The UAE on Wednesday condemned in the strongest terms what it called “treacherous terrorist attacks” by drones coming from Iraqi territory, which targeted the Barakah nuclear power plant, while demanding that Baghdad stop the “attacks” immediately.

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency, expressed “the UAE’s strongest condemnation and absolute rejection of the heinous terrorist attacks launched from Iraqi territory targeting vital civilian facilities in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, in flagrant violation of their sovereignty and airspace, and a clear breach of the provisions of international law, international humanitarian law, and the Charter of the United Nations.”

The ministry stressed “the need for the Government of the Republic of Iraq to urgently and unconditionally prevent all hostile acts emanating from its territory, and the need to deal with these threats urgently, immediately and responsibly in accordance with relevant international and regional laws and conventions.”

She stressed “the importance of Iraq playing its role in consolidating security and stability in the region, in a way that preserves its sovereignty and enhances its position as an active and responsible partner in its regional environment.”

The Iraqi government on Tuesday expressed its strong condemnation of the drone attacks targeting the United Arab Emirates, affirming its support for efforts to enhance security and stability in the region.

The UAE Ministry of Defense announced on Tuesday that it had detected and dealt with six hostile drones in the past 48 hours that attempted to target civilian and vital areas, confirming that the drones that targeted the Barakah nuclear power plant came from Iraq.

The UAE announced last Sunday that the Barakah nuclear power plant had been attacked by three drones.

Shafaq.com

Oil Minister to Al-Zidi: Gas flaring to end by late 2029; agreement with the region is a major achievement

Oil Minister Bassem Mohammed Khudair Al-Abadi confirmed on Wednesday to Prime Minister Ali Al-Zidi that the ministry is proceeding with associated gas investment projects to end its flaring in Iraq by the end of 2029, pledging to intensify efforts to secure financial revenues from exports and activate export outlets, as well as provide oil derivatives to citizens despite the current challenges in the region.

During the meeting, Al-Abadi touched on the importance of licensing rounds in attracting global expertise to develop the oil sector, in addition to solar energy projects, most notably the “Basra Sun” project. He praised the recent oil agreement with the Kurdistan Region and considered it a major achievement, while he called for the allocation of a five-year budget to ensure the completion of vital strategic projects, according to an official statement issued by the ministry.

For its part, the media office of the Prime Minister stated that the meeting, which was held in the Ministry of Oil building, witnessed Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi reviewing with the Minister of Oil and senior staff the mechanisms for addressing the repercussions of the crisis of closing the Strait of Hormuz and the cessation of exports, as well as following up on the progress of work in associated gas projects and the most prominent challenges they face.

The meeting addressed finding diverse outlets and securing alternative routes for exporting crude oil, and the mechanism for implementing Cabinet decisions in this regard, in addition to discussing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ procedures regarding following up on agreements concluded with a number of neighboring countries for exporting oil by land.

Shafaq.com