| Raymond Tanter | January 25th 2010 |
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| Mahmoud Ahmadinejad |
Since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Iran has sought to dominate Iraq politically, economically, and militarily. The most recent and visible manifestation of Iran’s meddling with its neighbor was the late December 2009 seizure of a portion of the remote Fakka oil field in Maysan Province in southeastern Iraq; although the Iranians, however, withdrew after three days, the seizure made it clear that Tehran has the capability to enforce its will on Baghdad. Also, there is the threat of suicide bombing in Iraq by foreign Arabs; in addition to Syria—Iran’s only Arab ally—Iran itself has become another entry point for foreign suicide bombers to enter Iraq, e.g., for Arabs entering Iraq from Afghanistan.
Political Threats
Despite promises to the United States not to do so if Washington took action against the main political opposition to Tehran based in Iraq, thousands of Iranian-sponsored clerics crossed into Iraq from Iran. They carried books, compact discs, and audiotapes that promoted the Iranian version of militant Islam in spring 2003, following Operation Iraqi Freedom. Furthermore, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Qods (Jerusalem) Force established and continues to support armed underground cells across the Shiite southern region of Iraq, using the humanitarian organization, the Iranian Red Crescent, as a front.
The Jerusalem Force has medical centers and local charities in Najaf, Baghdad, Hillah, Basra, and Amarah to gain support from the local population. Even as Tehran began to send Iranian operatives into post-Saddam Iraq, members of what has become Iraqi Hezbollah infiltrated the country. Because most of Iraqi Hezbollah’s members are Arab, they constitute an even more effective Iranian proxy in Iraq than Farsi-speaking Iranian agents trained in Arabic.
Tehran tasked Iraqi Hezbollah with sending agents>>>


