New Maliki Recording Reveals Coordination with Militia to Confront Sadrists

Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr speaks after preliminary results of Iraq's parliamentary election were announced in Najaf, Iraq October 11, 2021. (Reuters)
Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr speaks after preliminary results of Iraq's parliamentary election were announced in Najaf, Iraq October 11, 2021. (Reuters)
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New Maliki Recording Reveals Coordination with Militia to Confront Sadrists

Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr speaks after preliminary results of Iraq's parliamentary election were announced in Najaf, Iraq October 11, 2021. (Reuters)
Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr speaks after preliminary results of Iraq's parliamentary election were announced in Najaf, Iraq October 11, 2021. (Reuters)

A new damning voice recording of Iraqi former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has been released.

The fifth recording of what is now known in Iraq as the "Maliki WikiLeaks" revealed that the former PM was discussing partnering up with an armed Shiite faction to wage a confrontation with the Sadrist movement, led by influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

The new recording will only deepen the dispute between the rivals. Other leaks have Maliki severely criticizing Sadr, which prompted the cleric to demand that he turn himself over to the judiciary and quit political life.

In the latest recording, Maliki is heard having discussions with representatives of a largely unknown Shiite faction, the "Ummet al-Akhyar", whose religious reference is known as "Ayatollah al-Mirza".

One of the members of the group, “Abu Hassan”, was heard offering allegiance to Maliki to “shed blood”.

The hours-long conversation between the group and Maliki revealed that the faction enjoys support among Shiites in central and southern Iraq.

Maliki is also heard speaking of his “good” relationship with Qais Khazali, leader of the Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq militia, which is designated as terrorist by the United States.

He also said that the leaders of the Fatah Alliance, led by Hadi al-Ameri, Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, Kataib Hezbollah, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, and Badr Organization are directly affiliated to Iran and “care about nothing but farms and money. They are in a different world.”

Maliki also called on armed factions to adhere to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and steer away from the orders of the Iranian Intelligence Ministry

On the ground, tensions have mounted between Sadr and Maliki supporters, especially after the cleric revealed that he had received death threats.

Maliki’s Dawa Party issued a statement on Tuesday calling for “putting out the strife” and accusing “internal and foreign secret agencies” of seeking to fuel strife and inter-Shiite fighting.

He insisted that the recordings were fabricated and fake.

Local media reported that the residence of Mahmoud al-Salami, an MP from Maliki’s coalition, was attacked by gunmen.

The attack on his home in the Dhi Qar province led to material damage, said a security source.



Gaza Ceasefire Still Elusive as Negotiators Try to Hammer out Deal

 This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke plumes rising from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip on January 14, 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke plumes rising from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip on January 14, 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Gaza Ceasefire Still Elusive as Negotiators Try to Hammer out Deal

 This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke plumes rising from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip on January 14, 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke plumes rising from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip on January 14, 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

Negotiators were trying to hammer out the final details of a complex, phased ceasefire in Gaza on Wednesday after marathon talks in Qatar aiming to end a conflict that has inflicted widespread death and destruction and upended the Middle East.

More than eight hours of talks in Doha had fueled optimism. Officials from mediators Qatar, Egypt and the US as well as Israel and Hamas said on Tuesday that an agreement for a truce in the besieged Palestinian enclave and the release of hostages was closer than ever.

But a senior Hamas official told Reuters late on Tuesday that the Palestinian group had not yet delivered its response because it was still waiting for Israel to submit maps showing how its forces would withdraw from Gaza.

During months of on-off talks to achieve a truce in the devastating 15-month-old war, both sides have previously said they were close to a ceasefire only to hit last-minute obstacles. The broad outlines of the current deal have been in place since mid-2024.

If successful, the planned phased ceasefire could halt fighting that has decimated Gaza, killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, displaced most of the enclave's pre-war population of 2.3 million and is still killing dozens of people a day.

That in turn could ease tensions across the wider Middle East, where the war has fueled conflict in the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq, and raised fears of all-out war between Israel and Iran.

Israel launched its assault in Gaza after Hamas-led fighters stormed across its borders on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Since then, Israeli forces have killed more than 46,700 Palestinians in Gaza, according to health officials in the enclave.

Palestinians were once again hoping the latest talks would deliver some relief from Israeli airstrikes, and ease a humanitarian crisis.

"We are waiting for the ceasefire and the truce. May God complete it for us in goodness, bless us with peace, and allow us to return to our homes," said Amal Saleh, 54, a Gazan displaced by the war.

"Even if the schools are bombed, destroyed, and ruined, we just want to know that we are finally living in peace."

Under the plan, Israel would recover around 100 remaining hostages and bodies from among those captured in the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas that precipitated the war. In return it would free Palestinian detainees.

The latest draft is complicated and sensitive. Under its terms, the first steps would feature a six-week initial ceasefire.

The plan also includes a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from central Gaza and the return of displaced Palestinians to north Gaza.

The deal would also require Hamas to release 33 Israeli hostages along with other steps.

The draft stipulates negotiations over a second phase of the agreement to begin by the 16th day of phase one. Phase two includes the release of all remaining hostages, a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli soldiers.

Even if the warring sides agree to the deal on the table, that agreement still needs further negotiation before there is a final ceasefire and the release of all the hostages

If it all goes smoothly, the Palestinians, Arab states and Israel still need to agree on a vision for post-war Gaza, a massive task involving security guarantees for Israel and billions of dollars in investment for rebuilding.

ISRAELI ATTACKS

Despite the efforts to reach a ceasefire, the Israeli military, the Shin Bet internal intelligence agency and the air force attacked about 50 targets throughout Gaza over the last 24 hours, Shin Bet and the military said in a statement on Wednesday.

Israeli strikes killed at least 13 Palestinians across the enclave. Those included seven people who were in a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City, and six others killed in separate airstrikes on houses in Deir Al-Balah, Bureij camp and Rafah, medics said.

Families of hostages in Israel were caught between hope and despair.

"We can't miss this moment. This is the last moment; we can save them," said Hadas Calderon, whose husband Ofer and children Sahar and Erez were abducted.

Israel says 98 hostages are being held in Gaza, about half of whom are believed to be alive. They include Israelis and non-Israelis. Of the total, 94 were seized in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel and four have been held in Gaza since 2014.