Special Dispatch - Iran/Iraq
April 9, 2004 No. 692
http://www.memri.org/bin/opener_latest.cgi?ID=SD69204
Iran's Role in the Recent Uprising in Iraq
Reports in the Arabic media reveal the role of Iran in
the current disturbances in Iraq initiated by Moqtada
Al-Sadr and his followers. The following are excerpts
from articles in this week's Arab press:
Iran's Growing Presence in Iraq's Political, Security,
Economic, & Religious Spheres
On April 6, the London Arabic daily Al-Hayat(1)
discussed recent Iranian activity in Iraq: "In the last
2 days, there has been repeated talk in the Governing
Council of Iraq about the major Iranian role in the
events that took place in the Iraqi Shi'ite cities.
"The direct Iranian presence in the Shi'ite areas of
Iraq in the political, security, and economic affairs
can not be ignored anymore. This presence is
accompanied by a vigorous Iranian effort to create
bridges with different forces in Iraq; first, by
material and logistic aid to parties other than the
Shi'a, and secondly through the traditional Iranian
influence in the religious seminaries [hawza] and in
the Marja'iya [religious Shi'a authorities] institutions.
"A member of the Governing Council told Al-Hayat that
the Iranians have recently managed to activate a known
Marja' [a Shi'a cleric regarded as a religious
authority], Kazem Al-Ha'iri,
who lives in the city of Qum in Iran, and is known to
be close to Al-Sadr's movement, and was regarded as an
heir to Ayatollah Muhammad Sadeq Al-Sadr.(2)
"Iraqi security sources say that the escalation erupted
after an American decision to oust Hassan Kazemi Qumi,
the recently appointed chief Iranian agent in Iraq, who
is an officer in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards...
The sources connected the ousting of Qumi with Moqtada
Al-Sadr's statements that his movement is an extension
of the Lebanese Hizbullah and of
Hamas... Sources said that the visit of an assistant of
Moqtada Al-Sadr to Fallujah before the last uprising
and Al-Sadr's statement that his movement is an
extension of Hamas were both messages to his new allies
among the Iraqi Sunnis.
"It may well be that the Iranians, who apparently have
influence in more than one sphere in Iraq, have
intervened to reconcile the inner Shi'ite struggle for
power. They intervened when Moqtada Al-Sadr sought to
take control of the Husseini circle in Karbala, an
attempt that the followers of Ayatollah Al-Sistani
objected to. The Iranians worked out an arrangement
under which large sums of money were sent to
institutions belonging to Al-Sadr's family, which
placated Al-Sadr, and satisfied him with controlling
the Al-Kufa mosque only."
Iranian Defector Claims Iran Spends $70 Million a Month
on Activity in Iraq
The London Arabic-Language Daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat(3)
quoted extensively the former Iranian intelligence
official in charge of activities in Iraq, identified as
Haj Sa'idi, who recently defected from Iran:
"Haj Sa'idi told Al-Sharq Al-Awsat that the Iranian
presence in Iraq is not limited to the Shi'ite cities.
Rather, it is spread throughout Iraq, from Zakho in the
north to Umm Al-Qasr in the south, and the infiltration
of Iranian Revolutionary Guards and the Al-Quds Army
into Iraq began long before the war, through hundreds
of Iranian intelligence agents, amongst them Iraqi
refugees who were expelled by Saddam Hussein in the
1970's and 1980's to Iran, allegedly because of their
Iranian origin, and who infiltrated back into Iraq
through the Kurdish areas that were out of the Iraqi
Ba'th government control.
"After the war, the Iranian intelligence sent its
agents through the uncontrolled Iraq-Iran border; some
of them as students and clerics, and others as
belonging to the Shi'ite militias.
"Haj Sa'idi said that the assassination last summer of
Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir Al-Hakim, who headed the
Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq
(SCIRI), was a successful operation carried out by the
intelligence unit of the Iranian Al-Quds Army. He also
revealed that there was a failed attempt on the life of
the highest Shi'ite Marja, Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, at
the Eid Al-Adha holiday last year, and that there was
another plan to assassinate Ayatollah Ishaq Al-Fayadh.
