Iran's Khamenei Bars Sadr's Rivals in Iraq from Joining his Coalition

Iraqi lawmakers attending the inaugural session of the parliament in Baghdad, January 9 2022. (Iraqi Prime Minister's Press Office, AFP)
Iraqi lawmakers attending the inaugural session of the parliament in Baghdad, January 9 2022. (Iraqi Prime Minister's Press Office, AFP)
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Iran's Khamenei Bars Sadr's Rivals in Iraq from Joining his Coalition

Iraqi lawmakers attending the inaugural session of the parliament in Baghdad, January 9 2022. (Iraqi Prime Minister's Press Office, AFP)
Iraqi lawmakers attending the inaugural session of the parliament in Baghdad, January 9 2022. (Iraqi Prime Minister's Press Office, AFP)

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei has joined efforts to address the crisis between Iraq's Sadrist movement leader, cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, and the pro-Tehran Coordination Framework as they grapple to form a new government.

Informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Khamenei has forced the Coordination Framework to remain united, barring its members, specifically Hadi al-Ameri's Fatah alliance, from joining the rival Sadrist camp.

It was revealed that late last month leaders of the Framework had drafted a letter asking Khamenei to allow members of the alliance to join Sadr's coalition in spite of the reservations against him.

The letter was supposed to be sent by head of the State of Law coalition, led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, but the decision to send it was never taken.

Maliki, however, "leaked it from behind their backs" because he knew that Khamenei's response would put an end to any chance of striking an alliance between the Sadrists and the Fatah alliance.

The exchange of messages between the Framework and Khamenei reveals the extent of the role - or lack of it - played by Iran's Quds Forces commander Esmail Qaani in Iraq.

Contrary to his slain predecessor, Qassem Soleimani, Qaani appears to be playing the role of messenger between Tehran, Baghdad, Erbil and Najaf.

Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike near Baghdad airport in 2020, played a more influential role in Iraq than Qaani, and was largely able to keep Shiite parties united, in contrast to their current state of disarray.

Qaani met Sadr in Najaf on Tuesday in an effort to resolve the crisis.

The Sadrist leader tweeted after the talks: "Neither east, nor west... a government of national majority," in what observers said was as a sign that Qaani had failed to make a breakthrough.

Sadr, who emerged victorious in the October parliamentary elections, holds sway over the formation of the next Iraqi government.



US Revokes Foreign Terrorist Designation for Syria's HTS

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
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US Revokes Foreign Terrorist Designation for Syria's HTS

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)

President Donald Trump's administration on Monday revoked the foreign terrorist organization designation for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, as Washington moves to remove US sanctions on Syria to help the country rebuild following years of a civil war.

In December, opposition factions led by HTS ousted Syria's former president Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive. Then-HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa became Syria's president and said he wanted to build an inclusive and democratic Syria.

HTS was previously known as al-Nusra Front when it was al-Qaeda's Syria branch. It broke off ties with al-Qaeda in 2016.

In May, Sharaa met with Trump in Riyadh where, in a major policy shift, the Republican president unexpectedly announced he would lift US sanctions on Syria, prompting Washington to significantly ease its measures.

"This FTO revocation is an important step in fulfilling President Trump’s vision of a stable, unified, and peaceful Syria," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, adding that the revocation will come into effect on Tuesday.

Last week, Trump signed an executive order terminating US sanctions program on Syria, a move that aims to end the country's isolation from the international financial system.

Syria's foreign ministry told Reuters that the lifting of sanctions on HTS was a "positive step toward correcting a course that previously hindered constructive engagement."

The written statement said Syria hoped the move would "contribute to the removal of remaining restrictions that continue to impact Syrian institutions and officials, and open the door to a rational, sovereign-based approach to international cooperation."

The ministry also said that Sharaa was planning to attend the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in September. The UN Security Council still has sanctions on both HTS and Sharaa himself, which require a Council decision to remove.