Research & Commentary Results

Read the full article on Foreign Affairs.

Iranian media outlets, analysts and politicians warn that Saudi Arabia and its regional allies are cultivating close ties with Muqtada al-Sadr and other Iraqi Shiite clerics and political leaders to roll back Iran’s influence in post-Islamic State Iraq and the broader region. While some suggest that Riyadh’s outreach to Iraqi Shiites is part of the kingdom’s efforts to defuse tension with Tehran, others see it as a plot to isolate Iran. At the center of this debate is al-Sadr, who recently visited Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and is scheduled to travel to Egypt soon.

Harakat al-Nujaba, an Iranian-supported Iraqi militia group, has announced that it will support the Lebanese Hezbollah in the fight against the “occupying Zionist regime” of Israel, Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) reports.

A commander of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (P.M.F.) has said that the United States, Turkey and the leadership of the Iraqi Kurdistan are pressuring the Baghdad government not to allow the paramilitary forces to participate in upcoming military operation to liberate the city of Tal Afar, Fars News Agency reported. Jawad al-Talibawi, a spokesman for the armed wing of Iranian-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq, added that P.M.F. units have received “orders” forbidding them from taking part in the operation.

On Monday, the Islamic State claimed it had killed scores of Iraqi troops and captured one soldier in an ambush near the al-Tanf border-crossing along the Iraqi-Syrian border.  Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (K.S.S.), an Iranian-backed unit of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (P.M.F.), however, blamed U.S. air strikes for its losses and vowed revenge.

The spokesperson for the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (P.M.F.) has announced that the paramilitary forces will participate in the upcoming military operation against the Islamic State in Tal Afar despite regional concerns, Iran’s Fars News Agency reported today. “In the operation to liberate Tal Afar, all Hashd al-Shaabi forces, the Iraqi army, the federal police and also counterterrorism and rapid-reaction forces will participate,” Ahmed al-Assadi was quoted as saying.

Malaysia’s diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia and Iran generally have been cordial while its economic ties with both countries have been expanding. However, the Saudi-Iran strategic rivalry has intensified both within and beyond the Middle East, raising several questions that this essay proposes to address: What are Malaysia’s interests in Saudi Arabia and Iran? Is there any evidence that Saudi Arabia and Iran, as a function of their competition with each other, are seeking to expand their influence in Southeast Asia, and in Malaysia in particular, through the promulgation of Shia and Wahhabi ideology? If so, to what extent and by what means could Malaysia respond to this development so as to avoid jeopardizing the fruitful aspects of their relations with both countries?

The commander of an Iranian-backed Iraqi paramilitary unit has accused the American troops of colluding with the Islamic State and killing dozens of Iraqi militiamen and Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) officers along the Iraqi-Syrian border last night – a charge the U.S.-led coali

A senior official of Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, an Iran-supported militia unit within Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (P.M.F.), has threatened violence against the leadership of the Iraqi Kurdistan, according to Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.).

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Randa Slim, Gerald Feierstein, Gonul Tol, and Jean-François Seznec provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including next steps in the Syrian conflict de-escalation process, General Zinni’s mission to the Gulf, Qatari-Turkish relations, and crude oil informal cooperation.

The Popular Mobilization Forces – the Iraqi paramilitary forces also known by its Arabic name Hashd al-Shaabi – will not be disbanded after the fight against the Islamic State is over and will remain a key player in Iraq, the alliance’s security spokesman said on Sunday. “Hashd al-Shaabi is an official military organization affiliated with the government of Iraq.

Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (P.M.F.) groups have agreed to form an alliance – dubbed as the Coalition of the Loyalists – under the leadership of the Badr Organization to participate in the country’s next parliamentary elections, Fars News Agency, an Iranian outlet affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) reports. P.M.F. units such as Kata’ib Hezbollah, Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuada, Kata’ib Jund al-Imam, and Asaib Ahl al-Haq will be part of the new alliance.

A senior Iraqi Shiite leader has rejected reports that he plans to visit Saudi Arabia, telling Iranian journalists that he will only visit the Kingdom if Saudi troops leave Bahrain and Yemen. “Saudi Arabia recently sent a message to me through a mediator asking if I would go to meet this country’s leaders if they invite me. I responded by saying that if their gift to me is leaving Bahrain and ending the killing of Yemen’s innocent people, I will certainly accept. Of course, this request was rejected by them.

With the fall of Mosul, Iranian-supported Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (P.M.F.) is preparing for post-Islamic State Iraq. The paramilitary forces have recently launched a professional public relations campaign on the Internet and social media aimed at justifying and legitimizing P.M.F.’s existence beyond the collapse of the Islamic State. Should the P.M.F. prevail in this effort, it will mark a victory for the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.), which has aided P.M.F. groups for years and sees them crucial for its influence in Iraq in the future.

Armed drones are on the edge of widespread proliferation, with China now entering the market and a growing appetite for the lethal weapons in the Middle East. This new development, however, should not become reason for the United States to mimic China’s behavior. Instead, Washington should continue its policy of judicious flexibility in regard to drone sales.