Yemen Monitor/Newsroom:
An Iraqi Foreign Ministry official confirmed what Yemen Monitor reported about Iraq receiving what he described as “positions” from the US calling for a halt to the activities of the Houthi group, which is internationally listed as a terrorist organization, on its territory.
In a statement published by Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed newspaper, the Iraqi official stated that the government of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani “is dealing with such positions seriously to spare the Iraqi people the repercussions of what the neighboring countries are currently experiencing.” He added, “Their specific activities may be stopped, but we affirm that most of them are media-related, and there is a US exaggeration of the size of their presence or those activities.”
The official confirmed that the government of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani “is dealing with such positions seriously to spare the Iraqi people the repercussions of what the neighboring countries are currently experiencing.”
He added, “Their specific activities may be stopped, but we affirm that most of them are media-related, and there is a US exaggeration of the size of their presence or those activities.”
Last Sunday, two diplomatic sources confirmed that the US had asked the Iraqi government to close the Houthi office in Baghdad, which is responsible for coordinating with the Popular Mobilization Forces.
The diplomatic sources told Yemen Monitor, on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The sources said that the Iraqi government informed the Houthi and Iranian offices of the American request, while expelling Houthi military leaders who work with the Iraqi Hezbollah militias.
For several years, the Houthi group has established an office for itself in the upscale Jadriya district of Baghdad, known as the group’s supreme representation, and Abu Idris al-Shaf’i is practically in charge of this representation, with other leaders of the group residing in Iraq, most notably Abu Ali al-Azi and Muhammad Abdul Aziz al-Houthi.
In August, the Iranian Tasnim news agency revealed the killing of a member of the Houthi group in the recent US bombing of the town of Jurf al-Sakhr, south of Baghdad, which targeted headquarters of the Iraqi Hezbollah group, including a building used to develop and manufacture drones.
