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Iraqi PM: Iraq Will Not Be Ground for Settling Accounts

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi receives US Ambassador Matthew H. Tueller, Iraqi government agencies
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi receives US Ambassador Matthew H. Tueller, Iraqi government agencies
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Iraqi PM: Iraq Will Not Be Ground for Settling Accounts

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi receives US Ambassador Matthew H. Tueller, Iraqi government agencies
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi receives US Ambassador Matthew H. Tueller, Iraqi government agencies

Iraq’s newly appointed prime minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi met with US Ambassador Matthew H. Tueller and Iranian Ambassador Iraj Masjedi.

Kadhimi discussed bilateral relations, including cooperation and coordination, with Tueller.

He also ruled out Iraq as the ground for "settling accounts" by the US and its rival Iran.

During his meeting with Tueller, Kadhimi underscored the need for bilateral cooperation in the economic and security fields, as well as for preparing for the strategic dialogue between the two countries, the prime minister's media office said in a statement.

Kadhimi’s meeting with Tuller comes at a time Baghdad and Washington are preparing for a strategic dialogue, slotted for mid-June, about the future of US presence in Iraq. Iraqi parties close to Iran have been demanding the US withdraws its forces from Iraq.

Kadhimi also asserted the need to maintain security and stability in the region, while reiterating that Iraq will not be a ground for settling accounts and launching attacks on any neighboring or friendly country, the statement said.

Tueller congratulated Kadhimi for taking office after gaining the confidence of the Iraqi parliament, confirming the US readiness to support Iraq in all aspects, particularly in the economic field and in containing the COVID-19 spread, the statement added.

During his meeting with Masjedi, Kadhimi confirmed Iraq's keenness to maintain the best relations with all neighboring countries to serve regional security and stability, Kadhimi's media office said in a separate statement.

“Kadhimi stressed that Iraq will not be a passage or hotbed for terrorism against any country or a ground for settling accounts,” the statement said.

Kadhimi's comments came amid the rising tensions between Iran and the U.S. on the Iraqi soil, since the US assassination of Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy chief of Iraq's paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces, in a drone attack near Iraqi capital Baghdad in January.

The Iranian-backed militias have frequently attacked Iraqi military bases housing US troops across Iraq as well as the US embassy inside the heavily fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad.

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SOHR: Document Reveals Assad Family Smuggled Millions to Moscow

The historic Hotel Ukraina in central Moscow (Wikipedia)
The historic Hotel Ukraina in central Moscow (Wikipedia)
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SOHR: Document Reveals Assad Family Smuggled Millions to Moscow

The historic Hotel Ukraina in central Moscow (Wikipedia)
The historic Hotel Ukraina in central Moscow (Wikipedia)

A confidential document obtained by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has revealed massive money smuggling operations carried out via Syrian Airlines to Moscow.
The operations are described as among the most corrupt financial transfers orchestrated by the now-defunct Syrian regime.
According to the document, the majority of the funds stem from profits made through the production and trade of Captagon, a highly lucrative illicit drug.
The head of SOHR, Rami Abdel Rahman, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the most recent transfer took place just four days before Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow in December of last year.
Rami Abdel Rahman also affirmed that the leaked document underscores the “deep involvement of the former Syrian regime in illegal activities.”
He added that further investigations could uncover a vast network of secret financial operations used to transfer large sums of money from Syria to Russia and other countries under official cover and without oversight.
“The regime, led by the ousted Assad and his brother, spearheaded drug-related investments, particularly through the production, promotion, and export of Captagon,” Abdel Rahman told Asharq Al-Awsat.
He explained that one key route involved a small port near the Afamia chalets on Syria's coast, which previously belonged to Rifaat al-Assad, the brother of late former President Hafez al-Assad.
From there, shipments were sent via smugglers to Italian ports, where collaborating traders distributed the drugs globally.
A Syrian source based in Russia, closely monitoring the regime’s activities and investments there, said the content of the leaked document is not new but that its official confirmation adds weight to prior claims.
“Western media had previously reported on the regime’s money-smuggling operations, which led to some loyalists being added to international sanctions lists, particularly regime-linked businessmen like Mudalal Khouri,” the source, who requested anonymity, told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Sanctions were also imposed on individuals accused of money laundering for the regime.
The source confirmed that the operations were conducted using Syrian Airlines flights to Moscow.
“There were dozens of such flights, each loaded with hard currency—mostly US dollars and €500 euro notes,” the source said.
The money was reportedly delivered directly from the airport to the Syrian regime's embassy in Moscow, where it was distributed to loyalist businessmen.
These funds were then invested in Russian and Belarusian banks, real estate, and commercial properties. Some of the money was also used to establish companies in both countries.
The operations were allegedly overseen by Mohammed Makhlouf, the maternal uncle of Assad.