The situation in the Middle East is fast transitioning into a new alignment, and as the countries make new alliances, Iran and its proxies find themselves on the losing end. This is most aptly visible in Iraq where the government’s efforts to enhance the country’s democratic capacities and decrease the influence of the destabilising Iranian proxies. These developments have led to Iran taking rash and irresponsible decisions, be it the attempt to create a civil war-like situation or now the attempt on the life of the Prime Minister of Iraq.
Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, Iraq’s Prime Minister, has stated that the country’s authorities are aware of the names of individuals who carried out an attack against him early Sunday and have promised that they will be captured soon. “The perpetrators of yesterday’s crime will be pursued. We know who they are and will expose them”, according to a statement released by the prime minister’s office. He added, “There are those who are trying to tamper with Iraq’s security and want it to be a gang state, but we will not let this happen.” The Iranian attempts to undermine the democratic infrastructure and the government has taken an ugly turn as Iran tries to assassinate Iraq’s Prime Minister.
Situation in Iraq
Just recently, government forces and followers of political parties engaged in significant violent clashes. On Friday, police sources and health workers claimed, clashes in Baghdad between Iraqi security forces and supporters of parties protesting the results of an October general election injured more than two dozen persons.
It was the first major violent fight between government troops and supporters of political parties, the majority of which have armed wings and are allied with Iran, since such parties lost dozens of parliament seats during the Oct. 10 election. These developments tell us how the situation in Iraq is changing and how the Iranian influence is dying a slow death. In such a situation, the Iranian proxies and the Iranian leadership are making desperate attempts to regain some semblance of influence in the country.
The populist Shi’ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who vocally opposes Iranian meddling in Iraqi politics and has asked for all remaining Western soldiers to leave the country, was among the top gainers in Iraq’s October election. The Iran-backed factions contesting the election results are Shi’ites as well, but they follow an Iranian form of theocratic administration, which Sadr and many ordinary Iraqi Shi’ites reject. In the face of these developments, the Iranian regime is finding itself being pushed out of Iraq. And in its desperation, Iran has launched an all-out offensive against the Iraqi government, which has taken an ugly turn as Iran has tried to assassinate Iraq’s PM.
Attempted Assassination
Certain forces in Iraq, according to Al-Kadhimi, are against the country’s continuous stride towards democracy and the fight against corruption. He emphasized, “We were able to keep Iraq from becoming embroiled in a regional conflict and bring the country to safety. We have fought corruption and will continue to do so in the future. They will not be able to evade the law.”
In the early hours of Sunday, an assassination attempt was made against Iraq’s prime minister. Bomb-laden drones struck Al-Kadhimi’s home in Baghdad’s strict security Green Zone, which houses international embassies and government buildings. Al-Kadhimi claimed on Twitter that he was unharmed. The drones were launched from Baghdad’s northern suburb, around 10 kilometres away from the “green zone,” according to Al-Arabiya television. The incident left at least seven individuals injured.
While the attempt was to assassinate the Iraqi Prime Minister, Iran has, in turn, committed a geopolitical harakiri. In an unprecedented development in September, over 300 prominent Iraqis called on their government to join the Abraham Accords and forge closer ties with Israel. And with such actions by Iran, Iraq is sure to accelerate its movement towards the Arab nations and Israel, bringing an end to Iranian shenanigans.