Iraq recalls its Jordan envoy after controversial photos released with Lebanese music icon
The Iraqi official suspended his Twitter account afterward.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi Ambassador to Jordan Haider Al-Adhari has been recalled to the capital Baghdad after photos were published of the diplomat and his wife with the Lebanese music icon Ragheb Alama during a gathering, according to the foreign ministry’s spokesperson.
Ahmed Al-Sahaf, the Iraqi foreign ministry’s spokesperson, announced that Al-Adhari had been recalled to Baghdad over the controversial family photos, without elaborating further details.
The controversy was sparked when the 60-year-old Lebanese celebrity published photos taken with Al-Adhari and his wife Maysam Al-Rubai'i during a reception hosted by the Iraqi diplomat on Friday, drawing mixed reactions from Iraqi social media users.
شكراً من القلب لسعادة السفير العراقي في #الأردن السيد حيدر منصور العذاري وزوجته السيّدة ميسم الربيعي على هذه الاستضافة الكريمة والرائعة والمُمتعة، وعلى هذا الترحيب والاستقبال الطيّب.
— RaghebAlama (@raghebalama) August 19, 2022
أسعدني جداً لقاؤكم الجميل في تلك الأجواء القريبة من القلب والمليئة بالحب والفرح 🙏❤️#راغب_علامة pic.twitter.com/ZyEQiENxm1
The majority of commentators on Twitter criticized the Iraqi official for her wife’s “proximity” to the Lebanese singer in the photos, while others were critical of the gathering that had been held amid political turmoil in Iraq.
The Iraqi official suspended his Twitter account afterward.
In late July, the ministry similarly recalled its ambassador to Lebanon, Haidar Shia’ al-Barrak, after his photos were published of a trip, in which he was seen hunting with a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG). He was surrounded by armed men in the photos.
Some of the Twitter users alleged that the ambassador is affiliated with former Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki’s Da’wa Party, which has been leading the Shiite Coordination Framework – a political grouping of mainly pro-Iran parties.
The Framework has been in a tug-of-war with Moqtada Al-Sadr and his allies over the formation of Iraq’s government nine months after the country’s parliamentary elections.