The appointment of Laith al-Khazali as Iraq’s deputy prime minister came after the Iraqi government appealed to the Trump administration to drop its opposition to the move over his ties to an Iran-backed militia, two Iraqi political sources told MBN.
Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi argued that appointing a figure whose group had agreed to give up its weapons could encourage other armed factions to follow suit, the sources said. Al-Zaidi has pledged to bring weapons in Iraq under government control but delayed a deadline for the transfer due to opposition to the plan from some of the groups with backing from Tehran.
Al-Zaidi conveyed messages to the U.S. government through Tom Barrack, the U.S. special envoy for Iraq and Syria, according to an Iraqi source familiar with the matter in Washington, who is close to the Iraqi government and works to bolster its standing with U.S. policymakers.
The source, who declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said al-Zaidi told U.S. officials that he had to “reward those who have given up their weapons so that I can attract as many factions as possible.”
The source, who works in Washington lobbying groups and has advocated on behalf of more than one Iraqi government, added that Barrack relayed the messages to U.S. officials and that approval of the appointment followed.
Commenting to MBN on Laith al-Khazali’s selection as Iraq’s deputy prime minister, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said: “The United States expects Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to honor the commitments he made to President Trump in July: combating terrorism, preventing attacks on Iraqi territory or from Iraqi territory, and building a U.S.-Iraqi partnership that serves the interests of both countries.”
Ties to attack on U.S. forces
Laith is the brother of Qais al-Khazali, secretary-general of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, an Iran-backed armed faction that the United States has designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization since 2020. U.S. forces arrested Laith al-Khazali in 2007 over allegations related to an attack on American forces in Karbala in January of that year that killed five U.S. soldiers.
Al-Khazali was released from U.S. custody in June 2009. In 2019, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on him, citing his leadership role in Asaib Ahl al-Haq, as well as allegations involving human rights abuses and the 2007 attack.
Asaib Ahl al-Haq was among the first factions to announce that it had begun handing over its weapons to the state, about four months ago. The group has not been linked to any recent attacks on U.S. interests, while other factions operating under the umbrella of what is known as the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” have attacked American interests in Iraq and the wider region during the war in the Middle East.
Al-Zaidi announced on Thursday that his government was complete. The administration took office five months ago, and Parliament approved the appointment of 11 ministers and three deputy prime ministers, including Laith al-Khazali.
A source in the Coordination Framework, the ruling Shiite coalition, said al-Zaidi had promised Asaib Ahl al-Haq the deputy prime minister’s post in exchange for the group’s agreement to participate in efforts to place all weapons under state control.
The source, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information, added that the U.S. side initially objected to al-Khazali taking the position, putting al-Zaidi in an awkward position because the group had made its agreement to the disarmament initiative conditional on receiving the post.
In a post on X, Barrack described the decision by Asaib Ahl al-Haq and another faction to begin handing over their weapons to the state in June as “an important step forward.” He said it “represents the first building block of a renewed Iraqi governance model based on restoring sovereignty, consolidating lasting stability and opening new prospects for national renewal.”
Muhannad al-Janabi, a professor of security and foreign policy at Cihan University’s College of Law and International Relations in Erbil, said al-Khazali’s appointment could be viewed as an attempt to reassure Asaib Ahl al-Haq and its political bloc, the Sadiqoun Movement, as debate over bringing weapons under state control continues.
Al-Janabi told MBN that Iraq’s leadership had “begun to lean heavily” toward what he called a “reward scenario” in dealing with the issue of bringing weapons under state control, disarming factions or holding their members accountable.
He noted that the deputy prime minister’s post does not, in itself, confer independent executive powers on its holder. However, he said having a representative of Asaib Ahl al-Haq in the administration could give the group influence over its decision-making.
Initial U.S. opposition
In June, sources in al-Zaidi’s office told MBN that Joshua Harris, the U.S. chargé d’affaires in Baghdad, had conveyed the Trump administration’s opposition to the participation of armed factions in the government, even if they announced that they were giving up their weapons. Harris delivered the message during a meeting with al-Zaidi on May 31.
According to the sources, Washington does not view disarmament as a mere formality or political declaration. Instead, it requires something akin to a “probation and monitoring period” to ensure that the factions’ military and economic structures are dismantled and that they sever the organizational and ideological ties that give them independence from state institutions.
The same sources in al-Zaidi’s office said the Iraqi prime minister had told the U.S. side during the meeting that he wanted to give negotiations with the armed factions a genuine chance, citing concerns that any sudden confrontation could escalate into a broad security crisis with consequences for Iraq’s domestic stability and economy.
Adapted and translated from the original Arabic.
