العراق

On Monday, the head of Iran’s Quds Force revealed that the country’s defense ministry worked over time in recent years to manufacture weapons to equip Iraq’s Army and the Hashd al-Shaabi – the Iraqi paramilitary forces also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces [P.M.F.] – in their fight against the Islam

A senior Iranian military official said on Tuesday that the liberation of the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State sounded “the death knell for the divisive plots” of the United States and its regional allies, the Iranian media reported.

A commander of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (P.M.F.) – also known as Hashd al-Shaabi – has said that the paramilitary forces will not agree to the presence of American forces or foreign private security firms in post-Islamic State Iraq, particularly in regions near the Syrian border. “The central government has almost agreed to Blackwater controlling the borders. But Blackwater doesn’t have the authority and resources to control the borders or fight Daesh [Islamic State].

On Wednesday, the commander of the Ground Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.)

Ammar al-Hakim, the head of Iraq’s Shiite ruling coalition, has said during his visit to Tehran that the Baghdad government will reduce the number of American military advisors and their role after the liberation of Mosul. “We emphasize that we oppose the presence of their military forces the same way we opposed foreign military bases on the Iraqi soil,” Hakim said in an interview with Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.).

With the Islamic State collapsing in Iraq and losing ground in Syria, Iran and its regional proxies see the United States as the primary threat to their influence and ambitions and have stepped up efforts to oust the U.S. military from the region. Through diplomatic outreach – and at times veiled threats – Iranian leaders have been urging the Afghan and Iraqi governments to expel American forces from their countries. Tehran has also deepened its ties with the Taliban and has reportedly teamed up with Moscow to undermine U.S.-led stabilization efforts in war-torn Afghanistan.

The U.S. military is taking measures in the Iraqi province of al-Anbar close to the Syrian border to counter the growing influence of the Popular Mobilization Forces (P.M.F.), reports Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.). According to the Iranian outlet, the U.S. military seeks to push back against the P.M.F.’s territorial gains because Washington and its allies see the Iraqi paramilitary forces as “Iran’s operational arm” in Iraq and Syria. According to Fars, the U.S.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Charles Lister, W. Robert Pearson, and Yousef Munayyer provide analysis on ISIS’ continued threat to security despite losing territory, President Erdogan’s upcoming visit to Sudan as a political calculation, and Mohammed Dahlan’s effort to return to Palestinian politics.

She was a fearless trailblazer who spurned the comforts of Victorian England for a life of adventure and accomplishment, including extensive exploration through uncharted Arabia in the uneasy last days of the Ottoman Empire.

Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell, a documentary from New York-based filmmakers Zeva Oelbaum and Sabine Krayenbuhl, opened earlier this month in New York City, and will roll out to other major centers through July.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has voiced opposition to the Iraqi Kurdistan’s decision to hold an independence referendum in September.

The Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (P.M.F.) – also known as the Hashd al-Shaabi – on Sunday seized the center of al-Baaj, one of the last bastions of the Islamic State in northwestern Iraq close to the Syrian border, the Iraqi and Iranian media reported. Iraqi air force assisted the P.M.F.

Read the full article on The Cipher Brief.

The participation of the Iraqi delegation led by President Fuad Masum at the Riyadh summit has raised a lot of questions in Tehran. “Has Iraq joined the Saudi against Iran?” was the title of a lengthy analysis piece published today in Tasnim News Agency, an outlet affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps. According to the article, many in Iran have criticized the Palestinian and Iraqi leaders for attending and the Riyadh summit and “voting in favor of an anti-Iran resolution” despite the fact that the Islamic Republic has supported Palestine and Iraq for many years.

The spokesman for Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces, also known as Hashd al-Shaabi, said on Wednesday that the paramilitary forces aim to seize and control all regions along

In this week’s Briefing, MEI experts Charles Lister, Gonul Tol, and Gerald Feierstein provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the beginning of the final phase of the battle to retake Mosul, Germany’s consideration for withdrawing troops from Turkey, and Qatar’s fragile relations within the G.C.C.