From the ‘Battle of Dignity’ to the shield of shame: How Jordan has fallen

APR 16, 2024

Source

Amman’s collaboration with Tel Aviv peaked last Saturday with its shocking defense of Israeli territory from Iranian drones and missiles, a move that may prove fateful for the future of the Hashemite Kingdom.

(Photo Credit: The Cradle)

Khalil Harb

The most dangerous development during Iran’s massive 13 April retaliatory strike against Israel last weekend was the defensive military alliance – comprising the US, Britain, Jordan, and France – that coalesced to defend the occupation state.

Jordan has jumped to Israel’s full defense at a time when Arabs have never been more collectively outraged by its crimes.

Particularly notable was Jordan’s role in thwarting Iran’s incoming drones and missiles. The Hashemite Kingdom was the only Arab or Muslim state to act as Israel’s “firewall,” providing direct military protection for Tel Aviv within a multilateral, regional military framework.

Despite Amman’s long-standing pro-Israel stance, this sudden reassertion of its position is indicative of some broader shifts in military strategies across West Asia. 

Patterns and calculations of confrontations across West Asia will be readjusted to adapt to this new equation and others that have emerged in the region as alliances shift to and away from the west. 

That includes the Axis of Resistance, which will likely reassess the expected range of responses in a future confrontation, given that western anti-missile capabilities are well spread throughout strategic locations – strategic sites from the Ain al-Assad base in Anbar, Iraq, to the Al-Tanf base at the Syrian–Jordanian–Iraqi border and from the Mashabim base in the Negev desert to the King Faisal base in northwestern Jordan.

Strategic shifts

Over the years, the Jordanian government has dramatically shrunk its commitments to the Palestinian cause and “Arabism.” 

This can be traced from its 1968 “Battle of Dignity” against Israel to 5 November, when King Abdullah II boasted of his country’s “success” in airdropping medical aid to the Jordanian field hospital in the Gaza Strip, and now, quite stunningly, employing its air force to protect Israel’s security from retaliatory Iranian strikes. 

This shift is not merely a reactionary measure but the culmination of years of extensive security and military coordination with the occupation state, as highlighted by a Jordanian opposition activist speaking to The Cradle. This deep-seated integration into anti-missile and drone operations reflects a strategic evolution rather than a spontaneous response.

Eyewitness reports from multiple sources to The Cradle describe the audible presence of warplanes over the Amman region, followed by the sound of explosions hours later when overhead projectiles were intercepted and downed. 

One Jordanian witness relays that the suburb of Marj al-Hamam saw the most interceptions against Iranian drones and missiles, with debris reported across the area.

Jordanian writer and journalist Rania Jabari informs The Cradle that “citizens in Jordan have felt jammed on the GPS for about two weeks,” that is, since after the Israeli airstrike on Iran’s consulate in Damascus. 

Amid rising concerns about a swift Iranian counterattack through drone incursions, Israel reportedly initiated GPS jamming operations across several regional countries, including Jordan. 

Jabari suggests that this electronic interference might have precipitated the Jordanian Air Force’s readiness to intercept any unauthorized aerial objects in its airspace, given the potential risks to national security from mistakenly guiding Iranian drones into Jordanian territory.

However, the Jordanian opposition activist casts doubt on the capability of Jordan’s Air Force – equipped with only about 60 older F-16 and F-5 aircraft – to single-handedly manage the response against hundreds of Iranian drones and missiles destined for Israel.

Regional repercussions 

Supporting these suspicions, Israeli Channel 12 reported that Israeli fighter jets had intercepted drones launched by Iran in the airspace of Jordan and Syria. 

The day after the Iranian Operation True Promise, the Jordanian government issued a vague statement, only saying that “some unidentified flying objects that entered our airspace last night were dealt with and intercepted to prevent endangering the safety of our citizens and inhabited areas.”

The statement conspicuously omitted any mention of the scale of involvement of the Israeli Air Force or the nature and role of US fighter jets participating in the operation.

Given the limitations of Jordan’s aerial fleet and the extensive geographic area these planes need to cover – a “firewall” stretching approximately 1,500 kilometers from western Iran to the occupied territories of Palestine – the involvement of international forces seems credible. 

Additionally, Iraqi sources inform The Cradle that coalition forces had shot down about 30 drones and missiles over Iraq, with explosions heard in regions like Erbil, Najaf, Wasit, and Anbar. This indicates that a significant number of the drones and missiles traversed Jordanian skies, where they were intercepted before reaching their intended targets in Israel.

The role of the Jordanian Air Force is so significant that the Iranian Mehr news agency quoted an Iranian military source as saying, “Iran will monitor Jordanian movements, and if they cooperate with Israel, Jordan will be our next target.”

The source is said to have “warned Jordan and other countries in the region before the start of the attack against cooperating with the occupying entity.”

This statement seems to have aroused the ire of the Jordanian government. On Sunday, authorities summoned the Iranian ambassador in Amman to warn against Tehran’s “questioning of Jordan’s position.”

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi also issued a statement saying that his government would “intercept any drone or missile that breaches our airspace, whether Iranian or Israeli.” 

However, the Jordanian oppositionist questions the accuracy of Safadi’s statement, especially about his country’s readiness to confront a similar threat coming from Tel Aviv, noting numerous occasions when Israeli fighter jets infiltrated Jordanian airspace to carry out raids on Syria. 

A history of betraying Palestine  

Jordan’s historical antagonism towards Palestinian resistance dates back to the “Black September” massacres of 1970, aimed at expelling the PLO from the country – allegedly with the support of former King Hussein bin Talal, who reportedly received backing from Israel and the US.

During the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel’s Air Force shot down and destroyed dozens of Jordanian aircraft. Following the 1994 Amman–Tel Aviv peace agreement, the two states have struck multiple defense deals, including Israel supplying Jordan with F-16 jets and Cobra helicopters.

Since the 1970s, when Israel supported Jordan during the Palestinian revolt against King Hussein, the two air forces have not engaged in combat. Israeli belligerence persists despite this. On the eve of the 1991 Gulf War, when asked about potential opposition from the Jordanian Air Force should Israel strike Iraq, then-retired Air Force Commander Avihu Ben-Nun boldly stated, “There would be no more Jordanian Air Force.”

It is very likely, moreover, that the western militaries involved in Israel’s defense last weekend utilized Jordanian bases. For example, US troops are stationed at the Mashabim air base in the Negev desert, supporting operations like the Iron Dome system. 

Similarly, UK and French military forces are present at multiple strategic locations within Jordan, including the King Faisal Air Base in Al-Jafr and the Humaymah base near Aqaba, where they play roles in regional defense and run intelligence operations.

There are also French troops at King Faisal Air Base, known as Al-Ruwaished Base, which is close to Al-Tanf. From this base, activities involving espionage operations in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Iran are carried out through a state-of-the-art reconnaissance center, and its airport is believed to be used by both Israeli and US drones. 

Sacrificing Jordan’s stability for Israel’s security 

But Jordan’s relations and collaboration with Tel Aviv remain deeply unpopular among the country’s citizenry, with protestors amassing for weeks near the Israeli embassy in Amman – many of them subsequently subjected to repression and tight security restrictions by Jordanian authorities. 

Adding to the pressure on Amman, the Iraqi resistance faction, Kataib Hezbollah, announced earlier this month its readiness to arm “12,000 fighters with light and medium weapons, anti-armor launchers, tactical missiles, millions of bullets and tons of explosives, so that we can be united to defend our Palestinian brothers,” adding that it would seek to “cut off the [Jordan] land route that reaches the Zionist entity.”

By participating in the interception of Iranian drones, Jordan has made a significant contribution to alleviating some pressure off Israel, but one that comes with a much more significant domestic consequence for the stability of the kingdom. 

Will Amman’s blatant alignment with Tel Aviv in this context prove to be politically detrimental for its monarch? In years to come, this decision may be viewed as a strategic error of gargantuan proportions. For now, Jordan’s political future and its position in regional politics remain uncertain – certainly as Tel Aviv and Tehran gear up for further confrontations. 

King Abdallah can jump into the fray as he did last weekend and suffer through further waves of domestic and Arab outrage, or he can resolve to stay neutral and quiet – as many larger, more powerful neighbors chose to do – and let Iranians and Israelis adversaries fight their own battles.

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of The Cradle.

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Expelling US troops: Iraq’s resistance efforts gain steam in Baghdad

MAR 1, 2024

As the Iraqi Resistance continues to pressure the US to halt support for Israel’s war on Gaza, Baghdad – and Moscow – align closer with their agenda to expel US troops from Iraq.

Photo Credit: The Cradle

The Cradle’s Iraq Correspondent

Surveillance devices on a local Baghdad thoroughfare captured on camera the assassination of an Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades leader, Abu Baqir al-Saadi, in a 7 February US missile attack. The images show a missile piercing the roof of his vehicle, then deviating to the right of Al-Baladiyat street, leaving a wake of flames in its incendiary path. 

اللحظات الاولى

لاستهداف الشهيد #ابو_باقر_الساعدي

لاحول ولاقوة الا بالله العلي العظيم pic.twitter.com/Yb9toD3V63

— سيــــدة الحـرف 15K (@sayedat_alhrf1) February 22, 2024

Against the backdrop of the widening, US-backed and armed Israeli war on Gaza, the US airstrikes against Iraq and Syria were meant to deliver a strong message of deterrence to Iran’s allies in the Axis of Resistance, who are targeting US military interests in West Asia in response to the carnage in Gaza. 

But the strikes have instead served mainly to embarrass the Iraqi government and its domestic allies, prompting a reevaluation of the country’s relationship with Washington and reviving calls for an end to the US military presence in Iraq. 

Despite a steady stream of US threats and intimidation tactics employed to deter the Iraqi resistance since late last year, these factions have incrementally increased and expanded their engagement in the region-wide war, driven by their commitment to the Palestinian resistance and its liberation goals. The Iraqi groups have a specific goal: pressure Washington until it forces a Gaza truce – a strategic target that reflects the unity of purpose among the resistance factions in Iraq and the region.

Speaking to The Cradle, a senior leader of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI) sheds light on the significance of the Hamas-led Al-Aqsa flood operation launched on 7 October 2023. That event, he says, is viewed as a game-changer by Palestinian resistance factions, and has sent shockwaves through the corridors of power in Tel Aviv, Washington, and allied capitals. 

The operation is seen as a historical process challenging the status quo of the past seven decades and redefining the social, security, and military dynamics in the region, the source explains. 

‘Unity of Fronts’: putting theory into practice 

Barely two weeks after Al-Aqsa Flood and its aftermath, The Cradle’s Iraq correspondent posited “Will Yemen and Iraq join Palestine’s Al-Aqsa Flood?” At the time, it was noted that any potential involvement of Resistance Axis members other than Lebanon’s Hezbollah in the war “would likely materialize in the form of drone and missile attacks targeting specific objectives, as per the Resistance Axis’ strategic convergence in the Unity of Fronts.”

