7/18/2017 After the Defeat of ISIS in Mosul, Iran Prepares for Regional Domination

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After the Defeat of ISIS in Mosul,

Iran Prepares for Regional Domination
Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Dr. Shimon Shapira,
July 13, 2017
Filed Under: Iran,Iraq,Radical Islam,The Middle East

83

Institute for Contemporary Affairs

Founded jointly with the Wechsler Family Foundation

Vol. 17, No. 18

Nouri al-Maliki, a former Iraqi prime minister supported by Iran, has given much of the credit for the Mosul victory to an
umbrella group of mostly Shiite militias, many supported by Iran, which he formed in 2014. The commander of the
largest militia, the Popular Mobilization Forces, is Jamal al-Ibrahim, known by his nom de guerre Abu Mahdi al-
Muhandis.

Abu Mahdi is a former colleague of Hizbullah leader Imad Mughniya and a protg of Qassem Soleimani, the
commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Quds Force. Abu Mahdi escaped from a Kuwaiti prison in 1990 after he
was convicted and sentenced to death for bomb attacks on the American and French Embassies in Kuwait that killed
ve people.

Incredibly, he was elected to the Iraqi parliament in 2005 as a member of the Shiite coalition governing Iraq. When his
involvement in the Kuwaiti bombing became known, Abu Mahdi ed to Iran. He has now returned as a leader of the
Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces of Iraq.

The role played by the Shiite militias under Abu Mahdis command in liberating Mosul will have a strong impact on the
future of Iraq. Iran has virtually won control over Iraq, a key segment of the Shiite arc land route from Tehran, through
Iraq and Syria, to southern Lebanon and the Mediterranean.

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7/18/2017 After the Defeat of ISIS in Mosul, Iran Prepares for Regional Domination

Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Commander of the Popular Mobilization Force

When the Iraqi army liberated Mosul from ISIS this week, they were joined by
the Shiite militia, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), or in Arabic the Al-
Hashd Al-Shaabi. Leading the PMF is Jamal al-Ibrahim, known by his nom de
guerre Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

Born in 1954 to an Iraqi father and an Iranian mother, he established his

reputation in 1983 as the terrorist mastermind who planned bombing attacks
against the American and French Embassies in Kuwait. He was joined by
Mustafa Badar a-Din from Beirut, who had served as the operational deputy to
Imad Mughniya in the framework of Hizbullah. Though sentenced to death by
a Kuwaiti court, he sat in prison between 1983 and 1990.1 The motive of many
of the kidnappings of Westerners in Lebanon in those years was to obtain the
release of the Shiite prisoners in Kuwait, known as the Dawa 17.
The Popular Mobilization Forces logo
Mughniya, who was responsible for the kidnappings, was married to Badar a-
Dins sister, who pressed her husband to force the prisoners release. Iranian
intelligence operatives extracted him from a Kuwaiti prison after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Abu Mahdi was elected to
Parliament in 2005 as part of the Shiite coalition at the time. He also served as a security adviser to Iraqs rst post-Saddam
Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jafaari.

Already in 2003, Abu Mahdi was operating in Iraq under the orders of Irans Qassem Soleimani to build a violent resistance
to the American forces in Iraq. The Iranian Quds Force recruited instructors and advisors from Hizbullah in Lebanon.
Mughniya and Badar a-Din themselves were involved in organizing and training the Shiite cadres in Iraq who assisted Abu
Mahdi attacking U.S. forces.

Maj.-Gen. Qassem Soleimani (left) and Abu Mahdi (right).

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7/18/2017 After the Defeat of ISIS in Mosul, Iran Prepares for Regional Domination

After the American forces left Iraq, Abu Mahdi became a leader of the Iraqi Hizbullah, known as the Kataibb Hizbullah or
Hizbullah Brigades, which later morphed into the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).

In the Mosul campaign, Iranian military factories worked around the clock to arm the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF),
reported Asharq Al-Awsat, quoting Quds Force Commander Maj.-Gen.Qassem Soleimani. Soleimani added that with its
expertise, Lebanese Hizbullah helped the PMF and that it had lost many of its members ghting in Syria and Iraq.

