Why Iraq’s Green Zone intrusion worries Tehran and Washington

What the Arabic media says about the situation in Baghdad. Translated by Carla Mirza

Followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada Al Sadr storm the parliament building in Baghdad. Ahmed Saad / Reuters

As violence in the Iraqi capital worsens, the breach of Baghdad’s Green Zone could lead to additional clashes between Islamist militants and the Iraqi government.

"Recent and current events taking place in Iraq are both exciting and dangerous," wrote Mashari Al Thaidi in the pan-­Arab daily Asharq Al Awsat.

He said that some people viewed the “Sadrist revolution” initiated by supporters of Shiite cleric Muqtada Al Sadr with great optimism. These people believe it will mark the end of the rule of fundamentalist parties in Iraq.

“Others believe it is a mirage and that Muqtada Al Sadr is as well,” Al Thaidi wrote.

He observed that Iran and the United States were the most vocal countries in condemning the breach of the Green Zone and the storming of parliament by angry Shiite youth.

In the eyes of the United States, the writer said, the government of prime minitserHaider Al Abadi is legitimate and its support in the fight against ISIL was important to Iraq. Meanwhile, former Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati condemned and deplored the breach of the Green Zone and the “revolution against all political figures, regardless of their religion, voicing their dismay against [former prime minister] prime minister Nouri Al Maliki and his Dawa party as well as Iran and Iranian Revolutionary Guards leader General Qassem Al Suleimani”.

Al Thaidi noted that Mr Al Sadr’s party had condemned the acts of the protesters and Mr Al Sadr himself “hastily rushed to visit Iran”.

The writer noted that there are those who doubt the fate of a popular uprising led by an Iraqi fundamentalist. They are rightly sceptical, even though the movement may well overtake Mr Al Sadr.

“What is happening, in spite of its ambiguity and rabidness at the moment, is a cry of anger against the intellectual, political and financial corruption practised by the fundamentalist Shiite parties in Iraq, and this is what worries Tehran and is also strangely worrisome for Washington”, concluded Al Thaidi.

In the pan-Arab daily Al Hayat, Zuheir Kseibati observed that "despite the daily suicide bombings and the widespread corruption and greed of the political forces that are hiding behind a quota system, despite the suffering of millions of citizens who now live below the poverty line, Iran is charmed by the Iraqi 'democracy'."

The writer noted that prime minister Mr Al Abadi is still an ally of Iran, while Mr Al Sadr is “in the race to win the heart of Tehran”, as his supporters show readiness for the “Great Revolution”.

He said the protest was a message to the leaders of the Islamic Republic, showing them that Iraq, considered by Iran as one of its provinces, can “flip facets” and that the monopoly exercised by Shiite parties is not reflective of the diversity of parties and political currents.

Kseibati noted that parliamentary blocs, parties and alliances in Iraq distribute shares in ministries and state institutions as they like. He noted that the oil-rich country was seeking a loan at the same time as some of its citizens were selling their kidneys.

“Perhaps, this time, Iran was stunned by the chants of Iraqis in the Green Zone, demanding that it exit and rid the country of its influence, condemning the role of Gen Al Suleimani,” Kseibati wrote.

“Tehran is fascinated by ‘democracy’ in Baghdad. Iraqis have had enough with the mafia, Al Qaeda and ISIL, with the looting and corruption, with the tutelage, unemployment and poverty – all in a country that the great powers wish to turn into a model for the ‘new’ Syria through foolish ‘federalism,” the writer concluded.

Translated by Carla Mirza