Iraq: Disputes Topple Prominent Leader in the Fight Against ISIS

Lieutenant General Abdulwahab al-Saadi, commander of the Iraqi CTS (Counter-Terrorism Service), holds an ISIS flag pulled down during a battle against ISIS militants, east of Mosul, Iraq, January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad
Lieutenant General Abdulwahab al-Saadi, commander of the Iraqi CTS (Counter-Terrorism Service), holds an ISIS flag pulled down during a battle against ISIS militants, east of Mosul, Iraq, January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad
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Iraq: Disputes Topple Prominent Leader in the Fight Against ISIS

Lieutenant General Abdulwahab al-Saadi, commander of the Iraqi CTS (Counter-Terrorism Service), holds an ISIS flag pulled down during a battle against ISIS militants, east of Mosul, Iraq, January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad
Lieutenant General Abdulwahab al-Saadi, commander of the Iraqi CTS (Counter-Terrorism Service), holds an ISIS flag pulled down during a battle against ISIS militants, east of Mosul, Iraq, January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad

The decision of Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi to move Lieutenant General Abdulwahab al-Saadi, commander of the Iraqi CTS (Counter-Terrorism Service), to the Ministry of Defense has sparked various reactions.

While some saw it as a normal procedure that falls under a military context, other politicians and experts said that it came in the wake of deep disputes inside the CTS – led by General Talib Shaghati al-Kinani.

A security source announced Friday that Abdul Mahdi referred Saadi to the ministry of defense. Saadi is a prominent leader who participated in the latest liberation operation in some provinces, also he was in charge of several important posts in the Iraqi Special Operations Forces and the CTS.

He had a major role in the operations against ISIS since the Battle of Ramadi – Anbar province in 2014 until liberating Mosul in 2017. He is seen as the most popular leader who fought against ISIS in Iraq.

Further, his name surfaced as a prime minister candidate last year.

In a press statement on Friday, Saadi described this decision as an embarrassment for him as an officer and a fighter. Yet, he said he had no clue why it had been taken.

Saadi inquired about the motive behind this decision through a phone call with the Iraqi PM – who in his turn praised his skills.

He continued that he rejected an offer by Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi to lead the ministry of defense because the battles against ISIS were ongoing. Regarding leaks on disputes with Shaghati, he stated that it was Shaghati who asked the PM to distance him without knowing the reasons.

In a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, former head of parliament's security and defense committee Hakim al-Zamili described the PM’s decision as a regular matter that falls under military contexts.

Zamili said that officers were regularly transferred inside the military institution, and that was necessary to ensure reforms in the security system.

However, security expert Dr. Hisham al-Hashemi told the newspaper that the fight against ISIS was still ongoing and therefore holding onto the figures of victory in the meantime would lift the enemy's spirits.



UN Chief Urges Iran to Give up Nuclear Arms, Warns against Israeli Annexation of West Bank

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses the audience during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 22, 2025. (AFP)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses the audience during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 22, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Chief Urges Iran to Give up Nuclear Arms, Warns against Israeli Annexation of West Bank

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses the audience during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 22, 2025. (AFP)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses the audience during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 22, 2025. (AFP)

Iran must make a first step towards improving relations with countries in the region and the United States by making it clear it does not aim to develop nuclear weapons, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday.

He also said he hoped all parties in Gaza would realize they would benefit from a permanent truce that could open the path to negotiations over a two-state solution and urged countries to ease sanctions on Syria.

"The most relevant question is Iran and relations between Iran, Israel and the United States," Guterres said as he discussed the situation in the Middle East at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

"Here my hope is that the Iranians understand that it is important to once and for all make it clear that they will renounce to have nuclear weapons, at the same time that they engage constructively with the other countries of the region."

The UN nuclear watchdog chief, Rafael Grossi, touched on the same theme in Davos, saying Iran is "pressing the gas pedal" on its enrichment of uranium to near weapons grade.

Iran has always said its program is entirely peaceful and it has the right to enrich uranium to any level it wants.

Reflecting on the situation in Gaza, Guterres said the ceasefire there had so far been successful in allowing in aid to the enclave, but had a warning over any further future action.

"There is a possibility of Israel feeling emboldened by the military successes to think that this is the moment to do the annexation of the West Bank and to keep Gaza in a kind of a limbo situation," he said.

"That would be a total violation of international law ... and would mean there will never be peace in the Middle East."

SYRIA SANCTIONS

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not articulated a vision for Gaza's postwar future beyond insisting the Islamist group Hamas can play no role and stating that the Palestinian Authority – which partially administers the occupied West Bank - also cannot be trusted under its current leadership.

Israeli security forces raided the volatile West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday in what Netanyahu called a "large-scale and significant military operation". Hamas called on Palestinians in the territory to escalate fighting against Israel.

The UN chief said he was more optimistic about Lebanon, where he believed the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel was holding.

Guterres called on countries to ease their sanctions on Syria, to help the country transform after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad, while saying the new government still has to prove it will represent all minorities.

"We still have a strong risk of fragmentation and of extremism in at least parts of the Syrian territory," he said.

"It is in the interest of us all to engage to make things move in the direction of an inclusive form of governance and I think some gesture must be made in relation to the sanctions."