With the beginning of hostilities with Tehran on February 28, Washington’s long-sought goal of limiting Iran’s influence in Iraq has gained fresh impetus.
Since the Middle East war began at the end of February, Iranian-backed forces in Iraq have launched multiple strikes against US installations in the country.
The US has reacted against pro-Iranian militias, which have been blamed for the strikes, and has killed hundreds of their fighters.
By cutting off security aid and financial transfers of Iraqi oil income, Washington has pushed Baghdad to control the organisations, as it has troops stationed in Iraq since 2003 when it invaded to depose Saddam Hussein.
It is common practice to pay for Iraqi oil in US dollars, which are then either used to buy goods or sent to Iraq as hard currency.
A number of members of the Shia alliance known as the Coordination Framework, which is majority in Iraq’s parliament and includes some who are sponsored by Iran, have declared their support for a state monopoly on arms.
It further demanded that Iraqi political groups sever relations with the erstwhile paramilitaries of the Popular Mobilisation Forces, popularly known as Hashed al-Shaabi.
In 2014, the Iraqi government formed the paramilitary alliance Hashed to counter the Islamic State group’s fighters. Among them are many pro-Iran groups that maintain their independence.
disarming?
The Imam Ali Brigades and Asaib Ahl al-Haq are two of the most prominent organisations that have declared their intention to join the military.
The second group has 27 seats in parliament and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States. Since shifting its attention to politics, it has avoided getting involved in the ongoing conflict and has distanced itself from Iran.
The prominent Shia nationalist leader Moqtada al-Sadr has also declared the full integration of his armed group into the state, adding him to the roster of pro-Iran factions.
Those factions closest to Tehran that are opposed to disarmament include Kataeb Hezbollah, the al-Nujaba Movement, and the Sayyid al-Shuhada Brigades.
Nine of the twenty-three cabinet positions, including those of defence and interior minister, are still unfilled in Zaidi’s new administration.
The jobs will not be discussed by factions opposed to disarmament as long as foreign forces are deployed in northern Iraq.
The United States is sending troops to join the international coalition fighting the Islamic State. By September, their mission should have come to a close.
Implications for Syria and the United States
For a long time, Iraq has served as a staging ground for proxy conflicts between Iran and the US, with Baghdad attempting to maintain a delicate balance between its two important friends, who are also foes of each other.
The United States is worried about missiles and drones that could strike Israel, according to an Asaib Ahl al-Haq official who spoke to AFP.
According to an AFP source in the Coordination Framework, the Iraqi prime minister has been trying to win over Washington in the hopes of attracting investment from the United States.
According to Tamer Badawi, an Iraq analyst at the Royal United Services Institute in London, “Iran will not allow its local allied parties to be disarmed forcibly.” However, the US is eager to see tangible outcomes.
“Tehran wants its allies to buy as much time as they can,” he added.