BAGHDAD: The head of Iraq’s Olympic Committee has temporarily assigned his vice president to manage affairs while his lawyers address the US sanctions against him for alleged ties with Iran.
Last month, the US Treasury announced sanctions against Aqeel Muftin, accusing him of managing an Iraqi commercial bank associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force.
In a statement Friday, Iraq’s Olympic Committee said that per Muftin’s “initiative... first vice president Abdul Salam Khalaf has been temporarily authorized to oversee Olympic affairs until the issue is resolved.”
The committee also added it had notified the International Olympic Committee more than two weeks ago.
According to the statement, Muftin denies the accusations against him and has assembled a team of lawyers to pursue his case with the US Treasury.
The US Treasury accused Muftin and his brother Ali of having “close relationships with senior intelligence officials of the IRGC and help(ing) generate and transfer funds for militias in Iraq that support the IRGC-QF.”
Iraq’s government criticized last month the sanctions which also targeted the Al-Muhandis company, a firm with links to the Hashed Al-Shaabi — former paramilitary units that have been integrated into the regular security forces.
Iraq’s Olympic Committee president hands over duties after US sanctions
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Iraq’s Olympic Committee president hands over duties after US sanctions
- The head of Iraq’s Olympic Committee has temporarily assigned his vice president to manage affairs while his lawyers address the US sanctions against him for alleged ties with Iran
Syria arrests group behind Mezzeh airport attacks, weapons traced to Hezbollah
- Authorities seized a number of drones the group was preparing to use in further operations
DAMASCUS: Syria said on Sunday it had detained a group behind recent rocket attacks on the Mezzeh military airport in Damascus, with investigators tracing the weapons to Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The interior ministry said security units arrested all members of the group, which it said had carried out several strikes on the airport in recent months, after surveillance of suspected launch sites in several areas of the capital.
The weapons used in the attacks originated from Lebanon’s Hezbollah, an ally of former President Bashar Assad that once had a large military presence across Syria supporting Assad’s army, the ministry said.
Hezbollah denied the allegations and said it had no activity or ties with any group inside Syria. Authorities said they also seized a number of drones the group was preparing to use in further operations.
The ministry said only that the detainees had links to unidentified “foreign entities,” without mentioning Hezbollah or Iran.
Reuters reported in November that Washington was planning to establish a military presence at an air base in Damascus to help enable a security pact that Washington is brokering between Syria and Israel. The government denied the report.
Security sources say Hezbollah left behind weapons stockpiles, including drones, in parts of Syria after withdrawing its forces following the collapse of Assad’s rule.
