„For months prior to the offensive, Iran, and its Iraqi proxies pressured the Iraqi government to accept the militias’ role in the Mosul offensive, a move that could give them a share of victory and provide them with a pretext to justify their activities long after the defeat of ISIS. That would secure Iran’s influence in Iraq that predominantly relies on these militias, a prospect that many believe to be the Hezbollah-ization of Iraq. On October 29, the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) predominantly comprised of Iran-backed Shiite militias, joined the military offensive led by the Iraqi army, US and Kurdish forces to reclaim the Sunni-populated city of Mosul from the Islamic State (ISIS). (…) According to press reports, Qassem Suleimani, chief commander of Iran Revolutionary Guards Quds Force is in Western Mosul commanding Shiite militias, and Hezbollah members are also present and assisting the militias. (…)
It is worth noting that many of the Shiite militias that form the PMF have already sent thousands of fighters to Syria defending the Assad regime. [PMF’s deputy chief commander] Muhandis’ use of ‚defending Iraq against the threat of terrorism‘ as a justification for maintaining armed Shiite militias in Iraq is similar to Hezbollah’s pretext in keeping its army in Lebanon allegedly to ‚defend Lebanon against Zionist threat‘ even though Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000. (…) In his meeting with the speaker of the Iranian parliament, Ka’bi [the leader of main Iranian proxy militia in Iraq] declared: ‚The battle for Mosul is a defining battle for the future of Iraq that could shape the future of Islamic resistance in Iraq. Mosul is the scene of battle against the US and Barzani, the leader of Kurdistan who wants to create a pro-Israeli government in Kurdistan.‘“ (Hassan Dai: „Is this the beginning of ‘Hezbollah-ization’ of Iraq?“)
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Machtkampf zwischen Iran und Türkei im Nordirak
