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US Designates Iraq’s 'Ansar Allah al-Awfiya' as Terrorist

Sheikh Haydar al-Ghrawi (X)
Sheikh Haydar al-Ghrawi (X)
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US Designates Iraq’s 'Ansar Allah al-Awfiya' as Terrorist

Sheikh Haydar al-Ghrawi (X)
Sheikh Haydar al-Ghrawi (X)

The US Department of State designated an Iraqi faction and its secretary-general, who has political and military influence in the country since his defection from the Sadrist movement in 2013, as terrorist.

“Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya (HAAA) is an Iraq-based Iran-aligned militia group and part of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI),” the Department said in statement.

The group and its Secretary-General Haydar Muzhir Malak al-Saidi, also known as Sheikh Haydar al-Ghrawi, were designated as Specially Designated Global Terrorists, it added.

The statement said Washington remains committed to using all available tools to counter Iran’s support for terrorism and to degrade and disrupt the ability of Iran-backed groups to conduct terrorist attacks.

In response, HAAA issued a statement saying: “We bring to our proud people the news of the unjust designation issued by the Great Satan (America) against Sheikh Haydar al-Saidi and the movement.”

The US designation is “a tacit acknowledgment of their heroic struggle and honorable defense of the rights of oppressed peoples.”

“It is proof that Sheikh Haydar al-Ghrawi and Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya represent symbols of courage and dignity, having faced challenges and sacrifices with faithful hearts and unwavering resolve. Accusing them of terrorism is nothing more than a badge of honor and pride that history will bestow upon them,” it added.

US Ambassador to Iraq, Alina Romanowski, posted on X that the State Department's terrorist designation of reaffirms Washington’s commitment to countering the malign influence of Tehran and the threats posed by Iran-aligned militia groups.

The Washington Institute describes HAAA as one of the top Iraqi proxies for Iran's Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force. It said this Sadrist breakaway faction has long garrisoned the Syrian border and killed Iraqi protesters to demonstrate its loyalty.

The United States has escalated in recent weeks its rhetoric against Iraqi factions.

Tracy Jacobson, US President Joe Biden's nominee for ambassador to Iraq, surprised Iraqi officials with unconventional statements about Iranian influence and Tehran-backed militias.

Jacobson warned that Iran “remains a malign actor and a destabilizing influence in the region that threatens to undo all of Iraq’s achievements. We recognize that the primary threat to Iraq’s stability and sovereignty are the Iran-aligned militias.”

Press reports said Washington’s recent change of rhetoric could pave the way for attacks on pro-Iranian militias in the country, despite the Iraqi government's appeasement efforts.

During his visit to Washington last April, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia Al-Sudani reassured the US that his government is able to protect US interests, including the embassy in Baghdad.

However, the targeting of US-branded restaurants by Iraqi factions still worries Washington.

- Who is Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya? -

HAAA first appeared in 2013 after a group of armed militias have defected from the Sadrist movement in Iraq.

Since, the group played key political roles, including its alignment with former prime minister Ibrahim Jaafari to participate in the general election in 2014.

In 2018, the group participated in the general election with the Fatah Alliance led by Badr Organization leader Hadi al-Ameri.

According to the Washington Institute, the group has a political entity in Maysan province, south Iraq, where it holds several provincial council seats. It said the group placed fourth in Maysan's 2013 provincial council elections, a showing that allowed its deputy Murtadha Hamood Ali al-Saidi to become head of the council's integrity committee.

Also, the group is one of the top Iraqi proxies for Iran's Quds Force and has killed Iraqi anti-government protesters in November 2019.

On April 4, 2020, HAAA was one of eight resistance groups to threaten attacks against US targets and prime ministerial candidate Adnan al-Zurfi, whom they accused of being “an American agent.”

Also, in early summer 2023, a reliable open-source article reported that Ghrawi was one of a select group of eight resistance leaders to meet with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran.

The US said on January 28, 2024 that HAAA members were involved in the deadly drone attack that killed three US soldiers near the Syrian-Jordanian border.

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Arab World

Syria: SDF’s Mazloum Abdi Says Implementation of Integration Deal May Take Time

People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
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Syria: SDF’s Mazloum Abdi Says Implementation of Integration Deal May Take Time

People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman

Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, said the process of merging the SDF with Syrian government forces “may take some time,” despite expressing confidence in the eventual success of the agreement.

His remarks came after earlier comments in which he acknowledged differences with Damascus over the concept of “decentralization.”

Speaking at a tribal conference in the northeastern city of Hasakah on Tuesday, Abdi said the issue of integration would not be resolved quickly, but stressed that the agreement remains on track.

He said the deal reached last month stipulates that three Syrian army brigades will be created out of the SDF.

Abdi added that all SDF military units have withdrawn to their barracks in an effort to preserve stability and continue implementing the announced integration agreement with the Syrian state.

He also emphasized the need for armed forces to withdraw from the vicinity of the city of Ayn al-Arab (Kobani), to be replaced by security forces tasked with maintaining order.

Arab World

Israeli Far-Right Minister to Push for ‘Migration’ of West Bank, Gaza Palestinians 

A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
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Israeli Far-Right Minister to Push for ‘Migration’ of West Bank, Gaza Palestinians 

A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he would pursue a policy of "encouraging the migration" of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported Wednesday.

"We will eliminate the idea of an Arab terror state," said Smotrich, speaking at an event organized by his Religious Zionism Party late on Tuesday.

"We will finally, formally, and in practical terms nullify the cursed Oslo Accords and embark on a path toward sovereignty, while encouraging emigration from both Gaza and Judea and Samaria.

