The Prime Minister of Iraq ordered an investigation into oil smuggling charges in a region associated with a pro-Iran armed group, according to reports from a state media.
© Reuters
11/11/2026
by
Lusa
O Prime Minister of Iraq ordered an investigation into oil smuggling charges in a region known as the bastion of a pro-Iran armed group, today reported a state media.
The news agency INA indicated that Ali al-Zaïdi had “ordered the formation of a commission to investigate information on the smuggling of petroleum products” in the Jurf al-Nasr region.
Also known as Jurf al-Sakher, this region located south of Baghdad is one of the bastions of the Kataeb Hezbollah group, supported by Tehran.
According to INA, which cites an unidentified source, “information services documents” containing satellite images “revealed smuggling operations of crude and petroleum products carried out by an armed faction in the Jurf al-Nasr region.”.
Arrived to power in spring, with the support of the United States, Ali al-Zaïdi pledged to the pro-Iranian factions to surrender their weapons.
If some groups said they would, other influential factions, especially Kataeb Hezbollah, refused to do so.
According to senior Iraqi political leaders, Ali al-Zaïdi said he was ready to confront groups that refused to disarm.
Kataeb Hezbollah recently published several reports with violent criticism of the Prime Minister, accusing him of corruption and threatening his government.
The United States has imposed sanctions on Iraqi leaders and entities for mixing Iraqi and Iranian oil or selling Iranian oil as if it were Iraqi to help Tehran circumvent sanctions.
After the start of the Middle East war, triggered by Israeli-American attacks on Tehran at the end of February, pro-Iran Iraqi groups launched numerous attacks on American infrastructure in Iraq.