Iraq Green Zone raid was planned two weeks in advance, report says

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Zaidani met privately with the heads of four security agencies two weeks before launching a covert arrest operation in Baghdad in the early hours of June 28, 2026, according to a report by Asharq Al-Awsat citing informed sources. The plan centered on targets inside the Green Zone, while special forces carried out simultaneous raids at separate locations in eastern Baghdad and in southern Iraq. The operation deployed armored vehicles, personnel carriers, tanks and hundreds of soldiers in what the sources described as a wide deterrent posture against possible resistance from the Popular Mobilization Forces (Hashd al-Shaabi). The first phase was aimed at politicians with longstanding corruption allegations, while a second phase targeted figures described as "high-value" targets. The sources said several wanted individuals escaped roughly an hour before the raids, after receiving tips from within the executive branch and political circles. The report comes against the backdrop of a U.S. Treasury sanctions package issued on May 7, 2026 against Muarej, whom Washington accused of facilitating oil shipments for Iran and affiliated Iraqi groups. Iraq rejected the allegations. A former U.S. official described the Baghdad operation to Asharq Al-Awsat as a "major surgical strike" aimed at severing ties between Iran's representatives in Iraq and state institutions.