Iranian involvement in the Iraq War

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Location of the Republic of Iraq (orange) and the Islamic Republic of Iran (green) Iran Iraq Locator.svg
Location of the Republic of Iraq (orange) and the Islamic Republic of Iran (green)

The 2003 invasion of Iraq, which toppled Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and his Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, was the decisive event that allowed Iran to begin exerting an unprecedented level of influence on Iraqi politics. [1] Leveraging the fact that Shia Muslims account for the majority of the population in both countries, the Iranian government used Shia militias to serve Iran's interests during the Iraq War. [2] This culminated in Iran's involvement in the Iraqi insurgency, in which there were instances of Shia militants engaging the Multi-National Force in direct combat. [3] [4] Organizations that enjoyed large-scale Iranian support included the Mahdi Army of Muqtada al-Sadr, as well as Kata'ib Hezbollah, Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, and the Promised Day Brigade. Since 2007, the United States has employed a "kill or capture" strategy with regard to confronting Iranian operatives in the Iraqi conflict.

Contents

Background

Iran–United States relations

During a meeting with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw on 25 September 2001, Iranian president Muhammad Khatami said "Iran fully understands the feelings of the Americans about the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on September 11", and that Iranians instead felt differently and had expressed their sympathetic feelings with bereaved Americans. [5] The attacks were condemned by both the President and the Supreme Leader of Iran. [6] [7] The military forces of the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran cooperated with each other to overthrow the Taliban regime which had conflicts with the government of Iran. [8] [9] Iran's Quds Force helped US forces and Afghan rebels in 2001 uprising in Herat. [10]

Months later, in his 2002 State of the Union Address, US President George W. Bush described Iran as being part of an "axis of evil" alongside Iraq and North Korea. Both reformists and conservatives in Iran responded negatively to this characterization, with Masoumeh Ebtekar calling it a "strategic mistake" by the Bush administration. [11] Daniel Heradstveit and G. Matthew Bonham argued that the speech caused a reversal in friendly US–Iranian relations that had developed after the Cold War; the Iranian opposition figures they interviewed saw it as a "betrayal", and widely agreed that it was "a godsend to the conservatives", who favoured a more hostile and militant approach towards the United States. [9]

Several claims have been made that the US has violated Iranian territorial sovereignty through the use of drones since 2003. [12] [13]

Iran–Iraq relations

In September 1980, Iraq under Saddam Hussein launched an invasion of Iran in an unsuccessful attempt to annex oil-rich Iranian territory, [14] [15] : 261  marking the beginning of a war that would last until 1988. [16] The Iran–Iraq War is regarded as being a major trigger for rising sectarianism in the region, as it was viewed by many as a clash between Sunni Muslims (Ba'athist Iraq and other Arab States) [17] [18] [19] and the Shia revolutionaries that had taken power in Iran. [20]

In a declassified 1991 report, the CIA estimated that Iran had suffered more than 50,000 casualties from Iraq's use of several chemical weapons, [21] though modern estimates have reached more than 100,000, as the long-term effects continued to cause casualties; [22] [23] they also show that the United States was providing reconnaissance intelligence to Iraq around 1987–88, which was then used to launch chemical weapon attacks on Iranian troops, and that the CIA fully knew that chemical weapons would be deployed and sarin and cyclosarin attacks followed. [24] According to Iraqi documents, assistance in developing chemical weapons was obtained from firms in many countries, including the United States. [25]

In January 2002, one year before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, bilateral relations between Iran and Iraq improved significantly when an Iranian delegation, led by Amir Hussein Zamani, visited Iraq for final negotiations to resolve the conflict through talks on issues of prisoners of war and those who went missing in action during the Iran–Iraq War. [26]

Iran and the Iraqi insurgency

Iranian aid for Iraqi Shia militias

In the aftermath of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Iran supported Shi'ite insurgent groups dubbed the Special Groups in Iraq, which were made up by the Mahdi army, Kata'ib Hezbollah, Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, and the Promised Day Brigade. The U.S. used the Iraqi government to fight these insurgents as a result. [27] [28] [29] [30] A 2008 report by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point based on reports from the interrogations of dozens of captured Shia fighters described an Iranian-run network smuggling Shia fighters into Iran where they received training and weapons before returning to Iraq. [31] [32]

