The leader of the Iraqi "Asaib Ahl al-Haq" movement, Qais Khazali, ridiculed his name on the list of sanctions recently announced by Washington against Iraqi leaders on corruption charges and human rights violations.
Khazali told a group of his supporters yesterday, Sunday, "They are very late. They were supposed to give us this honor a long time ago."
"It is embarrassing. They have classified me as a terrorist, a global terrorist, what is the list of US Treasury sanctions? It means that all of our money in American banks will be confiscated," he said sarcastically.
On Friday, the United States imposed sanctions on Qais Khazali and his brother Laith Khazali and Hussein Falih al-Lami, all of whom are faction leaders within the Popular Mobilization Forces, on the grounds that they were involved in the security campaign against demonstrators during the protests in Iraq.
Under US law, the sanctions prohibit the three Iraqis from traveling to the United States, where any assets they own have been frozen.
Washington also imposed sanctions on Sunni politician and businessman Khamis Al-Khanjar for corruption "at the expense of the Iraqi people."
In this regard, the stream of the "Arab Project" led by Al-Khanjar issued a statement in which he considered the American accusations "very funny and irrational." He added that the dagger "had no official status, and his party did not have any official position, to be accused of corruption."
This is the second time that Washington has included the names of Iraqi personalities on the sanctions list based on the Manitsky Law.
More than 450 people have been killed across Iraq since the start of anti-government protests in early October, which prompted Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi to resign.