ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq’s pro-Iran Kataib Hezbollah on Saturday rejected claims of involvement in Iraq’s defense procurement and airport contracts after Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi cancelled contracts of three companies at Mosul airport for their alleged ties to armed groups.

Earlier in the day, an unnamed source told state media that Zaidi had directed the cancellation of contracts with the Sky Plus Company, Sama Airport Company, and Al-Faisal Al-Shamikh Company for their “ties to armed groups.”

The Sky Plus Company was in charge of check-in desks, Sama Airport Company the open-air parking garage, and the Al-Faisal Al-Shamikh Company operated the official taxi dispatch office.

Kataib Hezbollah in a statement called the media reports “a blatant lie and nothing more than part of the fabrications of the media war being waged against the Axis [of Resistance].” 

“All your claims about investments, companies, and the like—whether true or fabricated—we consider them, in their entirety, along with all their assets, a gift to you from Kataib Hezbollah, to be added to your existing holdings, in the hope that they will satisfy your insatiable greed,” it added, referring to Zaidi.

On Thursday, the premier directed the Defense Industries Commission to pursure procurement efforts directly with arms manufacturors instead of intermediaries in a bid to increase fiscal transparency, coming amid reports that armed factions held sway over multiple middleman companies and associated front businesses that served their economic interests.

"We categorically affirm that Kataib Hezbollah has no relationship, partnership, or mediation—neither directly nor indirectly—with the Defense Industries Commission," the group said.

Sovereignty has been a key focus of Zaidi's premiership thus far, coming after Iraq was repeatedly caught in the crossfire of the US-Israeli war on Iran. The Iraqi government initially set an end-of-September deadline to disarm Iran-aligned factions in the country, but now aims to complete the campaign by July 2027, with a phased approach to disarmament having been adopted.

Many armed factions hold extensive business enterprises that facilitate their funding. Zaidi has taken a strong line against government corruption since assuming office and sought to crack down on the pilfering of official funds that end up in the hands of non-state militias.

The pro-Iran group, however, levelled accusations of financial impropriety at the premier himself, questioning the businessman-turned-politician how he built his "huge financial empire" and pondering whether his riches "would benefit the hardworking youth" of the country.

“We do not want to air dirty laundry in public, nor open the files of Khor Mor and incite attacks against it to blackmail the UAE. Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones,” the Kataib Hezbollah statement added.

Khor Mor, the Kurdistan Region’s main gas field, is operated by the UAE-based Dana Gas. It has long served as a strategic target for Iran-aligned factions in Iraq, with the commencement of the US-Israeli war on Iran in February leading to the facility being repeatedly attacked and provoking evacuations of staff and halts in production.