The leader of a prominent Iraqi militia group has called on the American troops in Iraq to leave the country.
The chief commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units has said that the paramilitary forces are ready to go to Syria to fight ISIS and defend Iraq’s borders, Iranian and Lebanese media reported. Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy chairman of Hashd al-Shaabi (PMUs), further stressed that his forces will “respond forcefully” to any potential ISIS attack originating from Syria. “We cannot remain passive vis-à-vis the Syrian-Iraqi border and attacks carried out by Daesh [ISIS] in Syria,” he added.
Read the full article on The Washington Post.
Lebanese judicial authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Qais al-Khazali, the leader of Iran-backed Iraqi militia group called Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, Iran’s Fars News Agency reports. Quoting Lebanese sources, Fars added that the Lebanese Army and General Security Directorate have also ordered all relevant authorities to arrest the Iraqi militia commander if he reenters Lebanon. They allege that Khazali last year had entered Lebanon illegally.
The deputy head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces has said that, with the military defeat of ISIS, the paramilitary forces will now play a key role in the security sector, Fars News Agency, an outlet affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) reported.
Read the full article on The National Interest.
January 24, 2018 – Turkey began 2018 embroiled in domestic dissent and diplomatic friction. Last April’s constitutional referendum was met with widespread criticism as an attempt by President Erdogan to consolidate power. Activists and journalists face increasing restrictions on their rights, the government continues its crackdown on the opposition, and debates swirl over the future of Turkey’s economy, the Kurdish question, and relations with the United States and European Union.
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Paul Salem, Robert S. Ford, Randa Slim, and Jonathan M. Winer provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including Vice President Mike Pence’s trip to the Middle East, Turkey’s assault on Afrin, Iraq’s upcoming elections, and the U.N. humanitarian aid plan for Libya.
While Iran’s military involvement in regional conflicts and support for militant groups often make headlines, Tehran’s sophisticated soft power strategies aimed at promoting the Islamic Republic’s ideological and political goals in the region are largely overlooked. The establishment of Islamic Azad Universities in major Syrian and Iraqi cities and the expansion of its main branch in Lebanon is one example of how Tehran uses soft power tools to expand its sphere of influence across the region.
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Alex Vatanka, Charles Lister, Marvin G. Weinbaum, and Eran Etzion provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including President Trump’s statement that he will no longer waive U.S. nuclear sanctions on Iran, new developments in northern Syria, Pakistan’s response to the withdrawal of U.S. security assistance, and Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to India.
Fittingly for someone who divides her time between two river cities, DC-born, Baghdad-bred, and now London-based filmmaker Maysoon Pachachi says she is a woman who “lives on a bridge.”
“I’ve been a stranger everywhere I’ve lived,” says Pachachi, now 70, whose documentaries have captured life in Gazan refugee camps, downtown Beirut and medieval Cairo. “I’ve moved around my whole life, but I can adapt and fit in wherever I am.”
An Iranian parliamentary delegation visited Syria to seek ways of boosting bilateral ties between the two countries, particularly in the economic and trade sectors.
An official of the Fatemiyoun Division has revealed that at least 2,000 Afghan Shiites have been killed and 8,000 more injured in the Syrian conflict – more than twice the number previously reported. The Fatemiyoun Division is a predominantly Afghan militia unit that has been fighting under the leadership of Iran’s elite Quds Force in Syria to prop up the embattled regime of Bashar al-Assad.
