Iraq to correct asset-freeze list that included Hezbollah and Houthis, citing publication error

Iraq will correct a list of groups whose funding it has frozen, the state news agency reported on Thursday, after Iran-backed Hezbollah and the Houthis were included in an earlier government publication.

The Justice Ministry's official gazette last month published a list of groups and entities whose funds would be blocked, naming both Lebanon's Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthis, a move that would likely have been welcomed in Washington and increased pressure on Tehran.

Iraq's Terrorists' Funds Freezing Committee said the November 17 publication had been intended to apply only to individuals and entities linked to Islamic State and al Qaeda, in response to a request from Malaysia and in line with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1373.

The Committee said that several unrelated groups were mistakenly included because the list was released before final revisions were completed. Those names would be removed in a corrected version to be reissued in the official gazette, it added.

Hezbollah and the Houthis did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The United States has long sought to reduce Iran's influence in Iraq and other countries in the Middle East where Tehran has allies as part of its so-called Axis of Resistance, which has taken a battering by Israel since the war in Gaza erupted in 2023.

Iran views its neighbour and ally Iraq as vital for keeping its economy afloat amidst sanctions. But Baghdad, a partner to both the United States and Iran, is wary of being caught in the crosshairs of U.S. President Donald Trump's policy to squeeze Tehran.

Iran wields considerable military, political and economic influence in Iraq through its powerful Shi'ite militias and the political parties it backs in Baghdad. But increased U.S. pressure over the past year comes at a time when Iran has been weakened by Israel's attacks on its regional proxies.