The “Red Sea crisis” that unfolded on the Ansarallah-led Yemeni front, in addition to scores of Iraqi resistance attacks against US bases in Iraq and Syria since October seem to confirm this hypothesis. 

In Iraq’s case, the greatest military burden was assumed by four of the resistance factions identified by Kataib Hezbollah Secretary General Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi: his own group Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat al-Nujaba, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, and Ansarallah al-Aufiaa. As one IRI official tells The Cradle:

“The fronts are opened at the discretion of the leaders (of these groups) themselves, based on religious, ideological, and moral commitments stemming from the nature of the Iraqi character in the first place.” 

Over the past few months, the IRI has demonstrated its versatility by employing a variety of tactics and weaponry in around 188 separate military operations against US targets. These range from missile strikes on US bases in Iraq to drone attacks against US occupation forces in Syria, and even include the targeting of distant Israeli territories such as Ashdod, Haifa, and the occupied Golan Heights. 

An official source in the IRI confirms to The Cradle that “We bombed with ballistic missiles American bases, even those in Iraq, and this was not limited to distant targets in the depth, or in the occupied territory.” 

However, as tensions escalated, strains in the relationship between Baghdad and Washington became palpable. The Iraqi government found itself caught between the embarrassment of complicity and the challenge of maintaining control over security affairs. Even some of the resistance factions themselves felt the squeeze of external pressures, notably Kataib Hezbollah, who on 31 January announced a temporary suspension of operations against US forces and Israeli targets. 

The halt came in the immediate aftermath of the killing of three US soldiers in Tower 22 along the Jordanian-Syrian border, in an Iraqi resistance operation unprecedented in its depth which was viewed as a direct challenge to Washington’s perceived invincibility. As expected, the operation caused a spike in tensions, causing some ferocious shuttle diplomacy in the following days and provoking a strong, disproportionate US military response. 

Economic and strategic considerations

For factions like Kataib Hezbollah and Al-Nujaba, the decision to suspend operations was a calculated move to gauge Washington’s response. Yet, the US military’s targeted assassination of Kataib Hezbollah commander Abu Baqir al-Saadi caught them off guard, eliciting a sharp condemnation of the US attack from Baghdad. Saadi’s faction, it should be noted, is part of the Popular Mobilization Units that defeated ISIS, and is therefore under the umbrella of the Iraqi armed forces. 

This time, the Iraqi government had no choice but to side with the resistance, while the IRI issued a stern warning to the US in which it signaled a return to operations.

US Vice President Kamala Harris then extended an invitation to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to visit Washington. A postponed September 2023 White House visit to meet US President Joe Biden makes Sudani, notably, the only Iraqi prime minister yet to visit the US in an official capacity.

Following the Iraqi prime minister’s return from Munich earlier in February, US Ambassador to Iraq Elena Romansky met with him to coordinate the agenda for his upcoming visit to the US and ensure alignment on the topics to be discussed.

Romansky stated that “the leaders also discussed the importance of continuing the US-Iraq Higher Military Commission, which will enable the transition to an enduring bilateral security partnership between the United States and Iraq and is the natural next step to build on the very successful collaboration of the past 10 years between Iraq and the Defeat ISIS coalition.”

What cannot be ignored, however, is that these diplomatic initiatives followed a series of coercive measures by the US Treasury to diminish the value of the Iraqi dinar against the US dollar. While Iraq – both officially and among its various political factions – insists that leveraging the volume of Iraqi oil exports as a bargaining chip in the global market is an ineffective negotiating tool, there are those who anticipate seizing the opportunity of market scarcity to increase their share by two million barrels.

Sudani mission is a difficult one. He must hammer out a solution that fulfills his government’s commitment to remove foreign military forces forces from Iraqi soil without triggering negative US repercussions.

Baghdad backs the resistance  

According to leaks, the Iraqi prime minister reportedly reached an agreement with the IRI to suspend its military operations against US bases in order to facilitate his negotiations for the complete withdrawal of international coalition forces from Iraq.

Yet, any decision in this regard risks eliciting a negative response from Washington, which brandishes an ever-present arsenal of pressure tactics. This is particularly concerning given that Iraqi oil revenues are still required to pass through the US Federal Bank before being released to Baghdad.

Members of the Iraqi Council of Representatives are actively working to proceed with a law to remove foreign forces from Iraq, with majority representation from Shia-dominated central and southern Iraq. However, Sunni factions remain ambiguous in their stance toward the coordination framework blocs’ efforts to enact such legislation. In addition, Kurdish parties, notably the Kurdistan Democratic Party, vehemently oppose any consideration of US military withdrawal from Iraq.

In response to these dynamics, the Russian Foreign Ministry has expressed Moscow’s willingness to bolster Iraqi forces following the departure of unwanted foreign troops. The Russian offer has compounded the pressure on Washington, prompting a reassessment of the waning US strategic position in West Asia. 

Researchers close to Iraq’s Coordination Framework coalition, a collective of Iraqi political parties that played the key role in the formation of Sudani’s government, suggest that this development – coupled with the military pressure exerted by the resistance – has strengthened the official Iraqi stance and compelled the US to engage with and heed the demands of the Iraqi cabinet.

As the resistance factions step up their military operations in response to the US-backed Israeli assault of Gaza, it becomes clear that there is a growing synergy between the Iraqi government and the Iranian-supported elements of the armed forces. 

This alignment forms part of a broader regional resistance faction, with a strategic focus on not only the liberation of Palestine, but also the safeguarding of Iraq’s sovereignty in its entirety. 

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of The Cradle.

Pentagon’s Tower 22 ‘logistics support base’ is secretly drone base

February 11, 2024

Source: The Intercept

What was described by the Pentagon as a “logistics support base” turns out to be a secret drone base for long-range surveillance of fighters in neighboring Syria and Iraq and for conducting airstrikes.

The US military base, Tower 22, in Jordan in October 2023 (Planet Labs LBC / AP)

By Al Mayadeen English

The Pentagon calls the US base in Jordan, Tower 22, a “logistics support base” – however, in reality, the area in which three US troops were killed last month is more than what it seems. 

The Intercept reported that Tower 22 is secretly a drone base for long-range surveillance of whom the US perceives as “insurgents” in neighboring Syria and Iraq and to conduct airstrikes, according to two US military sources, while it also represents a staging facility for special operations forces and is a medevac helicopter home base.

Talking to The Intercept, an Air Force airman, whose unit was recently stationed at the base, said, “To call Tower 22 a logistics support base is complete bullshit,” as logistics was only a minor part – or a disguise – to merely deliver food and fuel to the nearby al-Tanf base.

“The main purpose of Tower 22 is to operate drones to spy on insurgents in Iraq and Syria, for targeting purposes,” the airman added, noting, “The main objective I witnessed was taking out targets.”

Read next: Two US occupation bases in Deir Ezzor targeted with missiles, drones

The base was known, as per the anonymous airman, for providing targeting intel to other Air Force assets in Jordan, such as Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, to conduct airstrikes on said targets.

One story, citing unnamed officials, says that the drone attack that killed the three troops was able to enter Tower 22 after being mistakenly identified as a friendly drone returning to the base. The Intercept later discovered that the base did not have adequate air defense.

A report by Politico two weeks ago detailed how the drone managed to evade detection by trailing behind a US drone that was returning to the base in Jordan at the same time. 

‘This is not what it looks like’

Interviews conducted with defense sources and experts paint a clear image of Tower 22’s real purpose to support hostilities with what the US calls “Iran-backed groups”, but the Defense Department is still adamant that this is part of its war on ISIS. 

US forces continue to exist in Syria under the basis of Operation Inherent Resolve, the name which the Pentagon selected for the campaign against ISIS that began in 2014, but experts reveal that the alleged “counter-ISIS” mission the US claims to be conducting is not the main focus.

Brian Finucane, a former State Department legal advisor and now with the think-tank International Crisis Group which works to prevent and resolve wars, said, “Whatever they’re doing there, there’s very little evidence that it’s counter-ISIS.”

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Read more: Rising calls for Gaza ceasefire in US after attack on base in Jordan

It is worth noting that ISIS, as former President Donald Trump said in 2018, is the main reason why they should be there, as he said: “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there,” later announcing that he would withdraw US troops from the region.

However, Finucane explains that Trump was overpowered by hawks like national security advisor at the time, John Bolton, who was trying his best to keep troops there with a new target in mind: Iran.

Even though Tower 22 may have provided logistics like food and fuel for training at al-Tanf, a Pentagon inspector general report last year discovered “no kinetic engagements,” or combat incidents, by coalition forces at al-Tanf in any way present, knowing that the lack of combat at the larger base shows a lesser role for both bases in the fight against ISIS.

“If Tanf doesn’t have a counter-ISIS function, it’s hard to see how a support facility for Tanf does,” Finucane said.

This particular operation on Tower 22 sparked a wave of outrage in the US, with some high-ranking officials calling on US President Joe Biden to nuke Iran. 

Biden has blamed “radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq,” referring to the Resistance in Iraq which announced earlier this month that they would escalate their attacks after the US conducted several raids in Iraq and assassinated a military official in central Baghdad.

The US President also reaffirmed that the US forces are now “still gathering the facts of this attack,” stressing, “We will carry on their commitment to fight terrorism. And have no doubt — we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner our choosing.”

Oil, power and cash

The Intercept previously reported that the group that claimed responsibility for the Tower 22 attack that killed three troops stated that it was due to US support for “Israel’s” genocide in Gaza. 

With that, the White House maintains that conflicts in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen are all distinct from one another and happen to be emerging coincidentally, contradicting evidence indicating that US support for “Israel” in the Gaza genocide has contributed to regional instability and violence.

Finucane clarifies that “the counter-ISIS mission is the only legal basis there is for the U.S. to be there… There’s no legal basis to have U.S. troops in Syria to be countering Iran.”

The US argues that its presence in the region – be it in Jordan, Iraq, or Syria – is for “defense purposes” against groups like ISIS, but it remains clear that their presence is only a means to an end – oil, money, and hegemony. 

Read next: US occupation loots tons of Syrian oil, smuggles them into Iraq

These airbases have reportedly been used to violate the sovereignty of Iraq and Syria. In the Syrian Arab Republic, the US military is officially considered an occupying force, while the government in Iraq is working on ending a previously agreed mandate with the US.

The US can either deepen its involvement in Middle Eastern conflicts or recognize the futility of repeating past mistakes. To avoid new conflicts, Washington must reject escalation, cease fueling the Gaza war, and end its unwanted military presence in the region.

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US aggression on Baghdad kills leading figure in Kataib Hezbollah

7 Feb 2024 

Source: Al Mayadeen

A crane lifts the car in which leaders of the Iraqi Resistance were killed in a drone strike, in Baghdad, Iraq, on February 7, 2024. (Social media)

By Al Mayadeen English

The drone strike has killed and injured several people, including top officials of the Iraqi Resistance faction, Kataib Hezbollah.

