Iran’s Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani (علی شمخانی) made a high profile trip to Iraq in March. It is seen as Iran’s attempt to shore up Iranian influence in Baghdad in the wake of the US targeted killing of IRGC Quds Force head Qasem Soleimani on January 3.
Iranian media and regional Arabic media, including Tasnim, Al-Ain and others, have reported the trip and provided roughly similar explanations for its importance. While the main news of Shamkhani’s trip appears to be an attempt to coordinate more pressure on the US to leave, part of the “countdown” that Iranian media and pro-Iranian voices in Iraq have mentioned, the larger context is more complex…
To read more visit MECRA.
