Al-Zaidi dismisses 9 officials following an investigation into oil smuggling in the Jurf al-Sakhar area

Al-Taj News – Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi dismissed 9 officials on Saturday evening following an investigation conducted by a government committee into oil smuggling in the Jurf al-Sakhar area, where the pro-Iranian Kataib Hezbollah is stationed.

This comes at a time when American pressures on Baghdad are increasing to control the weapons of groups close to Tehran, which Al-Zaidi pledged to do since assuming his post this year with American blessing.

On Wednesday, Al-Zaidi ordered an investigation into suspicions of oil smuggling within Jurf al-Sakhar, located in Babil Governorate in central Iraq, amid growing tensions between him and Kataib Hezbollah. A government committee entered the area on Friday accompanied by elements from the armed group.

The Iraqi News Agency had quoted an unnamed informed source on Wednesday as saying that there are “oil smuggling operations from” Jurf al-Sakhar, in addition to “mechanisms for breaching pipelines, storing oil, and smuggling routes toward Baghdad.” It indicated that the smuggling was carried out by an “armed faction (…) without interruption for many years.”

Military spokesman Sabah Al-Numan said in a statement on Saturday evening that the results of the investigation “confirmed the validity of the information received (…) regarding oil smuggling operations.”

In light of this, Al-Zaidi issued directives to “refer all suspects involved in oil smuggling operations to the judiciary” and to “dismiss” nine officials, including security officials and others in the oil sector.