Tishwash: Parliament will not be suspended” .. Parliamentary Legal Committee reveals the plan for sessions during Ramadan
Member of the Parliamentary Legal Committee, Mohammed Anouz, confirmed on Thursday that the Iraqi Parliament will not be suspended early due to the upcoming legislative elections, stressing that the Council has a moral and constitutional responsibility to continue holding its sessions and approving the remaining laws.
Anouz added to Shafaq News Agency that the first and second legislative chapters are sufficient to complete the reading, discussion and voting on many laws, stressing that the Council will resume its sessions next week.
He pointed out that Parliament sessions during the month of Ramadan will be in the evening, i.e. after breakfast, to ensure the continuation of legislative work before the end of the current session.
It is noteworthy that the current session of the Iraqi Council of Representatives began on January 9, 2022, and is scheduled to continue for four years, which means that it will end on January 8, 2026.
According to the amended Electoral Law No. 12 of 2018, legislative elections must be held 45 days before the end of the parliamentary term.
Accordingly, the next elections are expected to be held in late November 2025.
Recently, the Independent High Electoral Commission began its technical and logistical preparations to ensure that the elections are held on the scheduled date, in coordination with the Prime Minister’s Office. link
************
Tishwash: National Bank of Iraq wins the “Excellence Award” from “Citi Bank” in recognition of its outstanding performance
The National Bank of Iraq announced that it won the “Excellence Award” from Citi Bank, in recognition of its exceptional performance in managing incoming and outgoing financial transfers, stressing that this is an achievement that reflects its commitment to the highest standards of quality and transparency in banking services.
This award is a global testament to the bank’s efficiency in implementing financial operations with utmost precision, as it excels in ensuring that transactions are processed according to the highest international standards, while providing the required documents in the correct manner and on time.
This achievement reinforces the position of the National Bank of Iraq as one of the leading banks in the Iraqi banking sector, committed to providing reliable and effective financial solutions that meet the needs of its individual and corporate clients.
Commenting on this achievement, Ayman Abu Dahim, Managing Director of the National Bank of Iraq, expressed his pride and honor in the bank receiving this prestigious award, explaining that receiving this award reflects the bank’s tireless efforts and its firm commitment to providing banking services that are in line with the highest international standards, noting that the National Bank of Iraq believes that innovation and continuous development are the key to success, so it has worked to adopt the latest technologies to ensure the speed and efficiency of financial transfers, which provides its customers with a safe and reliable banking experience.
Abu Dahim praised the efforts made by the bank’s work team at all administrative and functional levels in providing the best banking services and achieving the highest levels of accuracy and transparency, stressing the bank’s commitment to continue developing its operations and strengthening its partnerships with global financial institutions, in a way that ensures the provision of advanced banking solutions that keep pace with the aspirations of our customers and contribute to supporting the national economy.
It is worth noting that the National Bank of Iraq is one of the leading private financial institutions in the Iraqi banking market, as it constantly seeks to provide innovative banking services that meet the needs of customers and enhance their confidence, by providing integrated financial solutions that support individuals and companies, while adhering to the best international practices in the banking sector link
************
Tishwash: It will not be on the “losing team”.. Iraq moves to the post-Iran phase
An American report shed light on the attempts that Iraq is facing to get out of the “Iranian orbit” and the “axis of resistance”, which took Iran years to build in order to expand its influence deep into the Arab world, but it is rapidly shrinking and could collapse overnight.
A report by the American magazine “The Atlantic”, translated by Shafaq News Agency, explained that “the axis of resistance has deteriorated during the past year from its formal rise to a stage of final decline, as Israel struck two of its main members, Hamas and Hezbollah, the regime of Bashar al-Assad fell, and the Lebanese parliament elected a new president and a new prime minister, who are not on friendly terms with the axis.”
The report stated that until recently, Iran boasted that it controlled four Arab capitals: Damascus, Beirut, Sanaa, and Baghdad, but now the first two have slipped away, while the third is still under the control of the Houthis, who are still loyal to Tehran. But what about the fourth, Baghdad?
absolute control
In this regard, the American report saw that the degree of Tehran’s control over Baghdad is always changing, as the Iraqi parties loyal to Tehran cannot form a government on their own, and are forced to form coalitions with other parties, including those dominated by the Kurds and Sunnis, who have limited ideological ties to the “axis”, adding that even among the Shiites, the pro-Tehran position has become a matter of intense controversy, especially after the balance of power in the region shifted away from Iran.
