On May 1, the Turkish Foreign Ministry published a photograph and a brief statement about a meeting in Ankara between Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Falih al-Fayyadh, the head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces, a militia umbrella group.
The statement offered no details about what was discussed or whether Fayyadh was accompanied by a delegation. But according to sources familiar with talks that preceded the meeting, Fayyadh was there to ask if he could move money and privately held assets to Turkey from Qatar, where leaders are angry over his ties to Iran.
Turkish Foreign Ministry sources told MBN that Fayyadh failed to win approval for his request in his meeting with Fidan. The PMF chief later received a message saying that he was not welcome in Turkey, the sources said.
One person who spoke with MBN said Turkish officials believe Fayyadh is too close to Iran and holds declining influence within Iraq’s Shiite political establishment and may lose his position atop the PMF.
Fayyadh’s need to move his money is apparently another consequence of the American-Israeli war with Iran. Iranian missile attacks on U.S. bases and energy infrastructure in Qatar have angered Doha.
There is no reliable or precise public information about the size of Falih al-Fayyadh’s wealth or the value of assets he owns. He has been on the U.S. Treasury Department sanctions lists since January 2021 over his role in suppressing Iraq’s 2019 Tishreen protests in which Iraqis called for political and governmental reform.
The Treasury Department said at the time that Fayyadh was linked to Iran-aligned factions involved in suppressing protesters. Hundreds of people are thought to have been killed in the crackdown.
The Treasury Department designation freezes property or financial interests belonging to Fayyadh in the United States and restricts his ability to conduct financial transactions.
A report by the Hoover Institution at Stanford University said the sanctions against Fayyadh could complicate his financial dealings outside Iraq. It also pointed to the possibility that Fayyadh owned assets in London but provided no evidence or estimates of their value.
Turkey’s rejection of Fayyadh’s request came as the United States steps up pressure on financial networks linked to Iran and its regional proxies.
The campaign targets entities and individuals that the Treasury Department said were helping to finance or facilitate activities linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which Washington designates as a terrorist organization, as well as armed groups that are themselves designated as terrorist organizations by the United States.
Fayyadh’s visit to Ankara took place during the final weeks of the government of Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, two weeks before the current government, headed by Ali al-Zaidi, secured a vote of confidence from Parliament on May 14.
At the time, Fayyadh’s position as head of the Popular Mobilization Forces was under threat, particularly as the political wing of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, which Washington designates as a terrorist organization, gained influence. The group won 29 seats in the most recent legislative elections, compared with just 10 seats for the National Pact Alliance led by Fayyadh.
A Shiite politician told MBN that Asaib Ahl al-Haq “is the group most intent on challenging Fayyadh and removing him from the post of head of the Popular Mobilization Forces.”
Asaib Ahl al-Haq leader Qais al-Khazali, who is designated as a terrorist by the United States, has publicly called on several occasions for Fayyadh to be replaced and criticized his lengthy tenure as head of the PMF.
Fayyadh has headed the organization since 2016. He also served as a national security adviser to three former Iraqi prime ministers until he was removed from that position in 2020.
Adapted and translated from the original Arabic.
