Several Iraqi political figures were arrested early Sunday on corruption-related charges, according to Iraq’s state-run Iraqi News Agency.
The agency reported that the arrests followed statements given by former Deputy Minister of Oil Adnan al-Jumaili, who was detained last month, and that those taken into custody included members of Parliament whose immunity had been lifted.
In the early hours of Sunday, Iraqi security forces closed all entrances to Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone and conducted raids inside the high-security district, which is home to major government offices and foreign embassies.
A security agency report obtained by The Associated Press said seven people were arrested in the operation, including five members of Parliament.
Some of those detained were affiliated with the political bloc of former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. The precise allegations against them were not immediately clear.
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Al-Sudani’s bloc secured the largest share of seats in November’s parliamentary elections, but he later stepped aside as the Coordination Framework — a coalition of Iran-aligned Shiite parties that had helped bring him to power — remained deadlocked over its preferred choice for prime minister.
He was succeeded by Ali al-Zaidi, a businessman and political newcomer who emerged as a consensus candidate and received backing from the United States.
The arrests are expected to reverberate through Iraq’s already fragmented political scene, where corruption allegations often overlap with broader struggles for power and influence.
