Leaked Documents Outline Iran’s Efforts to Project Power in Iraq

Leaked documents provide an insider’s look into how Iran took advantage of the US military withdrawal to enhance its influence in Iraq. About 700 pages of reports compiled primarily by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security from 2014-2015 were leaked by an anonymous Iraqi source to the Intercept, an online investigative publication, which then shared the material with the The New York Times. According to the publications, the reports show “how aggressively Tehran worked to embed itself into Iraqi affairs,” beginning by recruiting local assets of the CIA who were left “jobless and destitute” following the American troop pullout. The media outlets also highlighted the important role played in the process by Qasem Soleimani, the notorious head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, which is responsible for overseeing and implementing Iranian military and subversive operations abroad. In this respect, amid ongoing nationwide protests in Iraq in which more than 300 people have been killed, Soleimani recently convened meetings in Baghdad and Najaf in order to persuade political leaders to support embattled Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, who is considered a close Iranian ally. The leaked reports also name former Iraqi premiers Haider al-Abadi and Ibrahim al-Jafari, as well as former speaker of parliament Salim al-Jabouri, as politicians closely aligned with Tehran. The documents note that Iran has been able to project power in Iraq through the Shi’ite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), which played an instrumental role on the ground in the battle against Islamic State. Elements of the PMF have since been incorporated into the official Iraqi security services. Various cables released further noted that the PMF’s harsh treatment of Iraq’s minority Sunni population created lasting anger and resentment, manifestly evident given the prevailing anti-Iranian nature of the current civil unrest.