Iraqi MP threatens to expel UK Envoy over PMF remarks
Shafaq News – Baghdad (updated 22:47)
On Saturday, an Iraqi lawmaker vowed to push for the expulsion of British Ambassador Irfan Siddiq, accusing him of crossing red lines by wading into Iraq’s internal affairs.
MP Falih al-Khazali issued the warning after the envoy, in a televised interview, questioned the necessity of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in the post-ISIS era.
Al-Khazali described Siddiq, a British diplomat of Pakistani origin, as “a specialist in sowing unrest” in countries where he has served. He cited the ambassador’s tenure in Azerbaijan between 2015 and 2018, marked by tensions with Iran, and his subsequent posting to Tehran, where protests erupted.
“In Iraq, he must stay within his bounds and avoid interfering in the country’s internal affairs,” al-Khazali cautioned, “otherwise we will file a formal request for his expulsion.”
Furthermore, Qais al-Khazali — leader of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq movement, a powerful Shiite faction within the pro-Iran Coordination Framework alliance — stated on X that Iraq is a sovereign state and its security institutions, led by the PMF, are a domestic matter. He warned that the British ambassador “must know his limits” and that the Foreign Ministry should formally caution him against involvement in issues outside his mandate.
— قيس الخزعلي (@Qais_alkhazali) August 9, 2025
Siddiq has yet to comment on the lawmaker’s remarks.
