By: Reza Shafa
What role do Hezbollah and other Qods Force’s protégés play in Iraq?
One should not overlook the role Qods Force’s proxies play in its bloody campaign against the Iraqi people in that country. It is no doubt a battle for survival for those national forces who want to salvage Iraq from the devastating outcome of a hidden occupation by the mullahs’ regime and its different proxies, now called by the US "Special Groups," under the Qods Force command in Iraq.
Commander of Lebanon Garrison of the IRGC leading terror networks in Iraq
Brigadier General Abtahi, one of the Qods Force’s veteran officers who spent years in Lebanon as a high ranking officer of the IRGC-QF in Lebanon, has emerged with a fresh task of commanding the special terror groups in Iraq since summer of 2006. He has been chosen by the Qods Force for the job because of his valuable experience in turning Lebanese Hezbollah into a potent force carrying out the Iranian regime’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s orders in southern Lebanon.
Following the downfall of Iraq’s former government in spring of 2003, Abtahi was assigned by the Qods Force to Iraq when Brig. Gen. Rabii took over from him the operations in Lebanon. He then entirely concentrated on Iraq using Mobin Organization as cover for his terrorist activities in the country.
Fajr tactical base in Ahwaz
It was setup in the southwestern city of Ahwaz in Iran by the Qods Force to provide logistic support for its terrorist operations in southern Iraq. All contacts with Iraqi terror groups are made possible through Fajr tactical base of the Qods Force. Fajr’s main headquarters is located in the populated area of Chahar-Shir Square in Ahwaz. Abtahi enjoys the support of a number of most experienced Qods Force officers on Iraq in the Fajr base.
Iraqi Hezbollah
The Qods Force in Iraq runs a number of terrorist networks such as Fifteenth of Shaban, Seyed-ol-Shohada, and Hezbollah among others. The most effective one however is Iraqi Hezbollah.
This organization initially started off in two major Iraqi cities of Baghdad and Basra; as a carbon copy of the Lebanese Hezbollah. Its new members routinely train in the capital for the nation’s north and mid sections and in Basra for the southern regions of the country. Arms, supplies, and trainers for the newly formed terrorist organization, as it is expected, come from neighboring Iran.
Most of the logistic support pours in from a narrow border passage between the two countries called Shalamcheh in the outskirts of the southwestern city of Khorramshahr. The rough terrains and a flat piece of land dividing the territories of Iran and Iraq, with hardly any geographical demarcations, make only the aborigines comfortable to cross the international borders at night. Something the Qods Force makes use of abundantly to supply its proxies such as Iraqi Hezbollah.
Commanders of Hezbollah from Iraq are dispatched to receive their military trainings and intelligence gathering courses in Iran. Such training sessions have between 30 to 50 beginners and last 30 days. They first arrive in Fajr tactical base in Ahwaz and then continue their way up north to Tehran.
Jamal Jafar Mohammad Ali Al-Ibrahimi a.k.a. Mehdi Mohandess is Abtahi’s deputy in Iraq.
Who is Mehdi Mohandess?
Jamal Jafar Mohammad Ali Al-Ibrahimi with his Iranian identity, Jamal Ibrahimi, is one of the most ruthless veteran officers of the IRGC with long track record in terrorism across the Middle East, in particular Kuwait. He is wanted by the Interpol for the deadly explosions of American and British embassies in Kuwait in 1984.
Currently he is a member of the Iraqi National Assembly from Babel Province in southern Iraq. However, in fear of his real identity being revealed in Iraq, Mehdi Mohandess went into hiding not showing up for the parliament’s sessions. But his role in directing the terrorist activities has not been abated.
Final word
What we have said so far is only a drop in the ocean so far as the role of the IRGC-Qods Force is concerned in Iraq. Khomeini is long gone but the legacy is alive in the regime he left behind; to setup an Islamic Empire. After nearly three decades, Iraq has not lost its geopolitical importance in the eyes of his successors. The clerics in Tehran will do virtually anything to keep their grip on the country since they see it as the last opportunity to fulfill their mentor’s dream of building a duplicate system to that of 18 and 19 century Ottoman Empire with Iran as its epicenter. It is up to the rest of the world to pay a price to stop it; that is to follow a firm stance against it to guarantee a renewed calm in Iraq and a log lasting peace in the Middle East and the world.
——
Reza Shafa is an expert on the Iranian regime’s intelligence networks, both in Iran and abroad. He has done extensive research on VAVAK (MOIS), IRGC’s Intelligence Office, and Quds Force among others. Currently he is a contributor to NCRI website.