Farsi-speaking Iranians, not Iraqi
forces, have been shooting at people during Iraq’s recent deadly protests,
according to a protester interviewed in Baghdad by Reuters.
“There is no work, you come to protest, they
fire at you. Live gunfire. They are all Iranian speaking in Farsi. You want to
speak to them they answer in Farsi. The Iraqis would not fire at you,” an
unnamed Iraqi protester told Reuters in a video published on Thursday.
Anti-government protests in Iraq,
which began over unemployment and poor services but have escalated into calls
for a change of government, have been met with live fire. Over three days of
protests, 33 people have been killed and more than 600 wounded.
The mostly leaderless protests
have been concentrated in Baghdad and in predominantly Shiite areas of southern
Iraq. Demonstrators defied a curfew imposed by security forces on Thursday and
continued to protest.
Protestors have been reportedly
been shouting slogans against Iran for supporting Shiite militias and groups
who have a stranglehold on Iraq’s politics.
Iran is influential in Iraq,
including military personnel on the ground. Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul
Mahdi is a former member of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, a Shiite
political party with close ties to Iran.
Many of the Popular Mobilization
Units (PMU) militias are loyal to Iran, and the PMU’s deputy commander Jamal
Jaafar al-Ibrahimi – known by his nom de guerre Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes – is a
key Iranian ally. Mohandes is also the leader of Katai’b Hezbollah, the
terrorist organization accused of attacking Saudi Arabian oil pipelines in May.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps (IRGC) is also influential in Iraq. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of
the IRGC’s Quds Force, has repeatedly travelled to Iraq in violation of UNSCR
2231, which established a travel ban as part of the Iran nuclear deal.
Last week, Iran’s ambassador to
Iraq said that his country would not hesitate to attack US forces in Iraq if
the US or its allies struck Iran, following the September 14 attacks on Saudi
Aramco oil facilities which have been widely attributed to Iran.
As Tehran is increasingly isolated
due to the US’ “maximum pressure” policy, Iran has also tried to use Iraqi
companies to bypass US sanctions.
The protests in Iraq have
continued into their fourth day. On Friday, protestors were again fired upon
after they defied Prime Minister Abdul Mahdi’s earlier call for them to
disperse.