An attack that targeted a car driving through a road in eastern Baghdad, Iraq, led to the martyrdom of a prominent leader of Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah, Abu Baqer al-Saedi, also known as “Abu Baqer Diyala”, on Wednesday night, Al Mayadeen‘s correspondent in Iraq reported.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) claimed that the targeted commander was “responsible for directly planning and participating in attacks on U.S. forces in the region.” 

USCENTCOM Conducts Strike Killing Kata’ib Hezbollah Senior Leader

At 9:30 p.m. (Baghdad Time) February 7, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted a unilateral strike in Iraq in response to the attacks on U.S. service members, killing a Kata’ib Hezbollah commander… pic.twitter.com/Zhkjimx5UG

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) February 7, 2024

Earlier, Iraqi media reported that strikes, possibly launched from a drone, on a car in al-Mashtal area, in Baghdad, led to the martyrdom of three individuals and injured two others. 

The US claimed responsibility for the attack, saying its forces conducted a unilateral strike in Iraq in response to the attacks on US service members, killing a Kataib Hezbollah commander.

In this context, Politico cited two US officials as saying that the US military carried out a drone strike in Iraq on Wednesday, adding that the attack was part of the Biden administration’s response to the killing of three US soldiers in Jordan on Jan. 28.

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The US claimed responsibility for the attack, saying its forces conducted a unilateral strike in Iraq in response to the attacks on US service members, killing a Kataib Hezbollah commander.

Angered by the US aggression, Iraqis gathered at the scene of the attack furiously chanting against the US presence in the region, specifically in Iraq.

At the scene of the bombing there is anger and rage towards the American military occupation which is butchering Iraqis day and night. pic.twitter.com/tcQa6ANJXt

— ‎أبو سجاد الكربلائي | HST 🇮🇶 (@Twelver313) February 7, 2024

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) claimed that the targeted commander was “responsible for directly planning and participating in attacks on U.S. forces in the region.” 

Several factions from the Axis of Resistance condemned al-Saedi’s assassination, affirming that the US presence in Iraq and the region is a major cause of undermining security and stability.

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US forces must leave, one way or another: Iraqi MP to Al Mayadeen

January 27, 2024

Source: Al Mayadeen

The head of the Rights Movement party and member of the Iraqi Parliament Hussein Mouanes during a televised interview for Al Mayadeen channel on Friday, January 26, 2024 (Screengrab from Al Mayadeen broadcast)

By Al Mayadeen English

The head of the Iraqi Rights Movement Hussein Mouanes says there will be no sovereignty in Iraq without the expulsion of US forces.

Hussein Mouanes, the head of the Rights Movement party and member of the Iraqi Parliament, emphasized the necessity of the United States withdrawing its forces from Iraq so that the country could be liberated from Washington’s hegemony.

Mouanes has been at the forefront of voices demanding that all foreign armies withdraw from Iraq, on top of which are the US personnel. 

The Iraqi legislator has been recently placed under US Treasury sanctions.

In an exclusive interview for Al Mayadeen, Mouanes said the sanctions are a source of “pride and honor.” He also pointed out that the US resorting to imposing sanctions reflects “American arrogance and disregard for Iraq and a violation of its sovereignty.”

"قرار الخزانة الأميركية يمسّ السيادة بحيث تطبق أوامر أميركية على أرض العراق"

النائب في البرلمان العراقي حسين مؤنس لـ #الميادين #العراق #الثورة_الكبرى@HussainMouanes pic.twitter.com/a1crV9cqZw

— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) January 26, 2024

Mouanes explained that the United States “employs these tactics with the aim of embarrassing the Iraqi government and showcasing its dominance in Iraq” and that Washington is attempting to complicate the Iraqi scene through this policy.

Read more: Iraqi airline fires back at OFAC over lack of evidence for sanctions

He further asserted that Washington’s inclination toward imposing sanctions holds “no value in his opinion.” Nevertheless, he highlighted that  this is a decision that “touches upon the highest legislative authority (given his role as a parliamentary deputy) and encroaches upon the nation’s sovereignty, ultimately resulting in the enforcement of American directives within Iraq.”

Addressing the US’ influence on Iraq’s economy, the MP said the United States today has “dominance, control and mandate” over the country. He emphasized his call for the withdrawal of US forces and the liberation of Iraq from economic dominance, stressing that there is “no turning back from this” stance.

The parliamentary member further explained that when US forces occupied Iraq, they established two funds, “Iraq 1” and “Iraq 2”, where Iraq’s oil revenues were deposited. One of the funds was “spent as being related to Kuwait’s debt,” while the United States invested used funds from the second deposit to exert economic control over the country, he added.

Read more: US, Iraq to kick off talks on future of unwelcome US forces

Regarding the strategies to counter Washington’s mandate, he disclosed that they have demanded and taken “various measures to break free from the dominance of the US dollar, diversify currencies, and strengthen the Iraqi dinar,” emphasizing that all the necessary tools are available to implement this decision. He also reiterated that Iraq now possesses regular sources of financial income across all regional countries.

On US forces leaving the country, Mouanes pointed out that there may not necessarily be a consensus on the withdrawal of US forces, but a majority is required. This majority was achieved through a resolution passed by the Iraqi Parliament on January 5, 2020, which directed the government to demand their withdrawal.

“There will be no sovereignty in the country as long as there is power with authority higher than that of the government.” He also confirmed that through the Iraqi-American bilateral committee and elsewhere, the US forces must be withdrawn from Iraqi territory one way or another.

"لا سيادة في البلد في ظل وجود سلطات لها قرارات ومواقف فوق سلطة الحكومة".

النائب في البرلمان العراقي حسين مؤنس لـ #الميادين#العراق#الثورة_الكبرى@HussainMouanes pic.twitter.com/wwpXaf7TUS

— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) January 26, 2024

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“Nothing is difficult if there is a genuine will, and we have faith in the current government’s ability to manage this issue, as no rational person would accept this dominance in this manner.”

Mouanes pointed out that the United States nurtured and developed terrorist threats and groups such as ISIS, while they were investors in this terrorism. They used the group as a pretext to bring their forces into Iraq so they could safeguard their interests and the security of “Israel”, he continued.

"الوجود الأميركي الآن هو وجود تهديدي وليس حافظاً أو مدافعاً عن البلد"

النائب في البرلمان العراقي حسين مؤنس لـ #الميادين#العراق#الثورة_الكبرى#مقابلة_مع@HussainMouanes pic.twitter.com/p7YVWRsgof

— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) January 26, 2024

Over the past two months, the United States carried out several strikes against Iraqi factions of the Popular Mobilization Forces PMF – a governmental security apparatus – including one that targeted a site belonging to the Defense Ministry. Several Iraqi citizens were killed in the attacks.

The aggressions came after the Islamic Resistance in Iraq launched a phase of operations against Israeli targets and US forces in Iraq and Syria, in response to the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza and Washington’s direct involvement in it.

Commenting on the US attacks, the legislator said the “bombing of a government institution and the killing of government officials in the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) is an act of recklessness, disdain, and aggression.”

Read more: Iraqi Resistance: US should withdraw all force, HMC plot to buy time

Regarding the US Embassy in Iraq, he reiterated that it has turned into a military barracks, describing it as the largest embassy and the largest diplomatic mission in the world.
Mouanes pointed out that the embassy, while housing the diplomatic mission, functions as a military barracks and hosts spying and espionage devices.

On the proposal for a ceasefire between the US military and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, he said, “The term trice sounds meaningless to me, as there is an occupation and a people who reject it.”

In terms of the impact of the US forces’ departure on the security aspect, he affirmed that the Iraqi army and the armed forces, as well as the PMF, are in their best condition today.

They have a budget allocated to them, and there is confidence in their capabilities, he added. “There is no justification for the existence of a parallel army to the Iraqi army under any pretext.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Mouanes said the Israeli Mossad spy agency has a presence in Baghdad and the Iraqi Kurdistan region, under the cover of civil society organizations, economic and security companies, and embassies.

According to the MP, the next step after “expelling the US” is to call for the formation of an alliance of all countries opposing “Israel” to counteract Mossad infiltration.

In conclusion, he stated that “Iraq is in danger, and [we] are committed to reclaiming sovereignty, regardless of who agrees or disagrees.”

“We are moving toward reclaiming the sovereignty of the country, preserving it, and expelling this vile American presence.”

Read more: IRGC target Mossad headquarters in the Kurdistan region of Iraq

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Is Iraq really divided on resistance operations against US targets?

DEC 22, 2023

Source

Baghdad grapples with a dual challenge: balancing US threats to stop attacks on its bases in Iraq and Syria, with the unwavering commitment of Iraqi resistance factions to persist until Israel’s war on Gaza ends.

On 8 December, the US embassy in Baghdad was the target of a multi-rocket attack, marking a new phase in the actions of resistance factions against US forces in Iraq and Syria. This response was triggered by Washington’s unwavering support for Israeli forces in their war of aggression against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The operation was by no means isolated as Iraqi resistance factions have been conducting attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria since 17 October, utilizing drones and various missiles.

Missives rapidly arrived from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and CIA Director William Burns, with warnings that Baghdad will face “serious consequences” if measures are not taken to stop the attacks. Blinken announced that Washington would “respond to any hostile acts targeting American personnel or the armed forces of the mother government.”

These strikes have placed Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa al-Sudani in a confrontation – real or sham – against his country’s resistance factions, prompting him to call the attacks “acts of terrorism” that “endanger Iraq’s internal security.” The comments were welcomed by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin who spoke with the Iraqi premier that day. 

Although security forces swiftly apprehended those behind the attacks, Kataeb Hezbollah (KH), a major faction within the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), while not claiming responsibility, vowed further operations against US forces until the Gaza aggression ceased, calling the resistance acts the start of “new rules of engagement.”

Government response and ongoing investigations 

After the embassy incident, Sudani issued a statement in which he emphasized that his government would continue to protect diplomatic missions:

“The perpetrators of these attacks are committing an insult to Iraq, its stability and security, and that these unruly, lawless groups do not represent … or reflect the will of the Iraqi people, and it does not reflect the national Iraqi decision expressed by the Iraqi government on several official occasions.”

In the statement seen by The Cradle, Sudani added that “tampering with Iraq’s stability, abusing internal security, attempting to jeopardize Iraq’s political reputation, and targeting safe places protected by the force of law, customs, and international agreements, are acts of terrorism.”

On 14 December, the Iraqi government announced the arrest of individuals involved in the embassy attack. Major General Yahya Rasool revealed that “after an intensive intelligence effort,” security services made several arrests. However, the government remained tight-lipped about their identities and affiliations.

A high-level Iraqi security source informs The Cradle that 13 individuals were detained, including main executors and logistical support personnel. The detainees provided no information about their affiliations during initial investigations. 

The source also reveals ongoing efforts to apprehend a group in Sinjar planning missile strikes on a US base in Syria’s Hasakah city.