According to two unnamed US officials, the Pentagon is examining the possibility that the Karbala provincial headquarters raid was supported by Iranians. In a speech on 31 January 2007, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki stated that Iran was supporting attacks against Coalition forces in Iraq, [33] and some Iraqis suspect that the raid may have been perpetrated by the Quds Force in retaliation for the detention of five Iranian officials by US forces in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil on 11 January. [34] [35]

In 2007, tensions increased greatly between Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan due to the latter's giving sanctuary to the militant Kurdish secessionist group Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PEJAK). According to reports, Iran had been shelling PEJAK positions in Iraqi Kurdistan since 16 August. These tensions further increased with an alleged border incursion on 23 August by Iranian troops who attacked several Kurdish villages killing an unknown number of civilians and militants. [36]

Covert Iranian military involvement

An estimated 150 Iranian intelligence officers, plus members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, are believed to be active inside Iraq at any given time. For more than a year, U.S. troops have detained and recorded fingerprints, photographs, and DNA samples from dozens of suspected Iranian agents in a catch and release program designed to intimidate the Iranian leadership. [37]

Coalition forces also began to target alleged Iranian Quds Force operatives in Iraq, either arresting or killing suspected members. The Bush administration and coalition leaders began to publicly state that Iran was supplying weapons, particularly EFP devices, to Iraqi insurgents and militias although to date have failed to provide any proof for these allegations. Further sanctions on Iranian organizations were also announced by the Bush administration in the autumn of 2007. On 21 November 2007, Lieutenant General James Dubik, who is in charge of training Iraqi security forces, praised Iran for its "contribution to the reduction of violence" in Iraq by upholding its pledge to stop the flow of weapons, explosives, and training of extremists in Iraq. [38]

See also

Related Research Articles

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The Mahdi Army was an Iraqi Shia militia created by Muqtada al-Sadr in June 2003 and disbanded in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011)</span> Sectarian/anti-government warfare in American-occupied Iraq

An Iraqi insurgency began shortly after the 2003 American invasion deposed longtime leader Saddam Hussein. It is considered to have lasted until the end of the Iraq War and U.S. withdrawal in 2011. It was followed by a renewed insurgency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quds Force</span> Iranian special forces (established 1988)

The Quds Force is one of five branches of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) specializing in unconventional warfare and military intelligence operations. U.S. Army's Iraq War General Stanley McChrystal describes the Quds Force as an organization analogous to a combination of the CIA and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in the United States. Responsible for extraterritorial operations, the Quds Force supports non-state actors in many countries, including Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Houthi movement, and Shia militias in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. According to Michael Wigginton et al., the Al-Quds Force is "a classic example of state-sponsored terrorism."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iraq War</span> War in Iraq from 2003 to 2011

The Iraq War, sometimes called the Second Gulf War, was a protracted armed conflict in Iraq from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion of Iraq by the United States-led coalition that overthrew the Ba'athist government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict continued for much of the next decade as an insurgency emerged to oppose the coalition forces and the post-invasion Iraqi government. US troops were officially withdrawn in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1991 Iraqi uprisings</span> Anti-government uprisings in Baathist Iraq

The 1991 Iraqi uprisings were ethnic and religious uprisings against Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq that were led by Shia Arabs and Kurds. The uprisings lasted from March to April 1991 after a ceasefire following the end of the Gulf War. The mostly uncoordinated insurgency was fueled by the perception that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had become vulnerable to regime change. This perception of weakness was largely the result of the outcome of the Iran–Iraq War and the Gulf War, both of which occurred within a single decade and devastated the population and economy of Iraq.

The term militia in contemporary Iraq refers to armed groups that fight on behalf of or as part of the Iraqi government, the Mahdi Army and Badr Organization being two of the biggest. Many predate the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, but some have emerged since, such as the Facilities Protection Service. The 2003 invasion of Iraq by United States-led forces undermined the internal order in the country and brought about, among other things, the establishment of several pro-Iranian militias affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps's Quds Force. The militias were set up with the purpose of driving the U.S. and Coalition forces out of Iraq and establishing Iranian involvement in the country. Prominent among the militias are Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, Kata'ib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba.

