In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Robert S. Ford, Gerald Feierstein, Randa Slim, and Alex Vatanka provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the chemical attack on Douma, Sheikh Tamim’s Tuesday meeting with Trump, Lebanese parliamentary elections, Moroccan and Algerian tension over Western Sahara, and Iran and India’s strategic partnership.
Iranian-backed PMF leaders gearing up for elections while keeping military roles
Hadi al-Amiri, the head of the Badr Organization, has said that an alliance of Shiite militia forces that fought against the Islamic State will now shift attention to politics and will participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections. In an interview with the Lebanese al-Mayadeen TV, Amiri said that the Fateh Alliance, a coalition of Iranian-supported Shiite units within the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Force (PMF), will take an active part in the elections and expressed the hope that it can play a major role in the next government.
Tehran’s ambassador to Baghdad meets with militia leader to discuss Iraq and Syria
Tehran’s Ambassador to Baghdad Iraj Masjedi held a meeting with the leader of Harakat al-Nujaba, an Iraqi militia group fighting in Iraq and Syria, to discuss Iraqi and regional issues,
Iran-Backed Iraqi militia group calls for closure of Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat
A commander of the Iraqi paramilitary forces known as Hashd al-Shaabi has called for suspension of Asharq al-Awsat in Iraq, accusing the pan-Arab daily of propagating against the paramilitary forces. According Iran’s Fars News Agency, Karim al-Nouri, a commander of the Iranian-backed Badr Organization and a spokesman for Hashd al-Shaabi, was reacting to an article in the newspaper which warned about Hashd al-Shaabi turning into a Shiite-only organization in Iraq.
Saudi Crown Prince’s potential Iraq visit alarms Tehran and its allies
Recent media reports suggesting that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman plan to pay a historic visit to Iraq has alarmed Iran and its Iraqi allies. Baghdad and Riyadh have not confirmed the reports, but Iranian-backed politicians and militia commanders in Iraq have launched a campaign against the Crown Prince’s potential visit, rejecting latest steps by the Baghdad government to improve ties with Riyadh and questioning the timing of bin Salman’s trip ahead of the country’s parliamentary elections.
Transnational Shiite clergy’s challenge to the Islamic Republic
The March 6 arrest of Hossein Shirazi, son of prominent Iraqi Persian cleric Ayatollah Sadeq Shirazi, has triggered protests by non-Iranian Shiites – signifying the inherent tensions between the Iranian state and transnational Shiite clergy institutions.
Iran-backed group says Hashd al-Shaabi will not merge into Iraq’s security institutions
The spokesman of Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, a militia unit within Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Force (PMF) with close ties with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, welcomed Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s decree giving PMF members equal salaries and benefits as those of regular military personnel, but emphasized that the PMF paramilitary forces will will not be merged into any of the country’s security institutions. According to AAH spokesman Naim al-Abudi, the PMF – also known by its Arabic name Hashd al-Shaabi – has 140,000 members, including 122,000 combatants.
Iran-backed Iraqi militia group says it’s “legitimate” to confront US forces
The spokesman of Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH), an Iraqi militia group with close ties with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and the Lebanese Hezbollah, described the US presence in Iraq as “illegal” and called for the withdrawal of American troops from the country. His remarks were the latest in a series of similar statements against the US presence in Iraq by Iranian-backed groups in recent months.
Oil in Iraq: pathways to enabling better governance
Despite setbacks from the war against ISIS, Iraq remains the world’s fourth largest producer of oil, second only to Saudi Arabia among OPEC states. However, the administration of this vital natural resource has been plagued by corruption and disputes over how revenues should be allocated to promote equitable economic growth. The issue has drawn Iraq’s ethnic, sectarian, and political divisions to the surface.
Iraqi Hezbollah calls on Baghdad government to set up US exit timeline
The Iraqi Hezbollah welcomed the latest decision by the country’s parliament to devise a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops and accused the American forces of promoting instability in the war-torn country. “America will create new terrorist groups to justify keeping its forces in Iraq,” the milita group said in a statement.
Reversing months of troubled relations, Saudi royal envoy Nizar al-Aloula arrived in Lebanon on Monday with messages of strong support for the country. He emphasized that Saudi Arabia sought strong and supportive relations with the Lebanese state and people, saying, “You will see a new approach from Saudi Arabia.” Aloula also extended an official invitation to Prime Minister Saad Hariri to visit Riyadh. Today Hariri is in Riyadh, where he met with King Salman and is due to meet with the crown prince.
The Baghdad Declaration: good neighborhood principles for the Middle East
Over the course of the last three years, the Middle East Institute convened a regional dialogue involving participants acting in their personal capacities from Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Turkey. The dialogue also involved participants from China, Europe, Russia and the United States. The discussions resulted in the following declaration of good neighborhood principles for the Middle East agreed in Baghdad 15-16 December 2017.
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