Economic and military threats from the US 

Since 2021, Washington has stationed approximately 2,500 soldiers in Iraq as part of the International Coalition to Combat ISIS, extending their presence well beyond the timeframe of the terror group’s defeat. Despite Baghdad’s assertion that this is only within an advisory capacity, these foreign forces have engaged in combat missions, targeting areas such as Abu Ghraib, Jurf al-Nasr, and Kirkuk. 

Political sources close to decision-making circles in Baghdad tell The Cradle that Washington has delivered messages to the Sudani government, most of which were veiled threats that referred to international economic sanctions on Iraq and direct military intervention if the government was unable to stop resistance operations against US military bases in the country. 

The sources also reveal that the US has been pressuring Iraq by manipulating the flow of dollars to the Central Bank, risking a severe economic crisis. Simultaneously, the US has threatened to withdraw US oil companies from Iraq. 

Political analyst Imad al-Atrash characterized this dynamic, stating:

“America treats Iraq as its backyard, using economic leverage to coerce decisions in foreign relations, disregarding the preferences of the Iraqi government. This necessitates a robust government with effective tools to counter Washington’s aggression.”

Washington’s threats and pressures have created a rift in the Iraqi political establishment – the question that remains is whether these divisions are real or merely to placate the US. One faction, associated with the Coordination Framework, the largest Shia political bloc from which Sudani emerged, aligns with political groups directly linked to the resistance factions. 

The other faction opposes any confrontation with Washington, even diplomatically, seeking to neutralize the resistance factions and enforce a policy of silence and non-confrontation.

A divided house 

Despite The Cradle’s attempts to obtain an official government comment, Prime Minister Sudani’s team refused to divulge details of the steps taken to arrest the perpetrators or the government’s stance on potential confrontation with armed factions. However, government spokesman Bassem al-Awadi, tells The Cradle: 

“The presence of the international coalition in Iraq, including the American forces, has training and advisory missions, and any armed activity targeting those forces outside the military institution can be considered an act outside the scope of the law.”

Yet, illustrating the political divide on the matter, Member of the Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee, Waad al-Qaddo, insists that:

“The Islamic resistance factions are an integral part of Iraq’s political and security structure. Without them, Iraq would not have been liberated from the terrorist organization ISIS … the factions’ attacks against the American forces would not have occurred.” 

The Al-Fatah Alliance, led by politician Hadi al-Amiri, describes the resistance operations against US forces as “natural, and coming in response to Washington’s support for Israel.” As the leader of the coalition, Ali Hussein, explains to The Cradle:

“The strikes of the Islamic resistance factions on the American forces cannot be stopped, and they do not only come within the framework of supporting Gaza, but rather they are part of the plan to thwart the Israeli plan aimed at dividing the region, controlling it, and reaching the dream of a greater Israel.” 

Diplomatic efforts to curb the resistance 

Private sources indicate that efforts by the Iraqi government to mediate with the resistance factions, urging them to cease targeting US bases, have faced resistance. An undisclosed source informs The Cradle that during the initial days of the Gaza war, the Sudani administration mediated with various figures. 

While some factions, such as the Imam Ali Brigades, were persuaded to adopt diplomatic methods, others, including Ansar Allah Al-Awfiyya, Al-Nujaba Movement, Sayyid al-Shuhada Brigades, and KH, rejected these mediations.

It is worth noting that the Imam Ali Brigades are one of the four pro-Sistani factions that split from the PMU back in 2020, purportedly over disagreements on steps the PMU was taking since the territorial defeat of ISIS. 

The Secretary-General of KH, Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi, said in a statement seen by The Cradle, that:

“The Brigades are continuing with their approach against the occupation, unconcerned with the pressures and obstacles, bearing the cost of their resistance work, and steadfast on the path to breaking the thorn of the occupation and expelling it from Iraq.”

The leader of the Sayyid al-Shuhada Brigades, Abu Alaa al-Wala’i, commented to The Cradle through a response from his office:

“We in the Sayyid al-Shuhada Brigades respect all mediations and appreciate their [the government’s] keenness to communicate with the resistance factions and their leaders, and we believe in the movement of some political figures, but this issue cannot be discussed until the Gaza crisis ends.”

But Aqeel al-Rudaini, a leader of the Victory Coalition, says the Sudani government will continue to stick to a middle ground:  

“The government has a firm position on the Gaza issue as announced at the United Nations, and is trying to exploit its relationship with Washington to push it to resolve the Gaza crisis and alleviate the suffering of the Palestinians, on the one hand, while lifting the embarrassment from them in front of the resistance factions, on the other hand.” 

He adds that Washington “should understand the anger of the Iraqi people, which was demonstrated through peaceful protests at times and with weapons at other times.”

Persistent resistance 

Security and strategic expert Fadel Abu Ragheef describes ongoing negotiations between the Sudani government and Iraq’s resistance factions. The objective, he says, is to persuade them to halt attacks on bases housing US forces, as Washington intensifies pressure on Baghdad.

Ihsan al-Shammari, head of the Center for Political Thinking, does not hold out much hope that these negotiations will succeed, saying:

“The armed factions’ escalation of their military operations against the American forces occurs for many reasons. The first stems from the nature of the accumulated hostility towards the US from these factions, and the second comes within the framework of the slogan of unity of the arenas with which it was launched.” 

“These factions are to support Gaza, and a double pressure card toward America in two arenas: the Palestinian arena to limit Washington’s support for Israel, and the Iraqi arena with the aim of pressuring the exit of US forces from Iraq,” he explains.

As Shammari predicts, recent events suggest that US efforts to curb resistance faction attacks have failed, despite extraordinary pressure applied on the Iraqi government. 

Pentagon sources have revealed that US force bases have been subjected to at least 102 attacks since mid-October, highlighting the resilience of the resistance factions against external pressures and their commitment to the Palestinian cause – along with other key members of West Asia’s Axis of Resistance. 

Will Yemen and Iraq join Palestine’s Al-Aqsa Flood?

OCT 19, 2023

Source

Tel Aviv’s war on the beleaguered Gaza Strip represents the first real test of the ‘Unity of Fronts’ concept, which may see a wide range of Axis of Resistance regional groups join the Palestinian resistance in a war on Israel.

Photo Credit: The Cradle

Just hours after the launch of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, the deadliest resistance offensive for Israel since its inception, supporters hit the streets in numerous Arab and Muslim-majority countries. Yet one nation, Yemen, stood out, despite its vast geographical distance from occupied Palestine. 

Not unlike previous mass demonstrations in solidarity with Palestine, hundreds of thousands of Yemenis poured into the streets of various cities, unwavering in their declaration of readiness to stand with the Palestinian resistance against what they saw as the “enemy of the Ummah.”

In a stirring speech delivered on 10 October, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Ansarallah movement, proclaimed that Yemenis are ready to “perform their sacred duty to stand by the Palestinian people.” 

“Our people are ready to move in hundreds of thousands and join the Palestinian people to confront the enemy, and we will not hesitate to do everything possible,” he added, before emphasizing that “We are in coordination with the Axis of Resistance, and if the Americans intervened militarily directly, we are ready to participate even with rocket shelling.” Notably, like other members of the Axis, Houthi warned the enemies against crossing certain “red lines.” 

Yemen’s red lines 

Yemeni military expert Aziz Rashid posits that the US “is unable to engage in a direct clash with the Axis of Resistance because this will have serious repercussions on American and Zionist interests.” 

Speaking to The Cradle, Rashid explains that that the “red lines” justifying Yemeni involvement in the conflict are not limited to direct US intervention. He points to other triggers for crossing these lines, including ongoing Israeli atrocities against the Palestinians, attacks on Jerusalem, Jenin, and Nablus in the West Bank, the request for intervention by Gaza’s resistance, and any serious attempts to eliminate the resistance. Crucially, he points out that these violations will trigger a coordinated response by the entire Axis “through the joint operations rooms.”

For the Yemeni populace, the Palestinian cause has long represented a principled, religious, moral, and national commitment. Political analyst Talib al-Hassani believes that “one of the reasons for the US-Saudi aggression against the state since March 2015 is Yemen’s position within the Axis of Resistance and the great danger it poses to the United States’ interests in the region.”

But the question remains whether a nation already worn down by eight years of relentless conflict and besieged conditions can realistically participate in military action against Israel.

“Some may see this position as a show,” Hassani tells The Cradle, “but, in reality, Yemen has significant military capabilities that enable it to target Israel.” He highlights the transformation Yemen underwent after the 21 September Revolution in 2014, whose objectives encompassed liberating itself from foreign dominance and aligning with Arab and Islamic causes, including the Palestinian issue.

Ansarallah’s arsenal 

Tel Aviv takes these threats seriously. Israeli media sounded the alarm after Operation “Yemen Hurricane” on 17 January, 2022 when Ansarallah-aligned Yemeni forces struck UAE oil facilities with ballistic missiles and drones in Abu Dhabi and Dubai – this, from a distance of around 1,600 kilometers, which is equivalent to the distance between Yemen and Israel. That the Yemenis could potentially target the Israeli ports of Eilat, Tel Aviv, and Haifa were no longer in question.

Rashid underscores that any Yemeni involvement in the war would likely materialize in the form of drone and missile attacks targeting specific objectives, as per the Resistance Axis’ strategic plan, the Unity of Fronts. 

Hassani further explains that these strikes “may extend beyond the occupied Palestinian territories to the sea lanes and American and Israeli bases in the Red Sea and the African side of the Red Sea.” He points to Houthi’s emphasis in his last speech that “we must have an impact on the Israeli enemy,” which means that the strikes “will be large, focused, accurate, and painful.”

Ansarallah’s formidable arsenal, some of which were showcased in a military parade in Sanaa during last month’s anniversary of the revolution, includes the impressive Samad 3 attack drones, which have a range of 1,800 kilometers and are armed with explosive warheads weighing between 20 and 50 kilograms. 

Additionally, there’s the Eid 2 drone, carrying a hefty 40-kilogram explosive warhead and capable of reaching targets of up to 2,000 kilometers. The Yemeni army also possesses long-range surface-to-surface ballistic missiles like the Quds 4, Aqeel, and Toofan. Notably, their naval missiles can target Israeli and US bases in the Red Sea, as well as US bases in the Persian Gulf.

Checking the US in Iraq 

In Iraq, the resistance has already begun to hint at what lies ahead. On Wednesday, Kataib Hezbollah claimed credit for drone attacks on the Ain al-Assad and Al-Harir bases, in which a number of US servicemen were injured. The following day, the group’s spokesman, Jaafar al-Husseini, explained the reasons for the strike clearly: 

“The Americans are essential partners in killing the residents of the Gaza Strip and therefore, they must bear the consequences…[The US] knows very well the potential of the Iraqi resistance, which has multiplied for some time, and today we are at a stage capable of striking all American bases in Iraq.” 

Iraq, a country in which the Resistance Axis played a pivotal role in territorially defeating ISIS, exhibits no less enthusiasm for supporting the Palestinian resistance, especially in the face of relentless Israeli bombardment and potential direct US involvement.

