... militants from the Badr Organization and the Mahdi Army. For them, collaboration with the United States was a matter of pragmatism, since everyone realized that Washington would play a defining role in the future federative Iraq. At the same time, the Shiites, who had become the dominant group in Iraq, were looking to the Iranian model of governance.
The formation of the new political elite in Iraq and the country’s security forces was thus directly dependent on the presence of U.S. occupation forces, the policies of Iran and Iran’s ties with movements opposing Saddam ...
... it was fraught with the real danger of an armed confrontation between the principal ethnic and denominational communities in the state. It is noteworthy that discontent with this situation was expressed not only by Kurds and Sunnis but also by some Shiites inclined to view the PMF as an instrument of Iran's military and political dominance in Iraq.
The 2018 parliamentary elections were a watershed moment in Iraq’s political developments. One of the most remarkable results of the electoral campaign was the victory of the Saairun bloc led by Muqtada ...
... and cultural influence, to build so-called
Islamic resistance
by financing projects to create and maintain cross-border non-governmental actors in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and — some analysts believe — Yemen. [
2
]2 Some experts explain Iran’s policy by its desire to consolidate a fairly large territory in the Middle East predominantly populated by Shiites. The very term Shiite Crescent, coined by King Abdullah II of Jordan, has been
used widely
by the Arab media (such as Qatar’s Al Jazeera) and in Israeli publications, and has caught on in the English-language press. In reality, however, Iran’s ...
Now it is Lebanon’s Turn to Become the Stage for Saudi Arabia to Resolve its Regional Issues
On November 4, 2017, Prime Minister of Lebanon Saad Hariri announced his resignation on Saudi television. In his speech, Hariri
accused Iran
of spreading discord in the region, motivated by hatred for Arabs, and called Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement “Iran’s arm in Lebanon and other Arab countries” (meaning, of course, Syria).
The Lebanese politician, who holds Saudi citizenship ...
... threat to Iran's national security. Hence, sources suggest, Iranian troops have already entered Iraqi territory to support local Shiite militias
[23]
. Tehran is keenly aware that the extremists in Central Iraq will never accept the dominance of the Shiites, who risk sharing the terrible fate of the Kurdish Yazidi if IS prevails. The Iranians are also helping Baghdad by supplying weapons, military hardware, equipment and food
[24]
.
At the same time, recent developments in Iraq to a certain extent seem to have been provoked by Iran, which had long been supporting the government of ...
... one still lacking efficiency. Saudi Arabia could neither promote anti-Iranian integration under the Council, nor involve a country with combat-ready armed forces (chiefly Jordan and Morocco).
Removing Nuri al-Maliki
AFP / LOUAI BESHARA
Elena Suponina:
Shiites and Sunnis: The Danger of Major War
from Syria to Pakistan
Destabilization of Iraq – the “pearl” in the sphere of Iranian influence – takes on particular significance as the third tool to curb Iran.
Given the serious setbacks, the destabilization of Iraq – the “pearl” in the sphere of Iranian influence – takes on particular significance ...