The leading role taken by the Shiite militias under Abu Mahdis command in liberating Mosul will have a strong impact on
the future of Iraq. Irans Supreme Leader Khamenei made it clear to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi in his latest
meeting in Tehran that the PMF is an important and blessed phenomenon. According to Khamenei, these forces have an
important role in ruling Iraq after the defeat of the Islamic State. Thus, Iran has virtually won control over Iraq, a key
segment of the Shiite arc land route from Tehran, through Iraq and Syria, to southern Lebanon and the Mediterranean.
Today (after the capture of Mosul), the resistance highway starts in Tehran and passes through Mosul and Beirut to the
Mediterranean, said Ali Akbar Velayati, a top adviser to Irans Supreme Leader, according to the Wall Street Journal.2

Irans victory in Mosul was made inevitable by decisions taken years earlier by Washington to avoid any confrontation with
the growing Shiite militias in Iraq at the same time as the drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq during the Obama Administration.
Tehran exploited the resulting vacuum. Signi cantly, the Trump Administration has built up the American presence in Syria,
which besides helping to defeat ISIS there, will be pivotal for preventing the Iranians from achieving their strategic goal of a
continuous highway from Tehran to the Mediterranean coast.

Irans military leaders praised the Iraqi Popular forces capture of Mosul and the cooperation and coordination extended to
them by Iran. Defense Minister Brig.-Gen. Hossein Dehghan congratulated Iraqs popular militias on the liberation of
Mosul. The retaking of the city raised the spirits of all lovers and supporters of stability, calm, and safety in Iraq in
particular, the government and armed forces of [Iran].3

Ali Shamkhani, Head of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), congratulated Iraqs Shiite leader, Ayatollah Sistani,
and Iraqs popular militias on the retaking of Mosul. Shamkhani commented, The great victory in Mosul was achieved
thanks to the leadership of top Shia clerics, the prudence of the Iraqi government and the bravery of the countrys army and
popular forces.4

Maj.-Gen. Qassem Soleimani stressed on July 10, 2017, the contribution of Iranian forces in aiding Iraq. He noted that the
work of our nations sons in service to the nation of Iraq was the work of soldiers, under the banner of Iraq and Iraqi clerics.
He added that the nation of Iran, under the orders of the Supreme Leader, placed its life and possessions into the service of
[Iraqis], and we consider any soldiering on that front a matter of pride.5

Iraqi Shiite Muslims from the Popular Mobilization Force march during a parade
marking the annual Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, in Baghdad, Iraq, July 10, 2015. (Photo
byGETTY/Anadolu Agency)

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7/18/2017 After the Defeat of ISIS in Mosul, Iran Prepares for Regional Domination

Name tags on the Iraqi militia forces show Abu Mahdi,

Khamenei, Khomeini and the Temple Mount.

After the Mosul campaign and the boasts of both the Iranians and their PMF proxy, the words of Maj.-Gen. Qassem
Soleimani do not offer any comfort: Sometimes we solve issues through diplomacy, which is good. But, some problems
cant be solved through diplomatic ways.6

***

Notes
1 James Glanz, Iraqi Lawmaker Was Convicted in 1983 Bombings in Kuwait that Killed 5, New York Times, February, 7, 2007;
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/07/world/middleeast/07bomber.html

2 Wall St Journal, Iran Poised to Gain as ISIS Falls in Mosul, July 11, 2017; https://www.wsj.com/articles/iran-poised-to-gain-as-isis-falls-in-mosul-1499727809

3 http://en.mehrnews.com/news/126426/Mosul-liberation-complete-defeat-of-proxy-war-strategy-in-region

4 http://en.mehrnews.com/news/126425/Iran-read-to-aid-Iraq-to-restore-critical-infrastructures

5 https://www.tasnimnews.com/fa/news/1396/04/19/1461123/%D9%88%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AA-%D8%AF%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B9-
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6 https://english.aawsat.com/theaawsat/news-middle-east/soleimani-expects-formation-ideological-army-iraq

Publication: Jerusalem Issue Briefs

Filed Under: Iran,Iraq,Radical Islam,The Middle East
Tags: Shiite Muslims

About Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Dr. Shimon Shapira

Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Dr. Shimon Shapira is a senior research associate at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. He served
as Military Secretary to the Prime Minister and as Israel Foreign Ministry chief of staff. He edited the Jerusalem Center
eBook Iran: From Regional Challenge to Global Threat.
view all posts by Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Dr. Shimon Shapira

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