The influence of Iran in Iraq

This detailed article comes from the May issue of Conflicts Forum

Iraq Notes: “The Two Occupiers”

FROM OUR BAGHDAD CORRESPONDENT

There is a wry and ironic saying amongst Iraqis today: that Iraq is actually under the occupation of two foreign powers: the United States -- and Iran. The irony of this expression is elicited amongst all
Iraqis with a laugh and then a shake of the head. The twin occupations are a tragedy, these Iraqis say, because Saddam Hussein spent fifteen years fighting the Americans, but hundreds of thousands of lives in fighting the Iranians. And who won? Iran operates in Iraq today through political and military surrogates, primarily of Iranian origin, who are usually on Tehran’s payroll or who have ties to the Iranian secret police, the Iranian intelligence services, or Iran’s military. The vast resources of the Islamic Republic of Iran bankroll arm a handful of parties in Iraq, some of significant stature. Iraqis are well aware of Iran’s influence and have been for some time. But a growing number of Iraqis are discomfited by the idea of the Iranian presence and believes that Iran, having been established as a strong political force in the country, will be hard to expel. Ordinary shopkeepers, students, housewives, and professionals that have not yet fled the affluent neighbourhoods of Iraq -- and were once of the nation’s power elite (and made the country run) -- are able to name the geneaology and background of all major Iraqi officials. These same people say, again with a laugh and a shake of the head, that the ties between the current government, in which the United States and its allies place so much faith, is “infiltrated from top to bottom” by people who have ties to, answer to, or owe Iran something. They say that the current government is filled with these “surrogates.” And who are they?

n Jawad al-Maliki: the current Prime Minister’s real name, Iraqis say, is Nuri Kamil al-Ali, a member of the Shiite coalition and the number two man in the Iranian-backed Dawa Party. The Dawa Party is notorious for its first act of terrorism -- the bombing of an American facility in Kuwait in 1983. Al-Maliki is apparently of Iranian origins, though his family emmigrated to Iraq in 1920, settling in al-Sadda village, which is 59 kilometres south of Baghdad.

n Ibrahim al Jaafari: the immediate past Prime Minister’s family name is said to be Ashayqar, a family that is originally of Pakistani origins. His grandfather emigrated from Pakistan at about the same time as Maliki’s family. Jaafari’s father was granted Iraqi citizenship, though he continued to maintain Pakistani citizenship for himself and his children. Ibrahim's sister, who lives in Babylon province, still does not have Iraqi citizenship and recently -- four months ago -- renewed her residency in Iraq as a foreigner. Jaafari is the leader of the Iranian-backed Dawa Party but lost in his bid for another term as the nation’s premier.

n Bayan Jabr: Iraqi nationals say that Jabr’s real name is Baqir Solagh Shishtazali. Shishtazali is the current Iraqi Minister of the Interior, though he may not continue in that position, according to our most recent report. Jabr is of Iranian origin: his father emigrated to Iraq from Iran and took up residence in the Kadhimiya district of Baghdad. Baghdadi’s believe that Jabr is a member of the Iranian-backed Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), but that he has kept his affiliation quiet. SCIRI’s Badr Militia dominates the Iraqi Interior Ministry’s security forces.

n Mawafiq Al-Rubayee: Iraqi nationals say that al-Rubayee’s real name is Kareem Shahpoor. As the current government’s national security advisor, al-Rubayee is in a powerful position. He is originally from Iran, from Shahpoor -- where his family took its name. Al-Rubayee is one of the tens of thousands of Iranians deported by Saddam Hussein from Iraq in 1979.

n Abdel-Aziz Al-Hakeem: Known as Abdel Aziz al-Hakeem Tabatabaee, Hakim is the head of the Iranian-backed Supreme Council of Islamic Revolution in Iraq and its Badr Militia. His grandfather Mahdi migrated from the Iranian city of Tabataba to Najaf. Abdel-Aziz practiced herbal medicine in his young years, and so was given the label “al-Hakeem” -- “doctor”. Abdel-Aziz's father, Muhsin, became a religious leader in Najaf but maintained his Iranian citizenship. Baghdadi’s quietly claim that Abdel-Aziz retains his Iranian citizenship, and his nephew Ammar,who is a spokesman for SCIRI, is reportedly wanted for conscription in the Iranian Army. Last year Ammar had written to former Iranian President Khatemi, to grant him special permission to be excused from Iranian military service.

n Ali Al-Dabbagh: Iraqi’s claim that Ali al-Dabbagh’s real name is Ali al-Bayajoon. In either case, he is the spokesman for powerful Iranian-backed cleric Ali Sistani and member of the Shiite coalition. His grandfather immigrated to Iraq from Iran and settled in Najaf.

n Ali Al-Adeeb: Iraqis claim that Ali al-Adeeb’s real name is Ali al-Zand, or simply Ali Zand. Al-Adeeb is a member of the Dawa Party and rumour on the Baghdad street is that he still holds Iranian citizenship.

