00:00Politicians and senior officials are being arrested in Iraq in what's becoming one of the country's biggest anti-corruption crackdowns
00:07in years.
00:08Baghdad's Green Zone, home to the U.S. Embassy, has been filled with security forces carrying out raids targeting politicians
00:15accused of financial corruption.
00:17The crackdown gained momentum after the arrest of Adnan al-Jumayli, a senior oil ministry official, on the 30th of
00:24May.
00:24Authorities say his testimony helped drive the wider campaign with around $86 million seized in just one case alone.
00:3447 people have been arrested so far, according to authorities, and the crackdown is still ongoing.
00:40In another raid, authorities seized around $15.5 million in cash, along with quantities of gold, at the home of
00:49Iraqi lawmaker Alian Saif.
00:52Among those arrested is former Deputy Oil Minister Ali al-Ma'arij, who is also under U.S. sanctions.
00:59So why is this happening now?
01:01The man leading the campaign is Iraq's new Prime Minister, Ali al-Zaidi.
01:06Just weeks into the job, he made fighting corruption his signature issue.
01:10But analysts say the timing is hard to ignore.
01:13The arrests come just ahead of his planned visit to Washington in mid-July, where he's expected to discuss security,
01:20corruption, and economic cooperation with the Trump administration.
01:25Many analysts see the crackdown as an effort to reset ties with the United States, while also keeping Iraq's relationship
01:33with Iran on track.
01:34Al-Zaidi isn't seen as being as closely aligned to Tehran as some previous Iraqi leaders, so far at least.
01:43U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Washington has received, quote, good and constructive signals from Iraq's new government,
01:51but not everyone's convinced.
01:53Some analysts doubt Iraq can really reduce Iran's influence.
01:58So the question now is whether this is the start of real reform, or is it just a move to
02:04appease Washington while taking pressure off Tehran?
02:07Only time will tell.
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