In addition to Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa al-Sudani’s official condemnation of the occupation army’s genocide campaign, factions aligned with the Axis are gearing up for potential engagement in the multi-front war when the call is made. These factions aim to replicate the role they played in the Syrian theater against foreign-backed terrorist organizations.

A source within one of the Iraqi resistance factions reveals to The Cradle that coordination has already been established with Hamas. In recent days, meetings have taken place between Iraqi resistance factions to map out strategies for responding to Israeli attacks on Gaza, with a focus on expanding the battle’s scope to deter Israeli occupation forces. And the first course of action will be to ensure that Tel Aviv fights alone:

“The Iraqi factions are monitoring the course of events in Palestine, especially with regard to American and European intervention in military operations alongside Israel. We have taken measures on the ground and we are fully prepared, and the target bank has been determined in the event of any direct American intervention in the war.”

Secretary-General of the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi threatened in a statement to target US bases in Iraq if the US intervened in Israel’s Gaza war. He stressed that “our missiles, drones, and special forces are ready to target the American enemy in its bases if it intervenes in this battle, and we will target known sites of the Zionist entity.”
Additionally, a source close to the Iraqi resistance told The Cradle that there are other means available to support Gaza’s resistance from Iraq that might place pressure on the US and Israel and change the equation – that we might witness in the upcoming hours or days.

Palestine’s got allies too 

The leader of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Sheikh Qais al-Khazali, made a phone call to Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh on 10 October, in which they discussed developments in Gaza. In a statement afterward, Khazali stressed that “Iraq is committed to supporting the Palestinian cause, and that the Iraqi resistance factions are fully prepared for any action required of them to liberate Holy Jerusalem and support the Palestinian people.”

Meanwhile, the head of the Badr Movement, Hadi al-Ameri, threatened the US occupying forces with “heavy losses” if Washington decided to intervene directly in the war. At a recent press conference, he held the US “responsible for what is happening in the Gaza Strip because of its unlimited support for the Zionists,” and said it “will suffer a great loss if it decides to enter the war on the side of the Zionist entity against the Palestinian people.”

Military expert Nawaf al-Badrani explains that, unlike Yemen’s resistance forces, Iraqi groups have some geographic limits:

“The Iraqi factions do not have ballistic missiles capable of reaching the occupied territories. Its involvement in the battle may be through targeting American forces stationed in 10 major military bases in Iraq, or coordinating with Syria to allow faction fighters to reach the borders of the occupied Golan.”

Iraqi sources reveal that fighters from certain armed factions have already moved toward areas near occupied Palestine, awaiting instructions to engage in the battle against the Israeli occupation army. 

Contact made by The Cradle with several faction leaders confirms that these parties are prepared to participate in this “great fight” alongside the Palestinian resistance.

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of The Cradle.

Iraqi Resistance Leader to Al-Ahed: Relying on Resistance Takes Us Closer to Praying in Al-Quds

April 16, 2023

By Mostafa Awada

He is one of the key pillars of the Iraqi resistance movement and a jihadi leader who played a prominent role in liberating his country from the Daesh terror group. The United States, which created Daesh, and the temporary Zionist entity, wanted to divide Iraq.

The borders established by the so-called Sykes–Picot Agreement did not prevent him from standing up to the plot against Syria and announcing his readiness to go to Yemen and Palestine. The United States did not intimidate him with its threats.

Nor was he deterred from his call to jihad and resistance by American and “Israeli” attacks the positions of the battalions that he has been leading since 2014. He became a leader in the axis of resistance during the reign of his two brothers, martyrs Hajj Qassem Soleimani and Hajj Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis.

He is known for being close to and having a fraternal relationship with the forces of the resistace, including Hezbollah, the Palestinian factions, and the Ansarullah movement in Yemen.

His name is Hajj Abu Alaa al-Walai, the Secretary General of the Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada.

He spoke with Al-Ahed News on the occasion of International Quds Day, which this year coincides with the 20th anniversary of the American occupation of Iraq.

Below is the full transcript of the interview:

Q: On the 20th anniversary of the American occupation of Iraq, how do you assess the role of the Iraqi resistance in thwarting US projects in the country and the region?

A: We condole you on the anniversary of the martyrdom of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (peace be upon him), and we ask God to accept yours and our deeds in the holy month of Ramadan and the blessed nights of al-Qadr.

Before the fall of the tyrant and his criminal Baath [Party] in 2003, the Iraqi Islamic movements sensed the imminent danger facing the country because of the mechanism employed to overthrow the the regime, which centered on a direct American military intervention that would inevitably lead to US tutelage and occupation.

The men of the resistance anticipated this outcome, which later became reality. The Iraqi resistance factions dealt with it firmly and courageously through thousands of military operations that inflicted heavy losses on the American occupation.

These losses were confirmed by official reports despite attempts to cover them up and were acknowledged by the occupation itself on more than one occasion. The death toll among American troops stood in the thousands, with thousands more wounded, in addition to material losses amounting to trillions of dollars.

This prompted the American occupiers to lose their balance. They were no longer comfortable with moving within or between cities and were forced to retreat to their bases, which weren’t spared from repeated strikes over a period of eight years.

In 2011, they were forced out in a humiliating manner after the so-called strategic framework agreement, when the American occupiers sat submissively across from the Iraqi negotiator.

The Iraqi resistance was an invulnerable barrier standing in the way of the American projects in the country. It blocked attempts to violate Iraq’s sovereignty and turning it into a wasteland for the occupation in the region and the world, which declared its sponsorship for the establishment of terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda and others that shed a lot of innocent Iraqi blood.

The Iraqi resistance and the Hashd al-Shaabi

Q: The pivotal role of the Iraqi resistance in establishing the Hashd [al-Shaabi] is no secret. How would you describe the relationship between the Iraqi resistance and the Hashd al-Shaabi today?

A: The Iraqi resistance was present on the outskirts of Baghdad before the establishment of the Hashd al-Shaabi [the Popular Mobilization Units] and prevented the fall of the capital to Daesh after Mosul and a number of cities had fallen.

After the supreme religious authority issued the fatwa for defensive jihad and more than three million people from the southern and central governorates heeded the call of the fatwa, the Iraqi resistance factions played a key role in receiving, equipping, and training the huge numbers of volunteers, especially since the military institutions were unable to receive them. The military lacked logistic resources, the infrastructure, and their moral had decline following the fall of Mosul.

The Iraqi resistance played a prominent role in establishing the pillars of the Hash al-Shaabi at the level of training, equipment, planning, leadership, and direct engagement with the enemy.

We do not forget the historical role of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the brothers in Lebanon’s Hezbollah, who were there during the first hours after the fall of Mosul. They opened their weapons depots for free and sent hundreds of their leaders, headed by martyred commander Hajj Qassem Soleimani, to train the Hashd al-Shaabi forces on how to use modern weapons.

They fought shoulder-to-shoulder with their brothers in the Iraqi resistance, the Hashd al-Shaabi, and the security forces against the terrorist gangs of Daesh until their blood mixed with the blood of the martyrs of Iraq.

Perhaps one of the most unique components of the liberation battles was the presence of the leaders of the resistance and the Hashd along the frontlines. They were headed by the immortal martyr Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and the rest of the brothers, the leaders of the resistance and the Hashd.

All of this laid the foundations for an ideological, jihadist, and patriotic relationship between the resistance and the Hashd drawn by the blood of martyrdom.

Palestine and the axis of resistance

Q: Given the current atmosphere of military escalations by the Zionist entity in the occupied Palestinian territories within the framework of the axis of resistance, what is your message to Palestine, its people, its resistance, and the enemy?

We believe that the occupation is one, even if its titles, names, and perpetrators differ. The main drivers of oppression of peoples stem from the same imperial powers that do not want countries to live with honor, dignity, and independence.

The resistance movements in the region and the world stem from the same religious and moral concept that allows them to adopt all possible means of resistance to expel all forms of occupation.

In this sense, we believe that we are part of the Palestinian resistance factions and they are part of us. We stand with them with full force in their legitimate war to confront the usurping Zionist entity.

We assure them that victory is inevitably coming and that the measly entity is doomed to disappear as long as their [the Palestinians’] fingers are on the trigger of dignity and their feet are planted in the trenches of honor.

We also affirm to the Zionist occupation that the right of the Palestinian people to regain their occupied lands and liberate the holy city of Al-Quds from its dirty clutches is inevitable.

The right of the Palestinian people to their land and sanctities does not lapse by statute of limitations, no matter how powerful the criminal killing machines and the unjust shovels of demolition of the hybrid Zionist entity are.

International Quds Day

Q: On International Quds Day, what is your message to the Arab and Muslim world on this occasion?

A: International Quds Day, which was proclaimed by the late Imam Khomeini, is not just a passing historical event, but rather a reorientation of the compass of the Islamic peoples towards their basic cause, which must remain present in their consciences and be the highest priority of the free people, no matter how evil forces try to divert attention from it.

We affirm that International Quds Day has become a nightmare for the Zionists after it become a global occasion that brings together all the resistance movements in the world under one banner of glory, dignity, and sovereignty.

The path to al-Quds passes through living consciences, just as the path of certainty in victory passes through hearts with faith. The more the oppressed Islamic people rely on the choice of resistance and embrace the heroes of the resistance, the closer we are to praying in al-Quds.

Washington’s Dollar-and-Stick ploy with Iraq

February 16 2023

Source

Iraqi officials are in Washington to discuss “economic reforms” but are in fact being pressured to shun Iranian energy imports in the hope of having US sanctions and dollar rations lifted.

Photo Credit: The Cradle

By Zaher Mousa

On 8 February, 2023, an Iraqi delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Fuad Hussein arrived in Washington to discuss easing the recent US Treasury measures that have restricted the supply of dollars to Baghdad and imposed sanctions on the Central Bank of Iraq.

The high-level delegation, which includes several government officials, has indefinitely extended its stay in Washington for the “difficult” negotiations, indicating Iraq’s limited options in these talks. If the discussions fail and Washington does not ease its punishing measures, a major crisis could erupt in Iraq – resulting in the collapse of the dinar’s value because of high demand and limited supply.

A Washington Institute report suggests that the US is exerting “severe” pressure on Baghdad to redirect its energy sector away from Iran and to address allegations that its banking sector assists the Islamic Republic in evading western sanctions. These demands are likely to be challenging for Iraq to meet, given its vital ties to Iran and the importance of the energy sector to its economy.

New government, old challenges

The Iraqi visit takes place 100 days after the formation of the government of Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, which had to immediately grapple with the imposition of US sanctions on three Iraqi banks, and restrictions on dollar transfers from Iraq’s oil revenue account in New York to the Central Bank of Iraq.

These measures were put in place to ensure that Iraq did not violate US sanctions on Iran and Syria, which led to a significant decrease in the supply of dollars and a decline in the value of the dinar. This, in turn, stirred up discontent within a population already facing financial hardships.

Sudani’s new government responded by implementing quick measures: subsidizing some basic commodities, launching a campaign of arrests against dollar smugglers, and reducing the official exchange rate from 1,450 dinars to 1,300 dinars per dollar.