n Hussein Shahristani: Shahristani is an influential member of the Shiite coalition. His father is Iranian and comes from the Iranian province of Shahristan. Some members of Hussein's family speak fluent Farsi, which is certainly not a crime -- but are having a difficult time fitting into Iraqi society because they do not speak Arabic. Shahristani was a nuclear scientist in Iraq who fled to Iran just prior to the Iran-Iraq war. In 2005, Shahristani was accused by former Iraqi Defence Minister Hazem Shaalan of illegally working on the Iranian nuclear program.

n Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani: Ali Sistani is one of the top religious authorities in Shiism and the most influential religious figure of Najaf. Sistani is from the Iranian province of Sistan, which borders Pakistan. Prime Minister Jaafari offered the Iranian cleric Iraqi citizenship, but Sistani refused it saying “I was born as an Iranian and will die an Iranian”. Sistani still does not speak Arabic fluently and uses translators in discussion with officials whose Arabic is fluent. Sistani refuses to do any television or radio interviews in order to avoid appearing to Iraqi audiences as non-Iraqi.

The influence of Iran in Iraq is now certain -- though to what degree Iran’s reputed surrogates will shape the future of the country in line with Iranian thinking is not known. For as many Iranian-born or Iranian influenced Iraqi nationals (or outright surrogates) as there are, there are other original Iranian nationals who have come to Iraq by choice. Then too, despite the rumours, there are real divisions within the reputedly pro-Iranian community in Iraq, as well as differences between Iranian surrogates and officials of the Islamic Republic. Even so, there is growing resentment among Iraqi nationals (and not just those who are Sunnis), that Iran’s meddlesome conduct will not only exacerbate sectarian tensions in the country, but also revive the virulent anti-Iranian hatreds of the Saddam era. Certainly this now seems possible, as Shia militias under the control of Iran have nearly a free hand in the
country. Still, the Sunni heartland of the country, and the Sunni neighbourhoods of Baghdad, feel most deeply the pain of Iranian influence -- and resent it deeply.

A Sunni businessman and influential Sunni tribal leader from western Iraq put this resentment into words several months ago, during an interview in Amman: “I look around my country and I find that it is unrecognizable. Saddam was bad, so now he is gone. And who do we get: my country is crawling not just with Americans and Brits, but with Wahhabis, with al-Qaeda, with Shia militias, with alienated Baathists, with Zarqawists, and now with Iranians. And who do we have to blame for this? Our liberators. So here is what we have to say to them: thanks a lot!”

A Premature Celebration
In spite of his extensive efforts to form a National Unity Government in Iraq, Nori Al Maliki, the new Prime Minister, managed only to shape a sectarian structure that is so weak that it may last only a short time. While Washington and London were celebrating the creation of the government, it was already showing its first cracks. Most observers in Baghdad believe that the new cabinet has no real chance to carry out the government’s programme -- aimed at overcoming terrorism, reining in the militias, ending corruption, and taking practical steps to rebuild a shattered economy. In an exclusive interview with one of our reporters in the Iraqi capital, our correspondent was able to interview the new
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister -- who was also chosen to run the nation’s Defence Ministry. Minister Salam al-Zobaee sounded optimistic in his assessment of the new government’s success, but he did not hide his fears that “this government can do little immediately to resolve the really deep problems cause by corruption -- corruption that is deeply rooted in all sectors and that was prominent in the last three governments”. Minister al-Zobaee believes that “those who occupy their ministerial posts know that their time in office will be short, because the government is so shaky”. As a result, he says, “I would expect that these people will neglect their duties and turn their attention to gain personal achievement and wealth”. The minister reported that this is not unusual, as “many people who have held cabinet posts in the past became millionaires overnight, and did nothing for the interests of the Iraqi people”. He added: “I am very afraid that this is what might happen now, unless we really stabilize this government”. Minister al-Zobaee -- a Sunni and a relative to Harith Al Dari, the Secretary General of the Iraqi Muslim Scholars Association, or “MUC”, admitted that the political differences between and among Iraq’s leading politicians are “quite serious”, and that these tensions might be deepened by the fact that the new government contains so many of these disparate personalities. Al-Sobaee also admitted that the most prominent Sunni political parties in the country could do little to end the savage daily sectarian killings that are plaguing the nation, “because they control just small groups of the
resistance”. In this -- his first ever interview -- al-Zobaee, an articulate man with a photogenic smile, said that he would attempt to provide “a balance in the Iraqi Army between all sects and amongst all the nations of the Iraqi mosaic.” He added that over the course of the last three years -- “among the most difficult in Iraqi history -- there “was no balance in the military and political parties of all stripes, whether Sunni or Shiite or Kurds, tried to send as many of their supporters as they could into the army’s ranks”. This situation, al-Zobaee noted, “brought a lot of instability into the army, and made
it answerable to a number of other constituencies and not to the government first. This meant there was more than one loyalty in the military establishment, and this has to be changed”. _