Iraq - Amid tensions with a faction close to Tehran, Al-Zaidi dismisses nine officials

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi dismissed nine officials on Saturday evening (November 14, 2026) following an investigation conducted by a government committee into oil smuggling in the Jurf al-Sakhar area, where the pro-Iranian Hezbollah Brigades are based. The exemptions included 6 security and military leaders, members of the Popular Mobilization Forces, and senior employees of the Ministry of Oil.

According to a statement by the Iraqi government, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces decided to relieve the Babylon Police Chief, the North Babylon Police Director, and the Babylon Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism Director in the Ministry of Interior. The exemption also included the Director of National Security in Babylon, the Director of Intelligence and Security of Babylon Governorate in the Ministry of Defense, the Director of Babylon Intelligence, the Commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces in Babylon, the Commander of the Sixth Brigade of the Energy Police in the Ministry of Interior, and the Director of the Oil Pipeline Company in the Ministry of Oil. All defendants involved in oil smuggling operations were referred to the judiciary and legal measures were taken against them.

Investigation into the oil smuggling case in Babylon

This comes at a time when American pressure is increasing on Baghdad to control the weapons of groups close to Tehran, which is what Al-Zaidi pledged to do since he took office this year with American blessing.

On Wednesday, Al-Zaidi ordered an investigation into suspicions of oil smuggling within Jurf al-Sakhar, located in Babil Governorate in central Iraq. A government committee entered the area on Friday, accompanied by members of the armed group.

On Wednesday, the Iraqi News Agency quoted an unnamed informed source as saying that there were “oil smuggling operations from” Jurf al-Sakhar, in addition to “mechanisms for breaching pipes, storing oil, and methods for smuggling it towards Baghdad.” She pointed out that smuggling was carried out by “an armed faction (...) without interruption for many years.”

Military spokesman Sabah Al-Numan said in a statement on Saturday evening that the results of the investigation “confirmed the accuracy of the information received (...) regarding oil smuggling operations.”

Increasing tensions between Al-Zaidi and the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades

In light of this, Al-Zaidi issued directives to “refer all defendants involved in oil smuggling operations to justice” and to “exempt” nine officials, including security officials and others in the oil sector.

Tensions have recently increased between Al-Zaidi and the Hezbollah Brigades, which clings to its weapons and is considered the most influential faction in Iraq and the closest to the Islamic Republic. In recent days, these brigades published sharp statements in which they renewed their support for Iran, and accused Al-Zaidi of corruption.

A senior Iraqi official told AFP on Thursday that "the issue has become personal" between Al-Zaidi and Kataib Hezbollah, noting that political leaders are working to calm the situation.

The Al-Zaidi government set June 30, 2027, as the date for all factions to hand over their weapons, while continuing negotiations with them.

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Iraq through the eyes of truth and the pulse of the people

Three informed sources said that US President Donald Trump informed his senior advisors during the past few days that he may refrain from attacking Iran if the United States does not face any new provocations from Tehran or the Houthis allied with it in Yemen.

Trump has wavered between threatening to escalate the war with new strikes and reducing hostilities, and current and former officials say he appears undecided on how to end the unpopular war in his country.

But in meetings with national security advisers and after a series of intelligence briefings, Trump said he was considering refraining from launching strikes, according to the sources, who, like others interviewed for this story, requested anonymity.

Trump expressed his sympathy with the allies in the region who asked him not to return to all-out war. Trump told sportscaster Stephen A. "I can end the matter immediately, but at the request of the countries I seek to protect, we are doing so in a slightly longer, more civilized manner," Smith said on Thursday.

The statements made by Trump in private were a continuation of his public statements that reduced the possibility of resuming a large-scale war.

But despite these statements, Reuters quoted other sources familiar with American planning, saying that the army is at the same time ready to escalate if necessary. The sources added that a third aircraft carrier will head to the Middle East in the coming days to replace one of the two carriers operating in the region, but the three carriers can remain if necessary.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday evening (November 13, 2026) that launching further US military operations against Iran is unnecessary, because the economic suffering the United States is inflicting on the exhausted Islamic Republic is too severe.

Rubio's statement, during a speech before the Federalists Society, came to confirm a statement made by US President Donald Trump earlier this week, in which he said that the war was "effectively over from a military standpoint."

“Right now, frankly, the economic suffering that we are inflicting on that regime is so severe that there is no need for military action, because we have weakened them so much,” Rubio said. “But I think the victory is ensuring that they never have a nuclear weapon.”

Rubio also acknowledged the economic suffering suffered by Americans as a result of the war, which pushed fuel costs up and affected almost all sectors of the global economy. He said it would have been easy for Trump to ignore the threat posed by Iran's nuclear program, avoid an unpopular war, and "leave it to whoever comes after him to worry about it," adding that the president decided he "would not leave the matter unaddressed." "But it's hard," Rubio added. "It's not easy, it's difficult. And it often causes, you know, suffering, economic and other. And so we recognize that."

Tankers collide with mines

Iran announced that an explosion and fire broke out in two illegal oil tankers south of the Strait of Hormuz. A statement issued by the Naval Forces of the Revolutionary Guard, reported by Iranian state television early on Saturday morning (November 14, 2026), said: “Two oil tankers that attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz through an unauthorized passage exploded shortly after they turned off their radar and positioning devices, and they broke out in flames as a result of their collision with sea mines.”

In a separate statement, the Iranian Navy announced that a third oil tanker "was sailing through an unsafe and restricted area east of the Strait of Hormuz after turning off its location systems. It caught fire and was forced to stop after colliding with a sea mine."

The two statements did not specify the names of the tankers or the countries whose flags they fly, but the Revolutionary Guard indicated that one of the two ships that caught fire in the south of the strait was a giant oil tanker.