However, these steps were unable to control spiraling prices, and only resulted in a slight decrease in the dollar value in the parallel market. This situation has made negotiations with US officials even more critical for the Iraqi delegation, as failure to ease the US measures could have dire consequences for Iraq’s already fragile economy.

‘Forced to negotiate’

Sources in Iraq’s cabinet confirmed to The Cradle that the US did not want Prime Minister Sudani to lead the delegation to Washington, and requested a lower level of representation. As a result, Baghdad carefully selected the members of the visiting team, which is currently led by Fuad Hussein from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), who is considered an “old friend” of the US.

The Iraqi delegation also includes Adnan al Zarfi, a member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee (PFC), who was previously nominated for the prime ministerial position. Zarfi maintains good relations with Washington officialdom, and has held US citizenship since 2003, making him a strategic choice for inclusion in the Iraqi mission.

Hussein Muanis, a PFC member and head of the Huqouq movement – which is close to Iran-supported Kataeb Hezbollah – tells The Cradle that Iraq was “forced to negotiate:”

“Negotiations should have been based on the strategic framework agreement [which the two countries signed in 2008]. What has been leaked from it so far indicates that the talks were not limited to the economic issues, and that the Iraqi delegation heard American diktats.”

However, Muanis denies that the US had placed a veto on the participation of any Iraqi political personages in the delegation. He emphasized that the PFC had unanimously selected Zarfi as a representative of the legislative authority: “we understand the position of a large part of the political parties regarding relations with Washington.”

Hard bargaining by the US

Thamer Dhiban, a member of the PFC for the Al-Fateh Alliance, which opposes the US presence in Iraq and includes Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq and the Badr Organization, confirmed that the “Coalition for State Administration,” the largest bloc in the Iraqi parliament, supports these negotiations. Dhiban added that “what we have heard so far is positive in principle.”

He tells The Cradle: “There was an agreement to send another delegation to delve into the details of the economic issues, and we were not informed that the negotiations discussed political or military matters,” adding:

“The conditions for financial compliance and connection with the SWIFT system are in the interest of Iraq in the first place, and we will not allow the repetition of the economic blockade that was imposed on Iraq previously.”

Other sources suggest that the meeting between Central Bank Governor Ali al-Alaq and the US Treasury Department only discussed the conditions of the US Federal Reserve regarding financial transfers in dollars and Baghdad’s plans to reform the economic and financial sector.

However, during Hussein’s meeting with his US counterpart Anthony Blinken, political issues were also on the table. According to a Kurdish source who insisted on confidentiality, these included:

“Iraq’s accession to the Abraham Accords, normalization with Israel (which is currently criminalized in Iraq), urging Baghdad to find alternatives to Iranian energy imports, implementing electrical interconnection with Persian Gulf states and Jordan, facilitating the extension of the oil pipeline from Basra to Aqaba, and accelerating the export of gas. The Americans also requested that the ISIS-fighting and pro-Iran Popular Mobilizations Units (PMUs or Hashd al-Shaabi) be repositioned far way from US military bases in Iraq.”

Sources close to Iraq’s pro-Iran political factions, however, believe that “the idea of dissolving the PMUs will be impossible to implement due to legal obstacles on the one hand, and an urgent need for its existence, in addition to the difficulty of integrating it into the regular army.”

Regarding normalization with Tel Aviv, the sources say that the law criminalizing any interaction with Israel – approved by Iraq’s parliament in 2022 – blocked this project.

The sources also say one possible solution toward brokering the US dollar-control issue in Iraq is to resolve Baghdad’s tensions with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Erbil, as the latter is a trusted US intermediary in Iraq. If Baghdad accepts to pay Erbil’s public salaries, for instance, this may smooth the way for the US to reduce pressures.

Ditching the dollar

Iraq is facing a multitude of crises, from political divisions to economic struggles. Due to its vast oil and gas resources, it has become an object of interest for both global and regional powers. Hours before the Iraqi delegation headed to Washington, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Baghdad and held talks with Iraqi officials about the dollar crisis and ways to enhance energy cooperation.

One of the proposals discussed was for Iraq to join a system that uses the Chinese yuan to facilitate trade with Tehran and Moscow, which are both subject to US sanctions. This move could provide Iraq with an alternative to the US dollar and help to mitigate the effects of the sanctions.

According to Kuwaiti newspaper, Al-Jarida, some Iraqi experts described this particular Lavrov proposal as returning Baghdad to the era of “barter trade,” when the administration of Saddam Hussein entered into a food-for-oil exchange. For them, any payments outside the exalted dollar currency cannot build a proper economy.

But this is only one view from inside Iraq. According to official sources in Sudani’s media office, Baghdad does in fact “aspire to obtain membership in the Asian Development Bank and deposit the financial surplus in it instead of buying US bonds or increasing the financial reserves of the dollar.” The Asian Bank, the sources say, grants larger loan amounts with fewer conditions and lower interest rates than the World Bank.

Likewise, Iraq plans to submit membership requests to join the multipolar BRICS+ group of countries and the Chinese-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

As of this writing, the Iraqi delegation is still in Washington, but holding fewer official meetings and at a lower level.

‘Israeli’ Operatives in Kurdistan Region Will Drag Iraq into War: Kataib Hezbollah

March 21, 2022

By Staff, Agencies

The Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah [Brigades] resistance movement said the presence of operatives affiliated to the ‘Israeli’ spy agency Mossad in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region will drag the Arab country into a military confrontation.

Speaking in an interview with Beirut-based al-Mayadeen TV network, the resistance group’s spokesman Jafar al-Husseini warned against attempts aimed at turning Iraq into a launchpad for attacks on regional countries and stated that such bids will exacerbate the existing tensions.

He noted there is substantial evidence that ‘Israeli’ operatives are freely active in the Kurdistan region, and that the Kurdistan Regional Government [KRG] exports crude oil to the ‘Israeli’-occupied territories.

The spokesman of Kataib Hezbollah, part of the Popular Mobilization Units [PMU] or better known by Arabic name of Hashd al-Shaabi, underscored that the Palestinian cause remains a cornerstone of Iraqi resistance groups’ doctrine, stating that the forces are coordinating with their Palestinian and Lebanese comrades.

Husseini went on to say that Iraqi resistance forces are on the great march of progress and are expanding their capabilities to defend the country’s airspace.

Last week, the spokesman for Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard [IRG] said the elite military force will not hesitate to strike other Zionist bases in the Iraqi Kurdistan region if its officials do not dismantle them.

“It is our natural right to destroy any base from which any attack is carried out against the security of Iran and this is a red line” for us, Brigadier General Ramezan Sharif told Yemen’s al-Masirah network on March 17.

According to Sharif, Iran’s ambassador to Iraq Iraj Masjedi had on several occasions warned the Iraqi Kurdistan region about the presence of the Mossad base, which was recently attacked by the IRG, and two other similar bases.

“If Iraqi officials do not take action to remove other bases of Zionists in this country while our security continues to be threatened from this region, we will respond without hesitation,” the IRG’s spokesman added.

Days earlier, the Iranian ambassador to Iraq had said the latest IRG missile strike on secret Mossad bases in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region was strictly necessary, as operations against Iran’s security were being plotted and orchestrated there.

Masjedi said ‘Israeli’ operatives used the Iraqi Kurdistan region to plot and launch operations against Iran’s security, emphasizing that Iranian officials had time and again warned the KRG authorities against their activities, but to no avail.

The Iranian diplomat highlighted that the missile attack was carried out in order to safeguard Iran’s security, “and was neither intended to violate Iraq’s sovereignty nor was meant to insult the Arab country and its nation.”

In the early hours of March 13, a dozen ballistic missiles hit secret Mossad bases in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil, reportedly leaving several Zionist operatives dead.

In a statement issued later in the day, the IRG indicated that the operation was in response to a recent ‘Israeli’ airstrike on the Syrian capital of Damascus, in which two IRG officers were martyred.

The IRG identified the two officers as colonels Ehsan Karbalaipour and Morteza Saeidnejad, warning that the Tel Aviv regime would pay for this crime.

Iraqi Resistance Groups Vow Action after US Announces End to Combat Mission

Dec 10 2021

By Staff, Agencies

Iraq’s anti-terror Hezbollah al-Nujaba Movement dismissed the US claims about its occupation forces ending their combat mission in the Arab country, stressing that Washington cannot be trusted and that resistance groups will continue their struggle until all American occupation forces leave.

“American forces cannot be identified as anything other than occupiers if they do not withdraw by the end of the current year. We express our support for the groups that are mounting resistance against the occupying US forces,” Nujaba spokesman, Nasr al-Shammari, told Beirut-based al-Mayadeen network on Thursday evening.

The spokesman of the group that is part of the Popular Mobilization Units [PMU], better known by the Arabic name as Hashd al-Shaabi, termed retaliatory attacks against US troops in Iraq as “a great honor”, saying, “We announce alliance with the groups that are targeting American forces.”

“The deadline for the withdrawal of occupying forces is winding up, and must be fully implemented. The resistance front will never face again the challenges it confronted between 2003 and 2011. The bloc is now stronger than ever,” Shammari pointed out.

“The main weapon in the hands of resistance fighters is their beliefs. This is something which they cannot separate the combatants from,” he said.

Meanwhile, Qassim al-Araji, Iraq’s national security adviser, said on Thursday that a final round of technical talks to formally end the US-led combat mission, which was purportedly formed to fight Daesh [the Arabic acronym for ‘ISIS/ISIL’ terrorist group], had concluded.

“We are officially announcing the end of the coalition forces’ combat mission,” al-Araji wrote on Twitter, adding that the coalition would continue providing assistance, advice and training to Iraqi forces.

There are about 2,500 US soldiers and another 1,000 coalition troopers currently based in Iraq. It is unclear how many will remain in the next phase of deployment in Iraq.

Earlier in the day, Secretary-General of al-Nujaba Movement Sheikh Akram al-Kaabi reiterated the resistance group’s readiness to fight US forces if they refuse to pull out of Iraq.

American occupation forces will pay dearly for their massacres of Iraqi people and distinguished figures, Kaabi said, stressing, “The United States will continue to be viewed as an enemy even after the withdrawal of its troops from Iraq.”

He pointed out that the United States has “formed many proxies to pursue its own interests inside Iraq. The fight against them is a legitimate and national duty. The occupation only understands the language of armed struggle.”

Kaabi also stressed that Washington does not respect Iraq’s sovereignty and does not recognize the authority of the Iraqi side it is negotiating with.

He said the statements of US officials “indicate that American forces will not withdraw from Iraq.”

The al-Nujaba chief also dismissed any disarmament of the Iraqi resistance groups that stood up against Daesh despite their limited capabilities at the time.

“How can we talk about disarming the resistance in a country that is still occupied?” he questioned.

Kaabi said Iraqi resistance fighters have turned into “a nightmare for the US and ‘Israel’ which are making any effort in order to disarm them.”

The weapons of the resistance groups “will safeguard the Iraqi nation, and cannot be taken away from them by any means,” he also noted.

