As the final hour of the December 31st legal deadline for the signing of the Status of Forces Agreement in Iraq draws closer, the mullahs effectively but secretly work to influence the outcome of this political and military development, which would determine the fate of millions of Iraqis.
In a rare interview with the Los Angeles Times on October 8, 2008, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, a seasoned member of the terrorist Qods Force (the extraterritorial arm of the mullahs’ Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps), who General David Petraeus also acknowledged is the Force’s commander, unveiled the regime’s nefarious intentions to be carried out by the IRGC and the fatal Qods Force. According to information revealed by the Iranian opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), there are over 32,000 paid agents of the Iranian regime operating in Iraq. For nearly two decades, some of these individuals have been serving the Iranian mullahs in Iraq through the Qods Force and its 9th Brigade Badr Force belonging to the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (formerly known as the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq).
Kazemi Qomi, seeking to cement a role for himself as the godfather of the Iraqi people, said in the interview: “The Iraqis were happy when Saddam [Hussein]'s regime was toppled, but because of the American behaviour and policies, Iraqis started to look at then in a negative way in spite being happy when the regime was toppled. They are upset because of the occupation … America occupied this country.”
“The Iraqi people and the Iraqi government look at the agreement as being imposed on them. . . . Others should not impose an agreement in which there is no interest for the government and Iraqi people,” Qomi added about the joint US-Iraqi security agreement.
He also sidelined questions about the Iranian regime’s continued meddling in Iraq’s internal affairs, saying, “These accusations are baseless. The Americans have no evidence. They have a political agenda.”
However, the most important question sidestepped by Kazemi Qomi involved the role of the Qods Force’s commander, Brig. Gen. Ghasem Soleimani, in Iraq’s affairs. In a futile attempt, Qomi tried to introduce Soleimani as a liaison with genuine humanitarian intentions, and shrewdly refused to provide a direct response about Soleimani’s role as the Qods Force commander. He claimed that Soleimani is “one of the Iranian officials, and he has responsibility for Iraqi affairs.”
“Iraqi leaders are always commenting on the positive role of this man, and he doesn't pay attention others words about him,” Kazemi Qomi added about Soleimani.
The role of Kazemi Qomi and Soleimani, both high-ranking officials of the Qods Force, in the assassinations of the regime’s political opponents abroad is no secret. The IRGC and the terrorist Qods Force have conducted more than 450 operations outside of Iran against Iranian dissidents. The PMOI has documented more than 200 of these operations alone that have been carried out against the opposition movement and its bases in Iraq.
The mullahs ruling Iran will never simply forego their ambitions for Iraq. So, as a Persian saying goes, to stop a snake one must target its head.
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Reza Shafa is an expert on the Iranian regime's Intelligence networks, both in Iran and abroad. He has done extensive research on Iranian Ministry of Information and Security (MOIS) also known as VEVAK, Intelligence Office of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Qods Force among others. Currently he is a contributor to NCRI website.