Since the outbreak of the Iran war in February, Tehran has imposed severe restrictions on shipping traffic through the strategic strait for global energy supplies, regularly targeting ships that attempt to cross without its permission.

In response, the United States imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, and is escorting ships crossing the strait in increasing numbers.

The International Atomic Energy Agency urged Iran to take "gradual steps" to allow the return of its inspectors to the main nuclear facilities in the Islamic Republic, considering their access to them as "essential," in a report seen by Agence France-Presse on Friday (November 13, 2026).

“The agency does not know the exact location of the facility... or its status for safeguards purposes, or whether it contains nuclear material,” the agency said in its quarterly report to member states, referring to the Isfahan fuel enrichment facility.

Since July 2025, Iran has prevented visits by International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to its nuclear facilities, after the bombing campaign launched by Israel for 12 days, to which the United States joined. The strikes targeted nuclear facilities. Facilities were also damaged in the latest war that broke out on February 28, and the UN agency repeatedly requested access to the sites.

The agency indicated in its report, which will be discussed during the meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors next week, that it is “extremely important” to conduct “verification activities in Iran without further delay.” The report stated that the Director-General of the UN agency, Rafael Grossi, “encourages Iran to consider technical and gradual measures that will create the conditions that allow the agency’s inspectors to return to Iran.”

He added, "These gradual steps would pave the way for the normal resumption of the implementation of guarantees in Iran, and would contribute to creating a confidence-building atmosphere that would help reach a broader agreement." The report also reviewed details of the correspondence that took place in recent weeks between the agency and Iran.

Referring Iran's nuclear file to the UN Security Council

IAEA inspectors were able to visit the Bushehr nuclear plant in Iran during September, but were unable to access other facilities.

The agency acknowledged that "the military attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities and sites have created an unprecedented situation." But due to the lack of cooperation, “the agency cannot confirm that any declared nuclear material from peaceful nuclear activities in Iran has not been diverted.”

In September, the IAEA's Board of Governors referred Iran's file to the UN Security Council due to its "non-compliance" in the nuclear file, which is the first time in 20 years that Iran has been referred to the highest UN body due to its failure to fulfill its obligations related to reporting its nuclear activities.

Before the strikes in June 2025, the International Atomic Energy Agency estimated that Iran possessed about 440 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium, which is close to the 90% level needed to make a nuclear bomb, and far exceeds the 3.67% ceiling stipulated in the 2015 agreement.

Mystery surrounds the fate of Iran's stock of highly enriched uranium, which exceeds 400 kilograms, according to International Agency estimates, whose inspectors were able to inspect it for the last time on June 10, 2025, days before Israel began its strikes on the Islamic Republic, which the United States joined by bombing three major nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.

Iran has long denied seeking to develop a nuclear bomb.

Reuters quoted six European officials as saying that Saudi Arabia is pressuring the European Union to classify the Yemeni Houthi movement, which is allied with Iran, as a terrorist organization.

The six European officials expressed concern that the inclusion of the Houthis on the list of terrorist groups may close the limited channels they maintain with the group, and may undermine any European participation in a future peace process in Yemen.

The government communication center in Saudi Arabia did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

European Union foreign policy spokesman Anwar al-Anouni said that the bloc is in regular contact with Riyadh on a range of issues, including regional developments, but he refused to comment on any specific ongoing discussions.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaya Kallas said that the Union stands in solidarity with Saudi Arabia, after a Houthi missile attack on King Khalid Airport in Riyadh in October. That truce collapsed in July of this year after the Houthis accused Riyadh of bombing Sanaa airport. Since then, both sides have launched cross-border attacks that have killed and injured civilians.

The necessity of unanimity among European Union member states

Including the Houthis on the list of terrorist organizations requires unanimous support from the twenty-seven member states of the European Union. One of the six officials said that support has so far been limited to only a few of them, refusing to reveal the identity of those countries because the discussions were confidential. Last month, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the European Union to include the Houthis on the list of terrorist groups, a largely symbolic step, but indicating support within the continent to take a tougher stance toward the group. The Houthis are already subject to European Union sanctions, including an arms embargo and a freeze on the assets of 12 of their leaders. The bloc classified the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the main supporter of the Houthis, as a terrorist organization. But the European Union has not yet gone so far as to classify the Houthis themselves as a terrorist organization, a step taken by other Western countries, including the United States, Australia and Canada.

Yesterday, Wednesday (November 12, 2026), the US Soccer Federation informed the players of the U-17 national team that the United States was withdrawing from the World Cup organized by the International Federation of Federation (FIFA) in Qatar, due to security concerns. In a letter to the players, seen by Reuters, the federation said it had decided to cancel the national team’s preparatory camp and withdraw from the tournament “in light of the current circumstances.”

The union explained that the decision came against the backdrop of the Level 3 travel warning issued by the US State Department regarding Qatar, in addition to the related directives for US embassy employees and their families. “The safety of our players and staff will always remain our top priority,” the letter said.

The Federation added that it would inform the players’ clubs of the decision, asking them to refrain from making any public statements until FIFA officially announces the decision. FIFA has not yet responded to a Reuters request for comment.

Last month, the US State Department updated its travel advisory for Qatar, calling on American citizens to reconsider travel due to security concerns. The warning referred to attacks on Saudi Arabia by the Yemeni Houthi group allied with Iran, including targeting civilian airports and infrastructure.

The tournament, which includes 48 teams, will be held from November 19 to December 13. The American national team was scheduled to begin its campaign against Montenegro on November 21, before facing Chile and Algeria in the tenth group competitions. The United States previously reached the round of 32 in the last edition of the tournament, which was also held in Qatar, which it will continue to host annually until 2029.