BAGHDAD, 27 Oct. - (ANA) - The idea of former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair leading an international administration for Gaza as part of US President Donald Trump's peace plan has drawn both support and criticism in Iraq.

 

During a recent visit, President Trump announced his Gaza peace plan and noted that Blair's potential leadership is still under discussion. Some reports suggest Blair may head a seven-member committee to oversee Gaza for five years as part of the US post-war plan.

 

In contrast to widespread criticism in Iraq, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani offered rare support for Blair, calling him "a friend of the Iraqis" and praising his role in helping "liberate Iraq from Saddam Hussein's dictatorship." Speaking to CNBC, al-Sudani said, "Tony Blair is acceptable to the Iraqis... He is a great friend of Iraq, and I wish him success in his mission, and we will support him."

 

Despite al-Sudani's words, many Iraqis disagree, citing concerns over Blair's past role in the 2003 US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq and its consequences. 

 

Yassin Aref, a Kurdish man who was wrongfully convicted by a US court in the aftermath of 9/11 and became a victim of Islamophobia, spending 15 years in US prisons, told The New Arab that Blair's record makes him unfit for the role.

 

"The era of imperialism and the high commissioner is over," Aref said. "It is shameful that they are considering bringing a Western person to rule Gaza. Blair lied to the British people about Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and went to war on that basis; consequently, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis were killed and wounded."

 

Aref also criticised Blair's previous involvement as the Quartet's Middle East envoy, saying he contributed to deepening the rift between Fatah in Ramallah and Hamas in Gaza. "He damaged relations between Palestinian factions and sided with the Zionists," Aref said. "People in Gaza will not accept him after two years of bloodshed and genocide by Israel— his nomination is illegal and contradicts international law, which upholds the right to self-determination to all nations. At the end of the day, he will not be successful, even if he is chosen to serve as a high commissioner in Gaza. "

 

This view was reinforced by Blair’s tenure as Quartet envoy from 2007 to 2015, which was widely seen as unsuccessful by some observers. Palestinian officials accused him of favouring Israel and opposing Palestine’s UN statehood bid, while others noted his later admission that isolating Hamas after its 2006 victory was a mistake.

 

The Iraq War report, known as the 2016 Chilcot Inquiry, further shaped Blair's legacy. After seven years of investigation, it found that Britain entered the 2003 war before trying all peaceful options and that intelligence about weapons of mass destruction was presented too confidently. Blair accepted responsibility, said he relied on the information he had, and expressed regret and apology for the war's outcome.

 

In 2017, a British court rejected former Iraqi General Abdulwaheed al-Rabbat's attempt to sue Blair over the invasion, saying English law has no statute for a "crime of aggression" to prosecute the former prime minister. 

 

Dr Ahmed Warte, a Kurdish academic and head of the Aynda Centre for Research in Erbil, told TNA that Blair's history of failure in Iraq and Palestine makes him "the wrong person" for Gaza.

 

"If Blair leads Gaza, he will fail again. He ignored one million UK protesters against the Iraq war and went to war anyway. The war's consequences still haunt Iraq," Warte remarked. 

 

He added that Blair's "consistent bias towards Israel" and "hostility towards Islamist movements" mean that Palestinians "view him with deep suspicion".

 

For many in the region, Blair's potential oversight of Gaza evokes colonial memories. Critics argue that appointing a controversial Western leader could harm peace efforts and reopen old wounds.

 

Iraqi political analyst Mohammed Ghosoub told TNA that Tony Blair is one of "the architects of Iraq's invasion in 2003 alongside George W. Bush" and "widely regarded in Britain as a war criminal."

 

He criticised Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's reported support for Blair's potential role in Gaza, calling it "ill-advised" and saying it "disregards Britain's destructive role in Iraq during the occupation, particularly in Basra, which was under British control."

 

Ghosoub said that "the claims made by Blair and Bush about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction were false and misleading," adding that "this record makes Blair an unacceptable figure to lead Gaza."

 

He also recalled that during Blair's time as Middle East Quartet envoy, "many Palestinian leaders saw him as biased towards Israel and unfit to act as a neutral mediator."

 

Against this backdrop, some observers note that Blair may not be able to assume the role at all, considering the growing condemnation as well as Hamas' refusal to disarm. At the same time, Israel continues to bombard the coastal enclave and kill Palestinians, creating significant obstacles for any international administration in Gaza under current conditions.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/27 October 2025 - - -