"Haj Sa'idi claimed that some of the Iranian
intelligence officers in Iraq are known to everybody,
for example in Al-Suleimaniya and Derebendikhan in the
north. However, he said, the real threat comes not from
the officers that are known, but from those that are
unknown. Amongst them are 18 Shi'ite charities in
Kazimiya, in Al-Sadr city in Baghdad, in Karbala,
Najaf, Kufa, Nasiriyah, Basra, and other cities with a
large Shi'ite majority. In those offices, new agents
are recruited every day, under the guise of financial
aid, medicine, food, and clothing for the poor.
"Haj Sa'idi said that the Iranian plan to turn Iraq
into another Iran is a wide-ranging plan, and it
involves the recruitment of thousands of young Shi'ites
for the next stage, which will take place with the
[first] parliamentary elections in Iraq. Those
recruited now are supposed to enlist their relatives to
vote for candidates that will be endorsed by the
Iranian intelligence apparatuses.
"Haj Sa'idi also mentioned that more than 300 reporters
and technicians who are working now in Iraq for
television and radio networks, newspapers, and other
media agencies are in fact members of the Al-Quds Army
and the Revolutionary Guards intelligence units.
"He also mentioned that the Iranian money allocations
for activities in Iraq, both covert and overt, reached
$70 million per month. He claimed that 2,700 apartments
and rooms were rented in Karbala and Najaf, in order to
serve agents of the Al-Quds Army and the Revolutionary
Guards.
"Haj Sa'idi added that the attempt by the Kurdish
authorities in northern Iraq to act against the Iranian
activities there prompted a reaction by the Iranian
Revolutionary Guards to incite the Turkmeni Shi'ites in
the region against the Kurds. He claimed that many
Turkmen Shi'ite commanders traveled to Iran and got
huge financial support, as well as guarantees that Iran
will stand by them in case of clashes between them and
the Kurds."
Iran Sets Up 3 Training Centers for the "Mehdi Army"
A source in the Quds Army of the Iranian Revolutionary
Guard revealed to Al-Sharq
Al-Awsat(4) information relating to the construction of
three camps and training centers on the Iranian-Iraqi
borders to train elements of the "Mehdi Army" founded
by Muqtada Al-Sadr. The source estimated that about
800-1,200 young supporters of Al-Sadr have received
military training including guerilla warfare, the
production of bombs and explosives, the use of small
arms, reconnoitering and espionage. The three camps
were located in Qasr Shireen, 'Ilam, and Hamid,
bordering southern Iraq which is inhabited largely by
Shi'a Muslims.
The newspaper also reported that the Iranian Embassy in
Baghdad has recently distributed
400 satellite phones to supporters of Al-Sadr and to
clerics and students at the A'thamiyya
district of Baghdad, Al-Sadr City, and the holy city of
Najaf, all of which are inhabited
predominantly by Shi'a Muslims.
The Iranian source, known in Iraq as "Abu Hayder"
confirmed that the intelligence service of
the Revolutionary Guard has introduced to the Shi'a
cities radio and TV broadcasting
facilities which are used by Al-Sadr and his
supporters.
During his recent visit to Iran, Al-Sadr met with
Hashemi Rafsanjani, head of the Expediency Council as
well as the head of the revolutionary guard
intelligence, Murtadha Radha'i, and the commander of
the Al-Quds Army responsible for Iraqi affairs, Brig.
General Qassim Suleimani and other government and
religious leaders.
The source estimated the financial support to Al-Sadr
in recent months have exceeded $80
million, in addition to the cost of training, equipment
and clothing of his supporters.
The source indicated that elements of the Al-Quds Army
and the Revolutionary Guard
Intelligence lead many of the operations directed
against the coalition forces. These
elements are also leading a campaign against the senior
Shi'a clerics such as the Grand
Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, Hussein Al-Sadr [Muqtada's
uncle], Ishaq Al-Fayadh and others
because of their opposition to the concept of "the Rule
of the Jurist" [Wilayat Al-Faqih] which is Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini's style of government.
Endnotes:
(1) Al-Hayat (London), April 6, 2004.
(2) He was assassinated by the Iraqi Ba'ath regime, and
according to sources was executed by
Saddam Hussein himself in 1980.
(3) Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), April 3, 2004.
(4) Al-Sharq Al-Aswat (London), April 9, 2004.
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LP
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