The head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, visited Baghdad and held talks with political and militia leaders amid unresolved negotiations over who should be the next Iraqi prime minister, a source told Iraqi outlet Shafaq News on Saturday.
This would represent Qaani’s first visit outside of Iran since Operation Roaring Lion began on February 28. According to Agence France-Presse, Qaani’s visit began on April 8.
Qaani, whose Quds Force is the main backer of the Shi’ite militias, met first with militia leaders before separately meeting with leaders of the Shi’ite Coordination Framework, which is a coalition of pro-Iran Shi’ite parties that forms the largest bloc within Baghdad’s parliament.
According to Shafaq’s source, Qaani was attempting to reach an agreement on a consensus candidate to nominate as the prime minister.
Discussions also included the future of the terror militias, including proposals to integrate them into state security institutions and separate political and armed wings, Shafaq reported.
The coordination framework initially sought to support Nouri al-Maliki as prime minister following January’s elections, but US President Donald Trump emphasized at the time that his return to power would lead Washington to cut off aid.
Maliki served as prime minister from 2006 until 2014, as well as two periods as vice president, from September 2014 until August 2015, and October 2016 until October 2018, respectively.
The US Treasury Department also recently launched a round of sanctions and issued rewards against the Iran-backed Shi’ite militias in Iraq.
As part of Operation “Economic Fury,” the department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated “seven Iran-backed Iraqi militia commanders for planning, directing, and executing attacks against US personnel, facilities, and interests in Iraq.”
OFAC targeted individuals and leaders of some of Iraq’s most violent Iran-aligned militia organizations, including Kataib Hezbollah, Kataib Sayyid Al-Shuhada, Harakat Al-Nujaba, and Asaib Ahl Al-Haq.
A few days before, the State Department offered a USD 10m. reward for information on Kataib Hezbollah leader Ahmad al-Hamidawi.
Seth J. Frantzman contributed to this report.
Source:
www.jpost.com
