Iran focuses efforts on transferring missiles and drones to Syria
The Islamic Republic of Iran is stationing missiles and drones on Syrian territory across the eastern border between the Arab country and neighbouring Iraq. The Iraqi intelligence services point out that the Shiite militias of Al-Hashd Al-Sha'abi, also known as the People's Mobilization Forces (PMF), have set up a network of tunnels in the area of Al-Qa'im in the west of Iraq to bring weapons to Syria, where the Iranian nation is playing a leading role in the civil war being waged through the activity of the Quds Forces (international operations division of the Revolutionary Guard, an elite corps of the Iranian Army).
A prominent Iraqi intelligence official told the Al-Ain media that Al-Hashd Al-Sha'abi (or FMP), under the supervision of the Quds Forces, continues digging tunnels to transport missiles to the Imam Ali base controlled by the Revolutionary Guard and the Shiite militias themselves. The source said that "the command responsible for the provision of ammunition, weapons and missile stores in the Quds Forces, Lt. Col. Yar Asrar, known as Hajj Mirza, trained a group of corps members led by Zulfiqar Ali Rasuli, known as Hajj Amin, to dig tunnels with special modern equipment a month ago. He also said that "in cooperation with Shiite militia, the group was able to dig three large tunnels that reach the base of Imam Ali by joining them to a group of passages that were previously dug at the base itself. According to this information, the projectiles could be transferred along the tunnel by means of motorcycles with trailers. To protect these weapons supply routes, the Quds forces assigned officer Nasser Qadir Sultani.
At the same time, according to the General Authority of Border Ports, the continuous entry of Iranians into Iraq through the means bound by the FMP continues to develop. Several sources pointed out that hundreds of members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard entered the Iraqi territory during recent days through the ports assigned to the Maysan Governorship, in the south of Iraq, Zarbatiya in the Wasit Governorship and Sumar in Mandali, neuralgic points controlled by groups closely linked to Muqtada al-Sadr, a Shiite cleric closely linked to the Iranian regime of the Ayatollahs, and in which the Iraqi Government does not have many decision-making powers.
The FMP, supported by Iran as the great banner of the Shiite branch of Islam, continue their efforts to cooperate with the Iranian neighbour by serving as a border connection for the transfer of weapons and militiamen willing to act and by carrying out, for example, attacks in Iraq, which would be mainly focused on US military targets located in bases used by the international coalition fighting jihadist terrorism in the area.
The struggle of the pro-Iranian Shiite side against its main enemies, basically the United States and its great ally in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, remains therefore as a great representative of the Sunni opposition.
Iran works intensely to extend its circle of power in countries like Iraq, Syria, Yemen or Lebanon through armed groups that serve as satellites for its interests, such as the PFP in Iraq, the Houthis in Yemeni territory or Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria.
Precisely, the civil war in Syria starting in 2011 continues on its course with the government of Bachar al-Asad justifying the armed action by virtue of the persecution of jihadist terrorist groups; for which he has the iron-clad support of Vladimir Putin's Russia. The ruling regime has encircled the opposition that has fought against its interests in the stronghold of Idlib, the last insurgent bastion in northwest Syria that still persists in its resistance to falling to al-Asad's troops.
The last contender to enter the Syrian game board was Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan entered neighbouring territory as part of the operation to harass the Kurds, an ethnic group he accuses of terrorist activity in the south of Turkish territory, thus opposing Al-Asad. It should be remembered that the Kurdish-Syrians of the People's Protection Units (YPG) collaborated decisively with the US in the defeat of Daesh in Syria, but were abandoned to their fate by Donald Trump's US Executive, who made the decision to withdraw US troops from their posts on Syrian soil, leaving the way clear for Turkish and Russian forces to take up their positions.
Later, the pact between Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the American Departments of Defense and State came about to establish a security zone on the Turkish-Syrian border, from which the Kurds were to leave by Ottoman demand.
Already last February there were contacts between Ankara and Moscow to reach a solution on the problem in Syria, but Vladimir Putin did not agree to the Turkish demand on the withdrawal of Russian troops from Idlib.
At this point, Ankara and Moscow tried to negotiate and signed a ceasefire to provide some relief in early March. Although Al-Asad had claimed the M4 and M5 highways as a crucial supply line through the last rebel-controlled territory. In this scenario, the last offensive against Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the former Al Qaeda affiliate in charge of the enclave, was not carried out by the Syrian army but by Iranian-backed Shiite militias. Their participation was intended to allow Al-Asad, Iran's ally at this point, to continue gaining ground and, furthermore, to remind the United States and Russia of the importance of the Iranian country as a protagonist in the Middle East region.
The Persian nation thus insists on its intention to stand firm against its great rivals, especially the United States, and show power within the regional scenario. All this in spite of the strong blow received last January 3 with the death of the commander of the Quds Forces Qassem Soleimani in an operation with unmanned planes ordered by the Trump Administration in the vicinity of the airport of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, in which Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was vice-president of the FMP, also died.
After Soleimani's elimination, Ismail Qaani was appointed as his successor to continue the work of the Quds forces in Iran's international influence.
This offensive came as an American response to the attack against a military base of the international coalition in the city of Kirkuk, in which an American civilian contractor lost his life and triggered a real escalation of violence with terrorist attacks against American targets in military infrastructures by Shiite militias; and even the assault on the US Embassy in Baghdad.
On the other hand, Iraq is currently a hot spot due to the great turmoil that has been taking place during the last months, with violent demonstrations that have led to thousands of deaths, caused by a population that is dissatisfied with the actions of the government and with the external interference of Iran and the United States. The Iraqi citizens do not want Iran to pull the strings of the nation, nor do they want the US to maintain the deployment of troops in their territory; to which we must add the existing social indignation over the poor economic management of the State, the lack of the most basic services in many areas of the country and the existing political corruption.
Iran tried to take advantage of the situation by trying to influence the last formation of the Executive, but the President of the Republic of Iraq, Barham Saleh decided to entrust the post of Prime Minister to a man who was not linked to the Shiite groups closest to the regime of the Ayatollahs, in order to help avoid increasing social anger. Adnan al-Zurfi was finally appointed head of the Iraqi government and this did not satisfy the Iranian authorities, who defined him as "the candidate of American intelligence".