ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – A government source confirmed to The New Region that Yahya Rasul, the former spokesperson for the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Army, has been transferred to the Ministry of Defense after critical comments regarding Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and his movement came to light.

According to the source, Brigadier General Tahsin al-Khafaji has been appointed as the new Director of the Media and Moral Guidance Directorate at the Ministry following Rasul's reassignment.

The decision comes after Rasul made controversial remarks during a television interview, in which he criticized current Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa and attacked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) at a time when the group was launching an offensive aimed at toppling the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

In the interview, Rasul referred to the HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa as a “terrorist wanted by the United States.”

The move comes amid controversy regarding Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani’s decision to invite the Syrian premier to attend an Arab League forum in Baghdad in May, with some Iraqi political actors criticizing the invitation. 

“Ahmed al-Sharaa is wanted by the Iraqi judiciary for terrorism-related offenses,” said State of Law Coalition member Fadel Mawat in an interview with The New Region. “He is accused of involvement in the bloodshed of Iraqis. It would be unacceptable for him to be welcomed as a head of state.”

Other Iraqi political blocs welcomed the move as a means of establishing amicable relations with the new Syrian administration.

Much of the polemic surrounding Sharaa's visit to the country stems from his involvement in various militant groups, including Al-Qaeda, active in the conflict in Iraq following the 2003 US invasion, with security sources confirming that an Iraqi warrant for his arrest still remains in place.

Sharaa's HTS spearheaded a dynamic offensive against the government of now-deposed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in December that brought him and his movement to power.