He pointed out that the forces loyal to Iran organized violent clashes in the streets, and were able to obstruct this through religious and parliamentary maneuvers, so Muhammad Shia al-Sudani took over the prime ministership in October 2022, which was described as an “Iranian victory,” for reasons including that the prime minister who replaced al-Sudani was Mustafa al-Kadhimi, whom the report described as the first non-Islamic ruler of Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein, and that al-Kadhimi had restored Iraqi relations with Sunni powers such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan, and even established excellent relations with Iran and encouraged the restoration of diplomatic relations between the Iranians and Saudis.
However, the American report warned that Tehran’s control over Baghdad is not completely secure, as Al-Sudani relies on the support of parties loyal to Tehran, but he continued to follow a large part of Al-Kazemi’s regional agenda to strengthen relations with Arab countries.
The losing team
The report considered that there are many issues that cause division among Iraqis, but there is one issue that unites many of them, which is that they do not want Iraq to turn into a battlefield for Iran’s conflicts with the United States and Israel, indicating that in light of the decline in the fortunes of the Tehran axis, these Iraqis do not want to be on the losing team in the region.
The report indicated that many Iraqis are now publicly demanding the dissolution of the Popular Mobilization Forces, which the report described as “the main tool of Iranian interference in Iraq,” noting that members of the Iraqi government say that with the defeat of ISIS, the presence of the Popular Mobilization Forces is no longer necessary.
In this context, the report mentioned the recent statements of the Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein that he hopes “we will be able to convince the leaders of these groups to lay down their weapons, and that two or three years ago, it was impossible to discuss this issue in our society.” It also mentioned the recent statements of Mr. Muqtada al-Sadr in which he pointed out the necessity of limiting the carrying of weapons to the state’s security forces only.
Baghdad and Washington
However, the report found that what is most surprising is that figures from within the Coordination Framework, which includes parties loyal to Tehran, support this position, including MP Mohsen al-Mandalawi, the Kurdish Shiite billionaire, adding that “dissolving the armed militias or integrating them into the regular security forces would remove Iran’s main source of influence inside Iraq.”
The report considered that such a step may be calculated to avoid problems with Washington, as it is believed that the Donald Trump administration is considering imposing new sanctions on Iraq unless the Popular Mobilization Forces are disarmed, adding that the Iraqi government is looking to calm things down with Washington, as Al-Sudani and Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid sent congratulatory telegrams to the American president when he was elected.
The report quoted MP Ali Nema (from the Coordination Framework) as saying that he expected Iraqi-American relations to improve, and that the Coordination Framework, which is loyal to Iran, “is not worried about Trump.”
The report recalled Al-Sudani’s recent visit to Tehran, saying that “relations with Tehran are more controversial than ever,” as Al-Sudani received harsh criticism from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who called for preserving and strengthening the Popular Mobilization Forces and expelling all American forces, and described the recent change of power in Syria as the work of “foreign governments.
Iran axis
The American report then asked whether all this data is sufficient to indicate that Iraq is also leaving the Iranian axis, but it noted that Iraqi experts did not agree on an answer to this question.
The report also quoted Hamdi Malik, a researcher at the Washington Institute, as saying that Iran “still exercises significant influence in Iraq,” and that al-Sudani’s government initially sent “cautious but positive signals” to the new Syrian regime, but “the tone in Shiite circles in Iraq changed completely after Khamenei expressed a completely hostile view of developments there.”
After noting that Al-Sudani’s government relies heavily on the support of the Coordination Framework, the report quoted Malik as saying that “any attempt by Al-Sudani to limit Iran’s influence will be merely cosmetic attempts.”
The report said that Farhang Fereydoun Namdar, an Iraqi analyst from the University of Missouri, agreed with this assessment, as the Popular Mobilization Forces still have about 200,000 members and a budget of about $3 billion, indicating that this force is unlikely to go anywhere, despite calls for its dissolution. The report quoted Namdar as saying that “almost all factions of the Popular Mobilization Forces are loyal to Iran, and the Mobilization has managed to entrench itself in the economy and politics of Iraq … and is the backbone of the Sudanese government.”
Strategic location
The American Atlantic report saw that Iraq’s position may be more complicated than just the image of a state subordinate to a neighboring regime, as Baghdad is distinguished by a unique position to achieve a balance between Iranian interests and the interests of the Sunni states in the region, and it is trying hard to build partnerships with its non-Iranian neighbors.
The report quoted Iraqi affairs expert Aaron Robert Walsh, who is based in Amman, as saying that he believes that Al-Sudani is “cautiously separating Iraq from the axis without completely severing relations with Tehran,” noting that Tehran and its Iraqi allies could spoil these efforts, for example by attacking projects in which the Gulf states have invested.
The report concluded by reminding that Iraq will hold elections in October, and that if enough Iraqis reject pro-Tehran parties at the ballot box, as most did in 2021, there will be an opportunity for al-Sudani, or whoever may succeed him, to form a government that makes an extra effort to assert Iraqi sovereignty. link
