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Iran Angered by Shake-up in Iraq’s Security Forces

July 23, 2020
Muhammad Al-Shammari
5 min read
Iran Angered by Shake-up in Iraq’s Security Forces

Just days after being voted in, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi began shaking up the country’s security apparatus, sacking senior advisors and bringing in new counter-terrorism officials, measures that have sent shockwaves through Iran’s political elite.

Four days after his government was voted in, Al-Kazemi announced the return of Lieutenant General Abd Al-Wahab Al-Saadi to the counter-terrorism agency and promoted him to the position of director. The lieutenant general had previously been removed by and isolated from the previous administration led by Adil Abd Al-Mahdi.

On July 4, Al-Kazemi ousted National Security Adviser Faleh Al-Fayyad and appointed former Interior Minister Qasim Al-Araji, a defector from the Shia Badr Organization, which has links to Tehran. Abd Al-Ghani Al-Asadi, former commander of the Anti-Terrorism Agency, was appointed head of the National Security Agency, a unit previously run by Al-Fayyad.

The moves are part of Al-Kazemi’s campaign to limit the influence Tehran and groups loyal to it have in Iraqi institutions, including border crossings controlled by armed militias. 

Al-Fayyad, who is close to the Iranian regime, had previously been removed from three other positions he held under former Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi's government, including at that time his position as the head of the Popular Mobilization Forces. At the end of Al-Abadi’s term in 2018, Al-Fayyad returned to the Iraqi Administrative Judicial Court. Today he is again head of the Popular Mobilization Forces.

 

Iran Rejects Changes

Iran’s Mehr News Agency described Al-Kazemi's changes to Iraq’s security operations as secretive and questioned the president’s political motives, stating that it was trying to block the activities of the Popular Mobilization Forces. It said Faleh Al-Fayyad was ousted for being "a person close to the Popular Mobilization Forces.” His removal, it said, sent a “negative” message to the group that could be interpreted as a warning.

It argued that the changes could destabilize Iraq, and that it made its security more ambiguous. It described Abd Al-Ghani Al-Asadi as "a member of Saddam's former brutal regime,” and said his appointment as head of the National Security Agency made the government’s motives even more obvious and sinister. It accused Al-Kazemi of trying to please the United States.

The leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Majid Shankali told IranWire he welcomed the Iranian regime’s dissatisfaction with the reshuffle. Tehran, he said, was not entitled to "express any resentment or interfere in Iraqi affairs.” 

In an exclusive interview with IranWire, Iraqi member of parliament Abdullah Al-Kharbit said, "The changes are not aimed at weakening anyone, but rather at strengthening Iraq,” reiterating that the decisions were for Iraq to make, not Iran. He argued that the Mehr News Agency article essentially acknowledged that Iran was interfering in Iraqi affairs, and that the media outlet "represents a failed state: Iran.” 

 

Sunni Marginalization 

Al-Kharbit added that the "Sunni component" in Iraq’s security services had been marginalized by Iran, which wanted to keep Sunnis out of military decision-making. These motives have their roots in Iran’s history with Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, who led Iraq into its eight-year war with Iran. Given that hostile history, Iran had decided to "root out all Sunnis,” Al-Kharbit said. He said Sunni presence in Iraq’s security services was not commensurate with the Sunni population in Iraq. When its influence was compared with Shia influence, he said, it was practically non-existent.

A coalition of liberated governorates representing Sunnis issued a statement on the reshuffle in Iraq’s security services, saying that peace and stability could only be ensured in Iraq if all major groups were involved in managing the country’s security. 

The Sunni Salvation and Development Front issued a statement, expressing its objection to the changes to high-level positions being introduced by Mustafa Al-Kazimi's administration. It said such changes lacked balance and did not take into consideration the country's disparate groups and components. 

 

Significant Changes

"In various countries around the world, security institutions are undergoing changes and restructuring,”  Dr. Ghazi Faisal, a professor of international relations, told IranWire. “The changes being made by Al-Kazemi are important. The return of Abd Al-Wahhab Al-Saadi is an important step, as he is the right man for the job as one of the founders of the counter-terrorism agency, and [because] he played a role in the war against ISIS."

Faisal added that Al-Fayyad had held three key security positions in Iraq for many years, and that his ousting was important. It was not a move, he said, to please the United States, but rather a means of confronting Iraq’s security challenges — including preventing arsenal falling into the hands of militias — as Al-Kazemi had promised to do. 

Speaking exclusively to IranWire, political analyst Ahmad Al-Abyad said the changes stemming from Al-Kazemi's political will, vision, and determination wear meaningful, but he also stressed that the leader was still assessing what he could achieve in the current political environment. But he insisted Al-Kazemi was committed to confronting the dark forces within the state.

Al-Abyad added that the Americans have an incredible opportunity to help Al-Kazemi release Iraq from the grips of militias, in his view, the main driving force behind Iran's domination of Iraq. But he said the United States was waiting, hoping that Al-Kazemi can lead on this challenge, and ask it for assistance when needed.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Al-Ghaban, head of the Fatah Alliance bloc with close links to Tehran, submitted an official request to the Presidency of the Council of Representatives to convene an emergency session with Mustafa Al-Kazemi to discuss a range of issues, including discussions with Washington and the recent arrest of members of Hezbollah. 

At the same time, Fadel Jaber, a Fatah Alliance MP, said in an interview with the Iraqi media that Al-Kazemi faced an unenviable, critical situation. He warned that his appearance in parliament could easily turn into an interrogation session, and that he was likely to face questioning about failures on a number of issues. 

On June 30, a the formation of a new coalition known as "The Iraqis" was announced. The group, made up of 41 MPs, was set up to support Al-Kazemi and his reforms, and to face the considerable rounds of cross-examination Al-Kazemi was due to face from alliances set on blocking these changes. 

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