ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Saturday presided over the handover ceremony of the National Security Advisor post from Qasim al-Araji to Qasim al-Aboudi.

The ceremony took place in the advisory’s building, with both outgoing and incoming advisors in attendance in addition to the premier.

Zaidi stressed “the importance of maintaining professional performance, enhancing institutional performance, and continuing to fulfill the tasks assigned to the advisory in a way that strengthens security and stability and supports the security capabilities of all relevant agencies and formations,” according to a statement released by his office.

Qasim al-Aboudi is a relatively unknown figure in the Iraqi political sphere, with his highest public position up until now being his tenure as a member of parliament where he worked on security issues and government oversight.

The Iraqi premier praised Araji’s “professional performance” during his mandate, stressing the need to “to continue monitoring strategic security files and special programs that enhance the independence of Iraqi security decision-making and support the country's sovereignty.”

Araji has been a prominent figure in Iraqi politics since 2017 when he was appointed as interior minister. He was appointed as national security advisor in 2020 during the tenure of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, and retained the post in Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani’s cabinet.

Araji’s replacement is reportedly part of a broader reshuffle of the Iraqi government’s security and economic posts, coming days after Zaidi held a meeting with the recently-appointed US envoy to Iraq Tom Barrack.

Araji, a senior member of the pro-Iran Badr Organization, is well-known for his anti-US views. In 2003, he was detained by US forces in Iraq for 85 days on suspicion of commanding militia forces. Three years later, he was again arrested by US forces, this time held for 23 months, for his alleged involvement in the “smuggling and distribution” of explosives that were being used to target American force, and for his suspected “involvement in an assassination cell.”

Zaidi has enjoyed staunch US endorsement since his designation by the Coordination Framework in late April.

Iraqi state media on Thursday announced that Zaidi had appointed Basim al-Badri, a political and administrative figure who had led Iraq’s Accountability and Justice Commission since 2013, as the head of the country’s National Security Service, replacing Abdul Karim al-Basri.

Ali al-Alaq, Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) Governor, is also reportedly poised to be replaced by Nizar Nasser, a veteran CBI insider who has previously been in charge of the bank’s anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing branch.