Sudani Cancels Privileges of Iraqi Presidents, PMs, Speakers

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (Reuters)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (Reuters)
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Sudani Cancels Privileges of Iraqi Presidents, PMs, Speakers

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (Reuters)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (Reuters)

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani issued a number of orders, including cancelling allocations to his office and the protection service provided to the former presidents, prime ministers and parliament speakers, in what seemed a shocking step to senior Iraqi officials.

According to an informed Iraqi source, all former presidents and premiers after 2003 were included in the decision. These include ex-presidents Fuad Masoum, and Barham Salih, as well as ex-prime ministers Ayad Allawi, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Nouri al-Maliki, Haider al-Abadi, Adel Abdul Mahdi and Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

Political observers said these decisions could have negative impacts on the relation between Sudani and senior Iraqi officials and leaders.

Sudani further ordered cancelling the allocations provided to the three presidencies, including President Abdul Latif Rashid, Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi and his office.

The source said that his decisions also included cutting 2.5 million dinars from the ministers’ salaries, in addition to canceling allocations to hospitality, treatment, and renting private planes for the three presidencies, including himself.

The PM aims through these decisions to reduce exaggerated government spending.

He banned granting MPs new cars, and this applies to high-ranking officials, including heads of agencies, undersecretaries of ministries, and ambassadors.

Local news agencies quoted a military commander in the Green Zone as saying that the force assigned to protect Kadhimi received orders to withdraw from its location near his house, yet most of the almost 100 security guards did not implement the sudden orders yet.

Unlike former premiers, Kadhimi had previously been subjected to several arrest attempts. Stripping him of protection seemed at first surprising before it became clear that it applies to all former presidents and prime ministers.

In this context, the political source said that Sudani also ordered the shutdown of 20 Iraqi embassies abroad due to the lack of Iraqi expatriates in these countries and the large sums spent on the embassies and their diplomatic staff.

The decision comes in line with the PM’s efforts to restructure the state institutions and limit the government spending. It also comes only a few days after he ordered removing the list of ambassadors prepared to a vote in the parliament.



Hamas Seeks to Convey Gaza Ceasefire Plan to Trump via Türkiye

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during a meeting with Hamas leaders on Sunday (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during a meeting with Hamas leaders on Sunday (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
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Hamas Seeks to Convey Gaza Ceasefire Plan to Trump via Türkiye

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during a meeting with Hamas leaders on Sunday (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during a meeting with Hamas leaders on Sunday (Turkish Foreign Ministry)

Hamas is pushing to promote a new ceasefire initiative for the Gaza Strip and is seeking Türkiye’s support to convey its vision to the administration of US President Donald Trump, two sources from the Palestinian group told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Speaking separately on condition of anonymity, the sources said Hamas leadership believes that its proposed “comprehensive deal” or “one-package offer” could be relayed by Turkish officials to Washington, capitalising on Ankara’s strong ties with the Trump administration.

The proposal comes as part of renewed diplomatic efforts to end hostilities in Gaza and secure broader international engagement in resolving the conflict.

Hamas is seeking Turkish support to promote a new ceasefire proposal in Gaza that includes the release of all Israeli hostages in exchange for an agreed number of Palestinian prisoners, a complete halt to hostilities, and a full Israeli withdrawal from the territory.

A Hamas delegation led by senior official Mohammed Darwish met Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday, as well as intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, to discuss the group’s ceasefire vision, internal Palestinian affairs, and other regional issues.

One of the sources said Hamas is basing its push for Turkish mediation on recent comments by US hostage envoy Adam Boehler, who reportedly suggested Washington could guarantee a ceasefire if Hamas releases all hostages.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several of his ministers have publicly rejected the group’s initiative.

“The meetings in Türkiye aimed to convey a message to Turkish officials, urging them to use their strong ties with the current US administration to pass along Hamas’s proposal to Washington,” the second source said.

The sources noted that Hamas is also relying on other channels, including Qatari mediation, to relay its plan to the Trump administration, hoping to pressure Israel into accepting the terms.

According to the sources, Hamas believes the United States could play a pivotal role in brokering an agreement ahead of Trump’s anticipated visit to the region — a trip the former president reportedly wants to take while fighting in Gaza is paused.

The group’s proposal, reported by Asharq Al-Awsat last week, includes a five-year ceasefire with regional and international guarantees.

Hamas is also calling for the entry of humanitarian aid under established protocols and says it accepts the formation of an independent Palestinian committee—composed of unaffiliated technocrats—to govern Gaza, in line with an Egyptian proposal backed by Arab, Islamic, and European countries.