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Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah Refutes National Security Adviser’s Remarks on PM’s House Targeting – Statement

Dec 1 , 2021

Translated by Al-Ahed News

Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah [Hezbollah Brigades] issued a statement refuting the remarks made by the Iraqi National Security Adviser regarding the incident in which the residence of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi was targeted.

The statement released by the resistance group read the following:

Security personnel, politicians and ambassadors of major countries know that the attack against al-Kadhimi’s residence was fabricated.

Al-Kadhimi was not in his residence when the fabricated explosion occurred.

We demand proof via camera footage of Al-Kadhimi’s presence in his residence when the fabricated explosion occurred.

We demand that footage from six cameras inside the residence be played showing the moment the missile fell inside it

National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji confirmed the use of C4, but the technicians know that it is not used in this type of missile.

Where are the testimonies of the residents next door, “and are they trustworthy”?

The encrypted messages from the victim’s surrounding and the perpetrators will not intimidate even the children of the Resistance fighters.

Where are the radar images of the American planes that were present and surveilling Al-Khadra at the moment of the explosion?

Top Trump Security Adviser Contradicts “Imminent Attack” Claim Behind Soleimani Assassination

October 20, 2021

By Staff, Agencies

A new book that hit shelves today by Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg reveals that the Trump administration planned the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani as part of a “disproportional” response to attacks on US troops in Iraq by Shiite resistance groups. Kellogg was then-Vice President Mike Pence’s national security adviser, and also served as executive secretary and chief of staff for the US National Security Council under Trump.

“We had always considered him a legitimate target because he was a sponsor for terrorism and was directly responsible for the deaths and maiming of hundreds of Americans,” Kellogg writes about Soleimani in “War by Other Means: A General in the Trump White House,” according to the UK Daily Mail, which received an advance copy of the book.

Solemani commanded the Quds Force, an elite formation of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard [IRG], and commanded Iranian forces in Syria fighting against the Wahhabi Daesh [Arabic acronym for “ISIS” / “ISIL”] and al-Qaeda-linked terrorist groups before leading the Iranian and Iraqi fight to push Daesh out of Iraq.

Despite being sanctioned by the United States as a “terrorist”, Soleimani enjoyed enormous prestige across the Middle East as the “linchpin” who united resistance groups to halt Daesh’s advance toward Baghdad when the Americans would not commit to anything more than airstrikes against Daesh.

Because of the anti-Daesh war, Soleimani was closely linked with resistance groups in Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces [PMF], which opposed the continued US presence in Iraq. According to Kellogg’s book, an exchange of strikes in late December 2019 is what pushed the White House over line and decided to take Soleimani out.

On December 27, 2019, the Shiite resistance group Kataib Hezbollah attacked an Iraqi military base in Kirkuk where US forces were based, killing a US contractor and injuring four US service members, as well as two Iraqi service members. The next day, the US launched an airstrike on Kataib Hezbollah positions, and that evening, protests in Baghdad descended on the US embassy in the Green Zone and set fire to some of its outer structures.

Washington blamed Iran for both of those attacks, and Soleimani in particular, who they learned would be secretly traveling to Baghdad in just a few days.

“But our response had barely begun,” Kellogg wrote about the December 28 airstrikes. “We had highly reliable intelligence reports affirming that our chief enemy here was Soleimani.”

“’The Iranians had crossed our ‘red line’ by killing an American and reinforced their folly by attacking our embassy in Baghdad. We would respond. And this time our response would be disproportional,” Kellogg wrote. “We jumped up the escalation ladder. Our answer would be unambiguous. Our target would be Soleimani.”

The airstrike, carried out by an MQ-9 Reaper combat drone, hit a group of vehicles at Baghdad International Airport just after midnight on January 3, 2020, killing 10 people. Among them was Soleimani, as well as Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the leader of Kataib Hezbollah and deputy commander of the PMF.

The fury over the US attack, which was carried out without consulting the Iraqi government, led to the country’s parliament voting to ask all US forces to leave the country. However, Trump threatened to freeze Iraqi oil assets in a Federal Reserve bank account if Baghdad followed through.

“Soleimani was plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel, but we caught him in the act and terminated him,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort the day after the attacks. He would later claim that Soleimani planned on targeting a US embassy, then later increased his claim to four embassies.

After other senior administration leaders, including then-War Secretary Mark Esper, clarified that there wasn’t actually intelligence pointing to a specific attack Soleimani was allegedly planning, Trump momentarily let the mask slip by tweeting on January 13 that “it doesn’t really matter because of his horrible past!”

Then-US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo similarly claimed Soleimani was “actively plotting to “take big action” against the US. “There would have been many Muslims killed as well, Iraqis and people in other countries as well. It was a strike that was aimed at both disrupting that plot, deterring further aggression, [and] we hope, setting the conditions for de-escalation, as well,” he told Fox News on January 3.

However, Pompeo also soon said he had no specific intelligence on a specific threat posed by Soleimani, and also admitted within a week that “we don’t know precisely when – and we don’t know precisely where” the supposed attack was to have taken place.

However, by July of 2020, Pompeo had changed his tune again, aligning more closely with what Kellogg writes in his book. His response came after Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, submitted a report on Soleimani’s assassination finding it was an “arbitrary killing” that violated the United Nations charter.

“The strike that killed General Soleimani was in response to an escalating series of armed attacks in preceding months by the Islamic Republic of Iran and ‘militias’ it supports on US forces and interests in the Middle East region,” Pompeo told Fox News on July 10. “It was conducted to deter Iran from launching or supporting further attacks against the United States or US interests, and to degrade the capabilities of the Quds Force.”

Resistance Groups: US Sanctions Won’t Weaken Our Resolve to Defend Iraq

11 Aug 2021

By Staff, Agencies

The Iraqi resistance groups targeted by US sanctions said the restrictive measures show that their counter-terrorism campaign poses a challenge to the Americans, stressing that the bans will fail to weaken their resolve to protect the homeland and restore its sovereignty.

The Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Hezbollah, both subdivisions of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units [PMU], better known in Arabic as Hashd al-Shaabi, said on Tuesday that they would remain impervious to the US sanctions.

A day earlier, the US State Department said it had imposed sanctions on the two Iraqi resistance factions under the so-called Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act [INKSNA], which prohibits arms transfer to those targeted.

Asaib politburo spokesman Mahmoud al-Rubaie told Iraqi al-Ahad news website that the US restrictive measures against resistance groups as “a battle between right and wrong,” saying they represent the extent of the failure that successive US administrations have suffered in the Middle East.

The US sanctions did not catch Asaib by surprise since the group “expects anything from them [the Americans],” he added. “Whatever they do will not affect us because we are strong.”

Rubaie also said that the United States “is concerned about the political presence of the resistance and is therefore seeking a way to escape … Of course, the [Iraqi] government is also weak and cannot counter US pressure.”

Washington wants a “poor Iraq,” where the youths are jobless, he said.

Similarly, Asaib politburo member Ahmad al-Mousavi said that Washington was trying to drive the resistance out of the Iraqi political equation because it had brought about the failure of US schemes in the Arab country.

“US sanctions will not affect the performance of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq and will not remove this resilient Iraqi group from the political scene,” he added.

Mousavi expressed hope that the Iraqi government would take a clear stance on the new US bans, complaining, however, about Baghdad’s silence in the face of US restrictions against resistance groups over the past year.

Meanwhile, the Kaf Telegram channel, a Kataib Hezbollah-affiliate, said, “Let them impose on us whatever sanctions they have at their disposal. It is an honor that we are still a difficult challenge in their calculations.”

“We will continue our path to restoring [Iraqi] sovereignty and dignity by relying on God,” it said.

In early 2003, the US invaded Iraq under the later debunked pretext that the regime of Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction.

It withdrew soldiers from Iraq between 2007 and 2011, but redeployed them in 2014 along with other partners to allegedly counter the threat of Daesh.

Iraq managed to end the territorial rule of the Takfiri terrorist group in the country thanks to the sacrifices of the national army and Hashd al-Sha’abi, which had the backing of neighboring Iran.

On January 3, 2020, the US assassinated Iran’s anti-terror commander General Qassem Soleimani and his Iraqi trenchmate Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy head of Hashd al-Sha’abi, two influential figures in the fight against Daesh.

Two days later, the Iraqi parliament unanimously approved a bill, demanding the expulsion of all foreign military forces led by the United States from the Arab country.

Since then, however, Washington has been dragging its feet on the troop pullout and targeting anti-terror groups from time to time.

Fruitless Strategy: US Targets Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Resistance Groups in Syria & Iraq with New Sanctions

10 Aug 2021

By Staff, Agencies

As part of its unlimited pressure on the Resistance axis, the US State Department has imposed a new round of sanctions on resistance groups in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, in what appears to be a sign of Washington’s anger over the successful role they have been playing.

In a notice issued on Monday, the Department’s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation said the restrictive measures target Iraq’s Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq and Kata’ib Hezbollah, which are both subdivisions of Popular Mobilization Units [PMU] or Hashd al-Sha’abi along with the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement.

The sanctions were imposed under the so-called Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act [INKSNA], which bans arms transfer to those targeted.

Two Syrian entities, Wael Issa Trading Establishment and Ayman Al Sabbagh Trading, as well as three Russian firms, Charter Green Light Moscow, Asia-Invest LLC and NPP Pulsar LLC, were also included in the US sanctions list.

According to the notice, the sanctions were applied on July 29 under the INKSNA, which authorizes Washington to sanction foreign individuals, private entities, and governments that it deems to be engaged in proliferation activities.

The ban forbids US government departments, agencies and personnel from signing contracts with or from providing licenses or government assistance to the targeted groups and organizations.

“These measures shall be implemented by the responsible departments and agencies of the US government and will remain in place for two years from the effective date, except to the extent that the Secretary of State may subsequently determine otherwise,” read the notice.

In response, Saad Al-Saadi, a member of the Asaib politburo, said that the sanctions show that the US sees the resistance factions as a “stumbling block” to the Zionist-American projects in Iraq.

“This indicates that we have achieved the results that the Iraqi people want and thwarted these projects that were and still remain the cause of all the crises that the country is going through on the economic, political, and security levels,” he told Iraq’s Shafaq news agency.

Al-Saadi further stated: “We, the sons of resistance and national movements representing the Iraqi people, consider these sanctions as a pride and dignity for the Iraqi people…These sanctions only increase our resolve and steadfastness in adhering to our principles and values and the project of resisting the occupation and the illegal foreign presence in Iraq.”

Iraqi Resistance Groups Vow to Force US Troops to Leave Humiliated

 July 30, 2021

By Staff, Agencies

Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah resistance movement has emphasized that the American military troops must withdraw from the Arab country, vowing that it is ready to force the occupation troops to do so.

The anti-terror group, which is part of the Popular Mobilization Units, better known by the Arabic word Hashd al-Shaabi, announced in a statement on Thursday that it has and will firmly oppose the dominance of “evil” colonial powers over the natural resources of Iraq.

