The commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force, Brig Gen Esmail Qaani, made an unannounced visit to the Iraqi capital this week as a new government takes shape in Baghdad, The National has learnt.
During his meetings with Iran-backed political parties and militia groups, Brig Gen Qaani drew red lines: no concessions to Washington on disarming armed factions, and tilting too far towards the White House, according to sources.
Last month, Iraq’s largest Shiite parliamentary bloc, the Co-ordination Framework, put forward businessman Ali Al Zaidi, 41, as a compromise candidate for prime minister. The nomination has been viewed in Tehran as a potential shift in Iraq’s foreign alignment, given what sources describe as growing US and regional support for Mr Al Zaidi’s bid.
“Tehran has grown suspicious about the support the PM-designate receives from American President Trump and US-allied regional powers,” said a CF member of parliament.
“There is a perception in Tehran that Washington is trying to install a government more aligned with its regional agenda,” he said.
During his stay, Brig Gen Qaani held closed-door meetings with leaders of Iraq’s main Shiite political blocs as well as commanders of Iran-backed armed factions, including some operating within the Popular Mobilisation Forces. The PMF is an umbrella group of mainly Shiite paramilitary troops that Washington sees as an Iranian tool.
The discussions addressed US demands to disarm militias, deprive associated politicians of senior posts in the government, and integrate the PMF into Iraqi forces.
In those meetings, Brig Gen Qaani told the groups “not to make concessions to the US about disarming the militias in order to take government posts”, a second source close to one of the armed groups said.
He argued that giving up weapons under US pressure would “weaken the factions’ leverage and undermine their role as a deterrent force within Iraq’s security architecture”, he added.
The commander of the Quds Force, which is part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, also sought to reassure allied leaders that Tehran was not seeking to block the formation of a government outright, despite its reservations about Mr Al Zaidi.
'Balanced foreign policy'
“Despite reservations about the new PM, Tehran wants to make sure that the new government will not lean too much to Washington on the cost of its relations with Tehran,” an aide to a senior politician said.
“The message was that Iraq must maintain a balanced foreign policy that does not come at the expense of its long-standing ties with Iran,” he added.
Mr Al Zaidi’s emergence as a compromise candidate has been seen as unusual in Iraq’s post-2003 political landscape. Wealthy and well-connected, he represents a new type of Iraqi elite that has risen outside traditional party structures.
His perceived openness to closer economic and security co-operation with the US and Gulf states has alarmed Tehran, which views Iraq as a critical corridor for its regional influence from Lebanon to Yemen.
The US has been pushing for a government that curtails the autonomy of Iran-backed militias, particularly following recent cross-border drone attacks and repeated strikes on US bases in Iraq and neighbouring countries. Washington has tied security assistance and economic support to progress on disarming armed groups and forming a government that is free of Iran influence.
Immediately after his nomination, US President Donald Trump spoke to Mr Al Zaidi, voiced his “strong support” and invited him to visit Washington after the new Iraqi government is formed.
“With our help, he won and we want him to do very well,” Mr Trump said. “And I told him that the US is with him all the way. It was a great victory, the new head of Iraq is somebody that we support very strongly.”
Mr Trump also congratulated Mr Al Zaidi on Truth Social, writing: “We wish him success as he works to form a new government free from terrorism that could deliver a brighter future for Iraq.
“We look forward to a strong, vibrant and highly productive new relationship between Iraq and the US,” he said.
Pressure expected to intensify
The endorsement marks a shift from January, when Mr Trump threatened to withdraw US support if former prime minister Nouri Al Maliki was designated to form a cabinet.
The pressure on Mr Al Zaidi is expected to intensify in the coming days as consultations continue. While he has not publicly commented on the disarmament issue, politicians have said that he is trying to present himself as a unifying figure who can balance Iraq’s competing alliances without provoking a rupture with either Tehran or Washington.
Discussions over distributing the ministries among the political parties are still under way and the PM-designate is expected to submit his government, or half of it, later this week or next one, the aid said.
