BAGHDAD: Iraq has ordered the seizure of assets that belonged to executed dictator Saddam Hussein and more than 4,200 officials from his former regime, an official statement said Monday.
The list of ex-regime bosses was drawn up by the Iraqi agency charged with tracking down former officials from Saddam's Baath Party, and includes their relatives.
Saddam's name appeared at the top of the list and it also said it included "his children, grandchildren, relatives".
After the fall of the Saddam regime following the 2003 US invasion, property belonging to the former ruler and his cronies was snaffled up by Iraq's new leaders, armed forces and multiple militias.
This new order now seeks to put an official stamp on the confiscation of the assets.
The list of names includes Saddam-era government ministers, security bosses and officials from the Baath Party, including some who are in prison, who have been executed or have died.
Among those named is Ali Hassan al-Majid, a cousin of Saddam better known as "Chemical Ali", who was hanged in 2010 for ordering the 1988 gassing of thousands of Kurds.
Tareq Aziz, a veteran foreign minister who held the post of deputy prime minister before Saddam was ousted in the US-led invasion, is also on the list.
Sentenced to death in 2013, Aziz, the only Christian in Saddam's inner circle, died two years later in prison.
His son Ziad, who lives in Jordan, has condemned the list as nothing more than "a stunt to win votes" in Iraq's May 12 legislative election.
"We've been subjected to pressure and injustice for 15 years, it's enough," he told AFP ahead of the official announcement Sunday."When will the spite of this so-called government end?"
Ziad Aziz denied his family had any assets, saying his father's house in Baghdad had already been seized by prominent Shiite politician Ammar al-Hakim.
Iraq orders seizure of assets of Saddam-era officials
Iraq orders seizure of assets of Saddam-era officials
US senator urges military action if Hamas, Hezbollah remained armed
- Graham’s remarks came a day after mediators urged Hamas and Israel to uphold Gaza ceasefire
- The 2nd phase of the Gaza truce envisages the demilitarization of the territory, including the disarmament of Hamas
JERUSALEM: US Senator Lindsey Graham called on Sunday for renewed military action against Hamas and Hezbollah if they fail to disarm and accused the Palestinian Islamist group of consolidating its power in Gaza.
The Republican politician, on a visit to Israel, is a staunch ally of US President Donald Trump.
Beginning in October, a fragile ceasefire has so far halted two years of war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip despite both sides trading accusations of truce violations.
A separate ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah also came into effect in November 2024 after more than a year of hostilities, though Israel continues to carry out strikes on Lebanese territory.
Israel has made dismantling the arsenals of both groups, allies of its arch-foe Iran, a key condition for any lasting peace.
“It’s imperative we come up with a plan quickly, put Hamas on a time clock, give them a period of time to achieve the goal of disarmament,” Graham said at a press conference during his visit.
“And if you don’t, I would encourage President Trump to unleash Israel to go finish off Hamas.”
“It’s a long, brutal war, but you cannot be successful anywhere in the region until you deliver in dealing Hamas out of the future of Gaza and disarming them,” Graham added, insisting that the second stage of the truce would fail if Hamas remains armed.
“Ninety days after the ceasefire, they are consolidating power in Gaza,” Graham said.
He also called for military engagement against Hezbollah if it too does not surrender its weapons.
“If Hezbollah refuses to give up their heavy weapons, down the road we should engage in military operations working with Lebanon, Israel and the United States, where we fly with Israel... to take Hezbollah out,” Graham said.
-- Opposition to Turkiye --
The Lebanese government has begun to disarm Hezbollah, starting in the country’s south, and insists it will complete the plan.
Israel, however, has questioned the effectiveness of the Lebanese military, and Hezbollah itself has repeatedly refused to lay down its weapons.
Graham’s remarks came a day after mediators the United States, Qatar, Egypt and Turkiye urged both sides in the Gaza war to uphold the ceasefire.
The mediators are pressing for the implementation of the second phase of the truce, which would involve an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the deployment of an international stabilization force and the establishment of an interim authority to govern the territory in place of Hamas.
The second phase of the Gaza truce also envisages the demilitarization of the territory, including the disarmament of Hamas.
Graham backed Israel’s opposition to Turkiye being included in the stabilization force, saying it would “rock Israel to its core.”
“There is no political support anywhere in Israel for having Turkiye being involved in the stabilising force,” he said.
Hamas, meanwhile, has called on the mediators and Washington to stop Israeli “violations” of the ceasefire in Gaza.
On Sunday, Israeli artillery shelling was reported in several parts of Gaza’s southern area of Khan Yunis, according to the civil defense agency, which operates under the authority of Hamas.
On Friday, six people, including two children, were killed in an Israeli bombing of a school serving as a shelter for displaced people, according to the agency.