"There is no other long-term solution," added Smotrich, who himself lives in a settlement in the West Bank.

Since last week, Israel has approved a series of measures backed by far-right ministers to tighten control over the West Bank, including in areas administered by the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo Accords, in place since the 1990s.

The measures include a process to register land in the West Bank as "state property" and facilitate direct purchases of land by Jewish Israelis.

The measures have triggered widespread international outrage.

On Tuesday, the UN missions of 85 countries condemned the measures, which critics say amount to de facto annexation of the Palestinian territory.

"We strongly condemn unilateral Israeli decisions and measures aimed at expanding Israel's unlawful presence in the West Bank," they said in a statement.

"Such decisions are contrary to Israel's obligations under international law and must be immediately reversed.

"We underline in this regard our strong opposition to any form of annexation."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called on Israel to reverse its land registration policy, calling it "destabilizing" and "unlawful".

The West Bank would form the largest part of any future Palestinian state. Many on Israel's religious right view it as Israeli land.

Israeli NGOs have also raised the alarm over a settlement plan signed by the government which they say would mark the first expansion of Jerusalem's borders into the occupied West Bank since 1967.

The planned development, announced by Israel's Ministry of Construction and Housing, is formally a westward expansion of the Geva Binyamin, or Adam, settlement situated northeast of Jerusalem in the West Bank.

The current Israeli government has fast-tracked settlement expansion, approving a record 52 settlements in 2025.

Excluding Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements and outposts, which are illegal under international law.

Arab World

Maliki Can Withdraw as Candidacy as Iraq PM the Easy or Hard Way

Members of the Coordination Framework hold a meeting. (Iraqi News Agency)
Members of the Coordination Framework hold a meeting. (Iraqi News Agency)
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Maliki Can Withdraw as Candidacy as Iraq PM the Easy or Hard Way

Members of the Coordination Framework hold a meeting. (Iraqi News Agency)
Members of the Coordination Framework hold a meeting. (Iraqi News Agency)

Iraqi Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declined at the last minute to attend a meeting of the pro-Iran Coordination Framework on Monday night that was aimed at settling the crisis over his nomination as prime minister.

Instead of declaring that he was pulling out as candidate, as had been expected, Maliki informed his close circle that he is “following through with his nomination to the end,” trusted sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Iraq has come under intense pressure from the US to withdraw the nomination. In January, President Donald Trump warned Baghdad against picking Maliki as its PM, saying the United States would no longer help the country.

“Last time Maliki was in power, the Country descended into poverty and total chaos. That should not be allowed to happen again. Because of his insane policies and ideologies, if elected, the United States of America will no longer help Iraq,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Maliki also dismissed as “extortion and intimidation” talks of renewed US sanctions on Iraq, added the sources.

However, circles within the Coordination Framework have started to “despair” with the impasse over naming a new prime minister and are weighing the possibility of taking “difficult” choices, they revealed. Maliki has become a prisoner of his own nomination.

The Sunni Progress Party (Takadum) had voiced its reservations over Maliki’s nomination before Trump made his position clear and which has since weighed heavily on Iraq.

‘Indefinitely’

Maliki’s decision to skip the Framework’s meeting on Monday forced the coalition to postpone it “indefinitely”, exposing more differences inside the alliance that have been festering for months. The dispute over the post of prime minister is threatening to evolve into one that threatens the unity of the coalition itself.

Several sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Maliki had sent the Framework a written message on Monday night informing them that he will not attend the meeting because “he was aware that discussions will seek to pressure him to withdraw his candidacy.”

Maliki was the one to call for the meeting to convene in the first place, they revealed.

Reports have been rife in Iraq that Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish political leaderships have all received warnings that the US would take measure against Iraq if Maliki continued to insist on his nomination.

Former Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told Dijlah TV that “Shiite parties” had received two new American messages reiterating the rejection of Maliki’s nomination.

Necessary choice

Maliki and the Framework are now at an impasse, with the latter hoping the former PM would take it upon himself to withdraw his candidacy in what a leading Shiite figure said would help protect the unity of the coalition.

Leading members of the coalition were hoping to give Maliki enough time to decide himself to withdraw, but as time stretches on, the coalition may take matters into its own hands and take “necessary” choices, said the figure.

Other sources revealed, however, that Maliki refuses to voluntarily withdraw from the race believing that this is a responsibility that should be shouldered by the Framework. This has effectively left the alliance with complex and limited choices to end the crisis.

Sources close to Maliki said he has made light of US threats to impose sanctions, saying that if they were to happen, Iraq will emerge on the other side stronger, citing other countries that came out stronger after enduring years of pressure.

Moreover, he is banking on an American change in position, saying mediators have volunteered to “polish his image before Trump and his team.” Members of Maliki’s State of Law coalition declined to comment on this information.

Sources inside the Framework said the coalition may “ultimately withdraw Maliki’s nomination if he becomes too much of a burden on an already weary alliance.”

Doing so may cost them a strong ally in Maliki and force the Framework to yield to Washington’s will, said the Shiite figure. “Maliki may come off as stubborn and strong, but he is wasting his realistic options at this critical political juncture,” it added.

The Framework is divided between a team that is banking on waiting to see how the US-Iran tensions will play out to resolve the crisis and on Maliki voluntarily withdrawing his nomination. The other team is calling for the coalition to resolve the crisis through an internal vote.

Leading Shiite figures told Asharq Al-Awsat that opponents of Maliki’s nomination in the coalition have no choice but to apply internal pressure inside the Framework, which is on the verge of collapse.