Falah Sheghati appointed head of Iraq's Federal Intelligence and Investigation Agency

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Falah Sheghati has been formally appointed as head of Iraq's Federal Intelligence and Investigation Agency, an agency under the Interior Ministry, on the instruction of Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ali Falih al-Zaydi. In his first statement after taking up the post, Sheghati said the agency would pursue a new intelligence strategy aligned with current security challenges. Sheghati outlined priorities for his tenure, including improving the agency's performance, strengthening its intelligence capacity and advancing efforts to safeguard national security. He pledged that the agency "will keep watch without hesitation for the security of the homeland and its citizens" and said intelligence mechanisms would be updated to better counter terrorism and organized crime. Before the appointment, Sheghati served as an assistant undersecretary for intelligence at the Interior Ministry. In 2024, he was elected an assistant secretary-general of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers. The Federal Intelligence and Investigation Agency is responsible for intelligence collection and analysis, monitoring terrorist groups and organized crime networks, and supporting security operations across Iraqi cities.