The Karbala provincial headquarters raid was a special operation carried out on January 20, 2007, by the Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq against the U.S. contingent of the Joint Security Station, located within the Iraqi Police headquarters. The assault, which left five U.S. soldiers dead and three wounded, has been called the "boldest and most sophisticated attack in four years of warfare" and is furthermore notable for being one of the few instances when any sort of militants or insurgents have actually managed to capture U.S. soldiers since the Vietnam War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iran–United States relations after 1979</span> Overview of Iranian–American relations after the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran

Since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been embroiled in tense relations with the U.S. and its allies. Following the hostage crisis, both countries severed relations. Since then, both countries have been involved in numerous direct confrontations, diplomatic incidents, and proxy wars throughout the Middle East, which has caused the tense nature of the relationship between the two to be called an 'international crisis'. Both countries have often accused each other of breaking international law on several occasions. The U.S. has often accused Iran of sponsoring terrorism and of illegally maintaining a nuclear program, as well as using strong rhetoric against Israel, of which Iran has questioned its legitimacy and its right to exist while supporting Hamas, an antizionist terrorist group in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Iran has often accused the U.S. of human rights violations and of meddling in their affairs, especially within the Iranian Democracy Movement.

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Since the establishment of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps the organization has been involved in economic and military activities, some of them controversial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kata'ib Hezbollah</span> Shia Islamist paramilitary group in Iraq

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Akram Abbas al-Ka'abi is an Iraqi militant leader who is the founder and Secretary-General of Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba (HHN) in Iraq. Kaabi is a U.S.-designated terrorist who is regarded as one of the main operatives of IRGC's Quds Force in Iraq. He has been an ardent supporter and promoter of Iranian influence in Iraq while being the most outspoken critic of American military presence as he seeks to compel U.S. forces to withdraw completely from Iraq.

References

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  2. ↑ President's Address to the Nation, The White House, January 10, 2007. Retrieved February 1, 2007.
  3. ↑ "Operations By Iran's Military Mastermind – Business Insider". Business Insider. 9 July 2014.
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  7. ↑ Iran mourns America's dead Time
  8. ↑ "34 Years of Getting to No with Iran". Politico . Barbara Slavin. November 19, 2013. Permanent Archived Link. Permanent Archived Link at WebCite. Retrieved and archived on July 4, 2016.
  9. 1 2 Heradstveit, Daniel; Bonham, G. Matthew (2007). "What the Axis of Evil Metaphor Did to Iran". Middle East Journal. 61 (3): 421–440. ISSN   0026-3141.
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  13. ↑ Iran Protests U.S. Aerial Drones, November 8, 2005, The Washington Post
  14. ↑ Hiro, Dilip (2019-02-01). Cold War in the Islamic World: Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Struggle for Supremacy. Oxford University Press. p. 97. ISBN   978-0-19-005022-1.
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  17. ↑ Review, Catholic (2012-01-19). "Iraqi Christians were safer under Saddam". Archdiocese of Baltimore. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
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  21. ↑ Wright, Robin (2008). Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East . New York: Penguin Press. p.  438. ISBN   978-1-59420-111-0.
  22. ↑ Rajaee, Farhang, ed. (1993). The Iran-Iraq War: The Politics of Aggression. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. ISBN   978-0813011776.
  23. ↑ Bryant, Terry (2007). History's Greatest War (1st ed.). Chandni Chowk, Delhi: Global Media. ISBN   978-8189940638.
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  25. ↑ "Iraqi Scientist Reports on German, Other Help for Iraq Chemical Weapons Program". Federation of American Scientists. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
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  30. ↑ Dafna Linzer – Troops Authorized to Kill Iranian Operatives in Iraq Archived 12 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine – The Washington Post
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  32. ↑ "Combating Terrorism Center". Ctc.usma.edu. Archived from the original on 6 February 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
  33. ↑ "Al-Maliki: Iraq won't be battleground for U.S., Iran". CNN. 31 January 2007. Archived from the original on 2 February 2007. Retrieved 31 January 2007.
  34. ↑ "Iran involvement suspected in Karbala compound attack". CNN. 31 January 2007. Retrieved 31 January 2007.
  35. ↑ Baer, Robert (30 January 2007). "Are the Iranians Out for Revenge?". Time . Archived from the original on 2 February 2007. Retrieved 31 January 2007.
  36. ↑ Collins, Chris; Yaseen Taha (23 August 2007). "Iranians attack Kurdish rebels in Iraq". McClatchy Washington Bureau. Archived from the original on 3 July 2009.
  37. ↑ Dafna Linzer – Troops Authorized to Kill Iranian Operatives in Iraq Archived 12 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine – The Washington Post
  38. ↑ "US general says Iran helping stop Iraq bloodshed". Agence France-Presse. 21 November 2007. Archived from the original on 27 May 2013.
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