Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Thursday instructed authorities to launch an immediate investigation into serious editorial errors that appeared in a counterterrorism decision published in the Iraqi Official Gazette last month.
Iraqi officials have ordered an investigation to determine how the inaccuracies were included in the final public document and to hold those responsible “regardless of whether the lapse was due to negligence.”
The issue centers on Decision No. 61 of 2025 by the Committee on the Freezing of Terrorist Financing, which was published on November 17 in Al Waqai Al Iraq (issue 4848).
The resolution aimed to implement Malaysia’s request to freeze assets belonging to individuals and entities associated with ISIS and al-Qaeda.
However, the published version also included the names of Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Ansarullah. Iraqi officials claim these organizations were not included in Malaysia’s request and were included in error.
An official statement from the prime minister’s press office said the published version contained additional text that “reflected a completely false position”.
The government stressed that the cooperation between Iraq and Malaysia is strictly limited to the two designated terrorist organizations and has no broader political implications.
The Committee to Freeze Terrorism Funds subsequently announced that the list had been published before final revisions were completed and that a revised version would be republished in the Official Gazette.
In the same statement, Baghdad reiterated its long-standing and principled political and humanitarian positions on the Palestinian-Lebanese conflict, saying these positions are “fixed and non-negotiable and reflect the unified will of all components of the Iraqi people.”
The government rejected any suggestion that its solidarity with affected people in the region risks misunderstanding or political bidding.
Although there has been no official confirmation of deliberate sabotage, authorities are expected to thoroughly investigate the entire editorial and approval chain of the Official Gazette to determine how the incorrect text made it into the final published document.