Iran Intelligence Minister in Iraq as militias continue striking US bases

Mahmoud Alavi, The Intelligence Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, met with Iraqi officials during his visit to Iraq this week.

In a meeting with Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohamed al-Halbousi on Wednesday evening, Alavi stressed “Iran’s support in all areas of the Iraqi nation and government.”

Alavi also met with Iraqi National Security Advisor Qassim al-Araji and President Barham Salih.

The Visit of the Minister of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Iraq comes days after the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps(IRGC) Intelligence Organization, visited the country.

Reuters quoted Iraqi sources as saying that Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had sent the head of the IRGC Intelligence Organization to Iraq last week to tell the country’s Shiite militias to continue striking US bases, until the full withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.

Iran-backed militias continued striking US bases, and American forces in Iraq and Syria were attacked several times following the visit by an Iranian delegation led by Revolutionary Guards intelligence chief Hossein Taeb, which came after deadly U.S. airstrikes against Iran-backed militias at the Syrian-Iraqi border on June 27.

Iran’s U.N. envoy this month denied U.S. accusations that Tehran supported attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria, and condemned U.S. airstrikes on Iranian-backed militants there.

The office of the Iraqi prime minister released a statement after the Iranian minister’s visit, saying President Joe Biden’s Special Coordinator for the Middle East has discussed advancing the process of withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq with the country’s leadership, but a senior Biden administration official has denied the claim.

Earlier, the former Minister of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic, said, “Iraq is not only part of Iran’s influence circle, but it is also part of Iran’s culture, identity, and capital, as in the distant past.”

Also read: Iran’s priorities clear once again with attempt to kidnap activists on U.S. soil

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