The statement noted that Kataib Hezbollah will continue to carry out its duties regardless of pressures and challenges it might face.

“All resistance groups have become a thorn in the eye of the American enemy. We are fully prepared to once again drive US forces out of Iraq in humiliation,” it also read.

Kataib Hezbollah warned that further surprises await American occupation forces in case they insist on their presence on the Iraqi soil.

Jafar al-Hussaini, spokesman for the resistance movement, said the Iraqi factions would not target diplomatic missions in the country, describing attacks on the US embassy in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone as false-flag operations aimed at deceiving the Iraqi nation.

“Diplomatic facilities in Iraq are not on the list of targets by resistance forces. Attacks on the evil US embassy in Baghdad are meant to disrupt equations and trick Iraqi people,” Hussaini told Beirut-based Arabic-language al-Mayadeen TV on Thursday.

“The perpetrators of attacks on the evil embassy are pursuing destructive interests, and their affiliations are suspicious,” he added.

In the same context, Leader of Asaib Ahl al-Haq Movement, Qais al-Khazali, said the United States does not intend to withdraw its forces from Iraq, stressing that the cost of continued presence of American forces in the country will be heavy.

“US overflights in Iraq are aimed at espionage purposes. Baghdad-Washington negotiations will not result in the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. This is just a deception game,” he added.

Khazali described the Iraqi government’s negotiations with the United States and the agreement purportedly ending the US combat mission in Iraq by the end of 2021 as “deceptive” and “bogus.”

He said the agreement does not explicitly state the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq, and fails short of addressing the violation of the Iraqi airspace by US military aircraft.

“The agreement has simply been struck in order to change the title of US forces. This is what we had earlier reported about. US overflights in Iraq are being carried out to spy on resistance groups. Our demand concerning the pullout of foreign military forces is legitimate,” Khazali said.

US President Joe Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Monday sealed an agreement formally ending the US combat mission in Iraq by the end of the current year, more than 18 years after US troops were sent to the Arab country.

Under the agreement, however, US military forces will continue to operate in Iraq in what has been termed as an “advisory role.”

A joint Iraq-US statement issued after the meeting said the “security” relationship will be focused on “training, advising and intelligence-sharing.”

Speaking to reporters following the White House meeting, Biden claimed that the US would continue to “train, to assist, to help and to deal with Daesh [the Arabic acronym for terrorist ‘ISIS/ISIL’ group] as it arises,” when the combat mission comes to an end.

The US currently has about 2,500 troops in Iraq. It is not known how many troops will stay in the country beyond 2021. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said “the numbers will be driven by what is needed for the mission over time.”

Anti-US sentiment has been growing in Iraq since the assassination in January 2020 of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Units, along with the region’s legendary anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.

They were targeted along with their companions on January 3, 2020 in a drone strike authorized by former US president Donald Trump near Baghdad International Airport.

Two days after the attack, Iraqi lawmakers approved a bill that requires the government to end the presence of all foreign military forces led by the US.

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PMU Faction Says US Responsible for Massacre of Iraqis in Daesh Bombing

July 21, 2021 

By Staff, Agencies

The leader of Iraq’s Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq resistance movement, which operates under the command of Popular Mobilization Units [PMU], has held the United States responsible for the loss of dozens of lives in a deadly Baghdad bombing claimed by the Daesh terror group, which he described as a creation of the US, “Israel” and their Gulf allies.

Qais al-Khazali said in a statement on Tuesday that political motives lie behind the bloody carnage in the bustling Woheilat market of Baghdad’s eastern neighborhood of Sadr City a day earlier.

He said the terror attack tooisraek place on the eve of Eid al-Adha [Feast of Sacrifice] and as Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi prepares to visit Washington within the next few days.

“The United States is seeking justification for its overstay in Iraq through the presence of Daesh [Arabic acronym for ‘ISIS’ / ‘ISIL’] terrorists. Everyone knows that Daesh was created by the US, the “Israeli” regime and certain Gulf Arab states, and their intelligence services are in control of the group,” Khazali said.

The Iraqi PMU leader said the United States is behind the upsurge in Wahhabi Daesh terror attacks, adding that Washington is responsible for the massacre of Iraqi people and its crimes will be responded appropriately.

He added that some individuals are complicit in aiding and abetting terrorist elements to carry out the market bombing.

A bomber killed at least 35 people and wounded dozens in a crowded market in the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad on Monday night. More than 60 people were wounded.

The Daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Hospital sources said the death toll could rise as some of the wounded are in critical condition.

The Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq resistance movement, in a separate statement, strongly criticized the performance of Kadhimi’s government and Iraqi security forces in response to the market blast in Baghdad.

“We call on the government to take immediate actions to stop criminal acts,” the group said.

The movement stressed that Kadhimi, who is also the commander-in-chief of Iraqi Armed Forces, in addition to security forces are primarily responsible for the occurrence of such bombings.

Asking for an inquiry into the failure to prevent the tragedy, Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq said intelligence measures and pre-emptive operations should be taken to destroy terrorist lairs.

The anti-terror movement also stressed that the Popular Mobilization Units, better known by the Arabic word Hashd al-Shaabi, should be given a greater role to guarantee security and that their experiences should be used.

Backed by the PMU, Iraq put an end to Daesh’s territorial rule on its soil in late 2017, more than three years after the terror group emerged in the Arab country and captured swaths of land in its western and northern parts.

However, Daesh sleeper cells have continued to launch terror attacks against security forces and civilians from time to time.

The latest bombing, one of the largest since the victory against Daesh, signaled a rise in the strength of the remaining terrorists in Iraq, which are widely believed to have the support of the United States.

• Terrorism Rocks Iraq: Suicide Attack in Sadr City Kills At Least 35, Wounds Dozens
• Iraqi Forces Hunts down Daesh Drone, Destroys Four Terror Strongholds
• US Foreign Combat Forces ‘Not Needed’ In Iraq – PM
• Iraqi Security Arrests Head of ISIS in Baghdad, a Blow to the Pentagon

Kata’ib Hezbollah: Saudi Intelligence Behind Electricity Pylon Sabotage in Iraq

7 Jul 2021

Source: Al-Mayadeen

Hezbollah-Iraq: Government investigations will be under great pressure to hide the true saboteurs

Kata’ib Hezbollah confirms that it possesses irrefutable evidence pointing to the role of Saudi intelligence behind the sabotage of electricity pylons in Iraq, doing so to stir chaos and make use of ISIS fighters.

Kata’ib Hezbollah (Hezbollah Brigades) announced that it has confirmed “with irrefutable evidence that Saudi intelligence is behind the sabotage of electricity pylons in Iraq,” noting that government investigations “will be under a great deal of pressure so as to not reveal the true culprit behind the sabotage.”

The movement added that “by sabotaging the electricity pylons, Saudi Arabia seeks to create chaos and ‘recycle’ “ISIS” terrorists,” accusing Riyadh of planning to present itself as a “savior to improve its criminal image before the Iraqi people.”

Two days ago, a force of the PMU’s “25th Brigade” had foiled attempts by ISIS to blow up electricity pylons south of Nineveh province.

During the operation, the force was able to find three locally manufactured bombs that were set to be used to blow up pylons in the area.

The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity had also earlier said that a terror attack targeted the Salaheddin thermal plant in Samarra in late June. The attack was done using two explosive devices, causing great material damage to the facility.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack that targeted a pylon and a main power line that feeds into areas in Bakouba and Baghdad.

Iraq’s Hezbollah: ‘We have entered Quds equation announced by Nasrallah’: Report

June 19, 2021

Description:

A news article reports that Iraq’s Kata’ib Hezbollah (Hezbollah Brigades) group – a key component of Iraq’s Hashed al-Shaabi – has pledged to be a part of the regional military equation recently put forward by the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Nasrallah had stated that the ‘Resistance Axis’ is currently working to establish an equation whereby future Israeli attacks against al-Quds (Jerusalem) and the ‘Muslim and Christian sanctities’ in the city will trigger a regional war with the Axis.

The ‘Resistance Axis’ broadly refers to a strategic anti-Israel/anti-US imperialist alliance composed of, but not limited to, Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, Iraq’s Hashed al-Shaabi, Yemen’s Ansarullah, and various Palestinian armed factions.

Source: Al-Mayadeen TV (Website)

Date: June 16, 2021

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Translation:

(Article):

“Iraq’s Hezbollah”: We have entered the equation of deterrence aimed at defending al-Quds which Sayyed Nasrallah had announced

Iraq’s Hezbollah Brigades resistance group issued a statement saying that “the savagery of the Zionists was not limited to the innocent Palestinians, but has reached the whole region”.

Iraq’s Hezbollah Brigades announced today (Wednesday) that “the Zionist entity has tried, over the past decades, to impose a security equation in which it confronts any power that threatens (the existence of) its entity inside and outside the occupied Palestinian territory”. (The statement) stressed that it has “entered the equation of deterrence aimed at defending al-Quds that Sayyed (Hassan) Nasrallah had announced”.

The Hezbollah Brigades also said in its statement that “the (Zionist) entity allowed itself to attack, taking advantage of the support of the US and that of its allied traitorous rulers (in the region),” reaffirming that (Israel) has committed major crimes against the peoples of the region, including Iraq, which it has struck with multiple raids, and is still threatening to do more against its people. 

It pointed out that “the savagery of the Zionists was not limited to the innocent Palestinians, but has reached the whole region”.

Iraq’s Hezbollah Brigades revealed that “Israel” assassinated leaders and fighters who were deployed to fight the criminal ISIS, considering that “this is what puts the free Iraqis before the choice of defending their people and sanctities, especially al-Aqsa Mosque”. 

It also pointed out that “the peoples of the region are now convinced that they will not be safe with the presence of this (Israeli) enemy,” stressing that “Iraq’s Hezbollah Brigades affirms its pledge to preserve the sanctities and never falter to defend it”.

The Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip and occupied al-Quds continue, as Israeli aircraft shelled today at dawn several resistance positions in Gaza, including “Quraysh” and “Yarmouk”. The occupation army claimed that the raids were a response to the release of incendiary balloons from the Strip, which sparked fires in the adjacent settlements.

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US Launches Heavy Attack on Kataib Hezbollah in Eastern Syria

Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on FEBRUARY 26, 2021

Leith Aboufadel
BEIRUT, LEBANON (1:00 P.M.) – The U.S. Coalition carried out heavy strikes over eastern Syria on Thursday evening, targeting a number of Iraqi paramilitary personnel near the border city of Albukamal. According to reports from eastern Syria, the U.S. Coalition targeted the troops of Kata’ib Hezbollah at a base near the Iraqi border; this resulted in heavy damage to the installation.

The number of casualties from the U.S. strikes is still unknown at this time, as Kata’ib Hezbollah has not released any figures regarding their losses.

The attack was the first carried out by the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden since he took office on January 21st, 2021.

The Biden administration said the attack on Thursday night was carried out in retaliation for a rocket attack in Iraq that killed one American contractor.

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