Sheikh Khazali warns of foreign plots to destabilize the country and calls for a unified stance to confront them … Through Ba’athist tools.

The General Secretary of the Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, Sheikh Qais Khazali, warned on Thursday of the existence of foreign plots aimed at destabilizing Iraq. He noted the availability of accurate intelligence on the matter, calling for the information to be disclosed to the public and for clear national positions to be taken at all levels.
Sheikh Khazali said during a televised interview, “There are external parties that anticipate certain events and are trying to exploit them to stir up chaos and unrest and push the street towards demonstrations that could develop into a direct threat to internal stability.” He explained that “the issue goes beyond the elections, but is part of the plan, by disrupting or postponing them to cause unrest that would lead to the proposal of an emergency government, and this is what these parties are considering”.
His Eminence added, “The situation in Iraq is no longer as fragile as it was in the past, such that any externally backed party could tip the balance in its favor.” He noted that Iraq has, in recent years, overcome dangerous international projects and major security challenges, including the ISIS threat in 2014, the exceptional demonstrations in 2018, and the tripartite alliance crisis in the 2021 elections.
Sheikh Khazali stated that “forming an emergency government in the constitutional and legal sense is not possible, while attempts at coup-like change, whether through weapons or demonstrations, are extremely difficult, almost impossible”.
In a related context, His Eminence revealed that “the Prime Minister presented, during an official meeting, accurate intelligence information regarding Ba’athist movements planning to destabilize the country in the coming period, through meetings held in the Kurdistan Region, receiving logistical support from Turkey, and forming organizations within Iraqi provinces”.
His Eminence stressed that “this talk should not remain confined to closed meetings, but should be presented to public opinion, so that it is at the level of awareness and attention to what is being plotted against Iraq.” He affirmed that “Turkey and the Kurdistan Region are directly concerned with these movements, and must deal with the issue seriously and responsibly, especially with the presence of Baathists within their territories planning and executing activities that threaten the stability of Iraq”.
Sheikh Khazali added that “the continued granting of immunity to those against whom arrest warrants have been issued under the pretext of hospitality is unacceptable and must stop, especially since these individuals pose a real internal security threat.” He considered that “the Ba’ath Party’s threat to Iraqi stability is more dangerous than the PKK’s threat to Turkey, because the latter is outside its borders, while the Ba’ath Party has extensions within Iraq”.
His Eminence also called for “raising this issue as a political issue at the state level, not just within the Coordination Framework,” stressing that “the issue of citizen security and the country’s stability must be removed from narrow political considerations and treated as a matter of sovereignty and national responsibility”.
Concluding his remarks, Sheikh Khazali emphasized the need for “a unified stance by all political forces to confront these threats, especially given the presence of a prime minister who enjoys the trust of all parties, and the State Administration Coalition, which provides political cover capable of making decisions”.