The Iranian regime is providing Iraq with up to $10 billion worth of weapons to fight Islamic State terrorists – as a pretext for extending its meddling in its neighbour’s affairs, Mr. Abdulrahman Al-Rashed says.
But Iraq will come to resent the regime’s influence when it finds it is forced to yield to Tehran’s domination over their internal politics, Abdulrahman Al-Rashed, general manager of Al-Arabiya television, predicted.
Writing in leading Arab daily Asharq Al-Awsat, he said: “A recent Associated Press report investigated Iran’s growing domination of Iraq under the cover of supporting it against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) organization.
“According to the sources quoted in the report, the Iranians have sold Iraq nearly 10 billion US dollars’ worth of weapons to fight the terrorists with. Although these shipments include Kalashnikov rifles, rocket launchers, and ammunition, the actual value of this weaponry may not exceed 50 million dollars.
“The Iraqis, who are currently overjoyed with this Iranian support, will in the future end up complaining about Tehran’s domination over them. They will complain that they cannot freely take decisions according to their national interests. Iraq will then become submissive to Iran due to the latter’s increased political and security influence.
“Iraq, too, will become an Iranian farm which Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, politicians, mediators and brokers exploit. Iraqis then will find problems coming from Iran increasing by the year, just like what happened to the Lebanese people who brought the Syrians into their country only to find out later that the chaos and violence of Palestinian militias were less than that caused by the Syrian army.
“The Iranian regime will go as far as to humiliate the Iraqis after claiming credit for protecting Baghdad from an ISIS invasion.”
Shi’ite leaders in Iraq would pay the highest price for the Iranian presence because Iranian influence will remain limited in Sunni areas, Mr Al-Rashad said.
Iran will empower Shi’ite extremists over moderates and other peaceful Shi’ite and Sunni political parties, he explained.
He added: “If Iraqis remain silent over the Iranian regime’s incursion into their lives, they will suffer the oppression and cruelty which the Iranian people themselves are suffering from.
“In the end, the Iraqis will view the Iranians as an occupying force and they will fight and expel them from Iraq just like their Mongols, the British, and the Americans.
“On the other hand, it may be in the interest of other countries for Iran to be sucked into a quagmire in Iraq and clash with Arab Sunni powers and with Arab Shi’ite powers later.”
The Iranian regime had avoided direct military confrontations outside its own borders in the past 30 years, using regional proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, and the Houthis in Yemen—to defend its agendas, he said.
But he stressed: “The entrance of Iran’s forces into Iraq and of its militias into Syria shows another side of Tehran and marks a new advanced phase of the struggle in the region.”