Iraq

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s call for Iranian-sponsored militia forces in Iraq to be disbanded drew angry reactions from leaders of Popular Mobilization Forces (P.M.F.). Qais al-Khazali, the head of Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, said Washington should immediately withdraw its troops from the Arab country as soon as the fight against the Islamic State is over.

Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Mohammadi Golpaigani, the head of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s office, credited the Iranian leadership for preventing the establishment of a “second Israel”  in northern Iraq. “America and Israel had planned to create a second Israel in the Iraqi Kurdistan region. And it is a shame that the Israeli flag was hoisted there,” Golpaigani said at the inauguration ceremony of 200 mosques and a cultural center today.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Gerald Feierstein, Marvin G. Weinbaum, Randa Slim, Paul Salem, and Gonul Tol provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including Secretary Tillerson’s visit to Riyadh and Doha as well as his visit to India and Pakistan, Abadi’s regional tour to promote positive relations with neighbors, Sisi’s visit to Paris to boost Egypt-France relations , and German Chancellor Merkel’s threat to cut European Union funding to Turkey due to its crackdown on democratic institutions.

The most surprising thing about the Kurdistan Region of Iraq’s (K.R.I.’s) independence referendum was that it took place at all. Leading up to the vote the international community stepped up its opposition. Baghdad also increased pressure on Erbil with a decision by the Iraqi Supreme Court declaring the referendum illegal, and issuing a series of delegitimizing statements from top Iraqi officials. But K.R.I.

Summary 

The political wing of Asai’b Ahl al-Haq (A.A.H.), an Iranian-sponsored Iraqi militia group, has called for military operations to seize the Kurdish cities of Dohuk, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Gerald Feierstein, Alex Vatanka, Randa Slim, Gonul Tol, Marvin G.

An Iranian official from the western province of Kermanshah said Monday that the Parviz Khan border crossing between Iran and Iraq was shut down yesterday because of “internal clashes between the Iraqi federal government and Kurdistan region.” Faramorz Akbari, the governor of Ghasreshirin in Kermanshah, added that all trade transactions and transportation through this border e

Iranian officials and state-run media outlets continue to label the recent Iraqi Kurdish leaders’ push for independence as an “Israeli project” aimed at countering Iran’s influence in the region. Grand Ayatollah Hossein Nuri Hamedani, a senior Iranian cleric, said this week that Tehran would not “allow a new Israel to take shape in the region.” An article in Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.), echoed a similar view.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif today attended the funeral procession of Jalal Talabani, Iraqi Kurdish leader and former President, in the Sulaymaniyah city of Iraqi Kurdistan.

On September 25 Iraq’s Kurdish region pressed ahead with a controversial independence referendum. It had a high voter turnout of 73%, 93% of whom voted in favor of independence. The referendum is technically non-binding but it has sparked a political crisis with threats of action against the Kurdish region from its neighbors, Turkey and Iran, as well as Iraq’s central government. The United States also opposed the vote. MEI experts Randa Slim, Gonul Tol, and Ahmad Majidyar join host Paul Salem to discuss the implications of the vote and what happens next.

A senior Iranian military official said today that the country’s armed forces have staged wargames codenamed Eqtedar (Might) in the northwest close to Iraqi Kurdistan to send a clear message to the ene

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Alex Vatanka, Randa Slim, Marvin G. Weinbaum, Yousef Munayyer, and Gerald Feierstein provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including Turkish President Erdogan’s visit to Iran, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani’s efforts to push for dialogue after the Kurdish independence referendum, the pending indictment of Nawaz Sharif in Pakistan, signs of progress in the reconcilliation attempt between Hamas and Fatah, and the Saudi king’s visit to Moscow.