Iraq Revises Fund Freezing Decision, Removes Hezbollah and Houthis from Terror Lists

Iraq's commission tasked with freezing terrorist funds announced on Tuesday an official amendment to decision number (61) from 2025, removing Hezbollah and the Houthi group from its freezing lists, stating that their previous inclusion was due to a "technical error."

In a statement, the commission clarified: "The Iraqi approval was limited to including only entities and individuals linked to ISIS and Al Qaeda, adding that the inclusion of other names resulted from the publication of the list prior to review."

The commission further noted: "There was an error in including the names of Hezbollah and the Houthis."

The original decision was published in the Iraqi Official Gazette number (4848) on November 17, 2025, at the request of Malaysia and based on UN Security Council resolution (1373) from 2001, aimed at freezing the funds and assets of entities and individuals linked to ISIS and Al Qaeda.

The initial publication of the list last month sparked significant debate and criticism from various Iraqi factions, while international media outlets such as Reuters noted that the measure "would likely be well received by Washington and increase pressure on Tehran."

Iraqi officials confirmed last Thursday that Iraq would remove the names of the two groups from the list after verifying that their inclusion was accidental.

This modification comes a week after a political and media controversy in Iraq, where Iran-aligned entities deemed the initial inclusion "confusing," while the revised decision clarifies Iraq's official stance regarding the included entities.