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Iraqi PM Rejects Resignation of 3 Taqaddum Party Ministers

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani with Speaker Mohammad al-Halbousi (file photo: Iraqi Premiership)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani with Speaker Mohammad al-Halbousi (file photo: Iraqi Premiership)
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Iraqi PM Rejects Resignation of 3 Taqaddum Party Ministers

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani with Speaker Mohammad al-Halbousi (file photo: Iraqi Premiership)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani with Speaker Mohammad al-Halbousi (file photo: Iraqi Premiership)

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani rejected the resignations of three ministers who took the move in protest of a ruling by Iraq’s court to terminate the tenure of Speaker Mohammad al-Halbousi.
The Federal Supreme Court, the highest judicial body in Iraq, ruled to remove Halbousi, the influential Sunni Speaker, from his position after a complaint filed against him by a representative on charges of “forgery.”
In response, the Taqaddum Party, led by Halbousi, announced the resignation of its three ministers in the government.
Government spokesman Bassem al-Awadi said in a statement that the Prime Minister rejected the resignations submitted by the Ministers of Planning, Industry, and Culture, and accordingly, they will resume their executive duty.
The statement explained that the rejection comes from the government’s desire to ensure political representation for all components and political forces of the Iraqi people and in harmony with the government’s commitments to support and maintain political stability.
Iraq’s political process is based on power sharing between different sects, and it has become a tradition that the position of President goes to the Kurds, the Prime Minister is Shia, and the Speaker is Sunni.
Appointing officials to positions is an arduous issue in Iraq that lasts for months, often due to endless negotiations and political deals that go through many obstacles.
The parliament, with 329 representatives, is dominated by an alliance that includes Iran-affiliated Shiite parties, which named the current Prime Minister.
Halbousi rejected the ruling on November 14, removing him from his position and dropping his parliamentary membership, pledging to take necessary steps to “preserve constitutional rights.”
The Supreme Court issued its ruling after a complaint submitted by a lawmaker of the Taqaddum party, led by Halbousi. The party leader was accused of “forgery.”
The court confirmed the lawsuit, in which Halbousi was accused of forcing his party’s representatives to submit a signed, undated resignation letter. He later used the paper to terminate the lawmaker’s membership in January.

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Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
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Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he would travel to Syria on Friday to encourage the country's transition following the ouster of President Bashar Assad by insurgents, and appealed on Europe to review its sanctions on Damascus now that the political situation has changed.
Tajani presided over a meeting in Rome on Thursday of foreign ministry officials from five countries, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the United States.
The aim, he said, is to coordinate the various post-Assad initiatives, with Italy prepared to make proposals on private investments in health care for the Syrian population.
Going into the meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their European counterparts, Tajani said it was critical that all Syrians be recognized with equal rights. It was a reference to concerns about the rights of Christians and other minorities under Syria’s new de facto authorities of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HT.
“The first messages from Damascus have been positive. That’s why I’m going there tomorrow, to encourage this new phase that will help stabilize the international situation,” Tajani said.
Speaking to reporters, he said the European Union should discuss possible changes to its sanctions on Syria. “It’s an issue that should be discussed because Assad isn’t there anymore, it’s a new situation, and I think that the encouraging signals that are arriving should be further encouraged,” he said.
Syria has been under deeply isolating sanctions by the US, the European Union and others for years as a result of Assad’s brutal response to what began as peaceful anti-government protests in 2011 and spiraled into civil war.
HTS led a lightning insurgency that ousted Assad on Dec. 8 and ended his family’s decades-long rule. From 2011 until Assad’s downfall, Syria’s uprising and civil war killed an estimated 500,000 people.
The US has gradually lifted some penalties since Assad departed Syria for protection in Russia. The Biden administration in December decided to drop a $10 million bounty it had offered for the capture of a Syrian opposition leader whose forces led the ouster of Assad last month.
Syria’s new leaders also have been urged to respect the rights of minorities and women. Many Syrian Christians, who made up 10% of the population before Syria’s civil war, either fled the country or supported Assad out of fear of insurgents.