A report reports that Tehran is training small groups to implement its strategy in Iraq

[size=52]A report reports that Tehran is training small groups to implement its strategy in Iraq[/size]

[size=45]Reuters reported that Iran has used hundreds of militants belonging to armed factions in Iraq, to ​​form small "special" groups under the control of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and is working to implement the Iranian strategy in Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]According to the Reuters report, last year Iran trained these small groups to use drones and effectively spread electronic advertising.[/size]
[size=45]A number of Iraqi security officials and some leaders of armed groups in Iraq, along with some Iraqi military figures and Western diplomatic figures, indicated that "these small groups are responsible for some of the attacks launched on sites of the United States of America and the international coalition forces, inside Iraq."[/size]
[size=45]This Iranian tactic is related to the retreat it is facing in Iraq, and also to the killing of the former commander of the Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, last year, who was in control of the armed factions in Iraq. In addition, the current commander of the Quds Force, Ismail Qaani, lacks knowledge of the internal politics of Iraq, and does not have the same influence that Soleimani enjoyed over the armed factions inside Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]The October demonstrations at the end of 2019 and the demonstrators ’expression of their complete rejection of Iranian interference in Iraq’s affairs had an impact on the internal situation in Iraq, in a way that reduced the appearance of a large number of those responsible for the armed factions affiliated with Iran, and from that time the division between those armed factions increased, especially after the killing of Soleimani. In a way that it is difficult for Tehran to control it again.[/size]
[size=45]Therefore, Iran's interest required relying on these small groups, as these groups could use the latest military equipment that Iran supplies, such as the "drone", more effectively.[/size]
[size=45]Training in Lebanon[/size]
[size=45]An Iraqi military official said, "These new groups are directly linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, and receive their orders from those forces and not from the Iraqi parties."[/size]
[size=45]A leader of the armed factions close to Iran said, "It is clear that the Iranians have formed new groups of carefully chosen personalities, to carry out their attacks and maintain secrecy, and we do not know who they are."[/size]
[size=45]According to Iraqi security officials, in 2020 Iran sent no less than 250 fighters from these new groups to Lebanon, and they were trained by the Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah for several months to plant bombs, use "drones" and spread electronic propaganda.[/size]
[size=45]An Iraqi security official confirmed that "the leaders of these groups are unknown, and they operate in secret, and deal directly with officials in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard."[/size]
[size=45]A group of Iraqi security officials, along with Western officials, pointed out that “these new groups are behind a number of attacks that took place, including the attack on the international coalition forces at Ain Al-Assad base this May, and the attack on Erbil International Airport last month. , As well as the two attacks in Saudi Arabia in January of last year, and that one of the main common features between those attacks is the use of drones carrying explosives.[/size]
[size=45]The conflict with Washington[/size]
[size=45]Iran is one of the largest influential countries in the Middle East, and the growth of its role in Iraq has been a factor in expanding its influence in the entire region.[/size]
[size=45]After the United States entered Iraq in 2003 and brought down the Saddam Hussein regime there, the Shiite influence expanded in Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]After ISIS controlled a large area of ​​Iraq in 2014, Tehran stood by Washington against ISIS and provided support to the Iraqi government to fight and eliminate ISIS.[/size]
[size=45]The United States of America has returned thousands of soldiers and advisors to Iraq, while Iran has supported armed factions such as Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, Kataib Hezbollah, and Kataeb Sayyid al-Shuhada in the war against ISIS.[/size]
[size=45]Officials of the armed factions in Iraq say, "After the killing of Qassem Soleimani, and the departure of the demonstrators in October 2019 and chanting against Iran, suspicions were created among officials in Tehran about some of the factions that were supporting them in Iraq."[/size]
[size=45]One of the officials said, "Iran doubts the participation of one of the armed factions in Iraq in the killing of Qassem Soleimani through his leaking of information, and feels the emergence of divisions because of personal interests and greed for positions."[/size]
[size=45]And another official in the Iraqi armed factions added, "Our meetings and phone calls have decreased with the Iranian side, we have no more joint meetings, and they no longer invite us to Iran."[/size]
[size=45]According to Iraqi security officials, Iraqi government officials, and three leaders of the armed Shiite factions in Iraq, “Several months after the killing of Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces separated and selected fighters who enjoyed their confidence in order to use them in forming new groups.”[/size]
[size=45]The change in Iranian tactics is a reflection of the tactics followed by Tehran between 2005 and 2007, when Iran formed armed groups to plant bombs and explosives on American military vehicles.[/size]
[size=45]Diplomats return[/size]
[size=45]After Joe Biden won the presidency in America, Iran re-established its diplomatic channels with Washington and Riyadh, and military force is one of the sources that Tehran has relied on in its recent talks.[/size]
[size=45]Finding and disabling drones used by Iran's allies is not an easy matter, and it poses a new threat to the 2,500 American soldiers in Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]Keynes McKinsey, commander of the Central Forces of the US Army, warned after the attack on Erbil International Airport, last April, to "investing Iran in using drones, and making great progress in this field."[/size]
[size=45]Last year, some unknown armed groups claimed responsibility for carrying out missile attacks and planting bombs, and at a time when Western officials and academics attributed these groups to Kataib Hezbollah and other armed factions in Iraq, Iraqi officials confirm that these allegations are incorrect, and that these groups operate independently. On the Iraqi parties. According to an Iraqi government official, "during the era of Qaani, Iran is working to form some groups consisting of hundreds of members only, to ensure their loyalty to the Quds Force exclusively."[/size]
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