The U.S. and Iran are aligned in Iraq against the
Islamic State — for now
A Shi'ite fighter, center, mans a heavy machine gun as he takes his position on at the outskirts of Balad, north of Baghdad December 25, 2014. (Stringer/Reuters)
Iranian military
involvement has dramatically increased in Iraq over the past year as Tehran has
delivered desperately needed aid to Baghdad in its fight against Islamic State
militants, say U.S., Iraqi and Iranian sources. In the eyes of Obama
administration officials, equally concerned about the rise of the brutal
Islamist group, that’s an acceptable role — for now.
Yet as U.S. troops
return to a limited mission in Iraq, American officials remain apprehensive
about the potential for renewed friction with Iran, either directly or via
Iranian-backed militias that once attacked U.S. personnel on a regular basis.
A senior Iranian
cleric with close ties to Tehran’s leadership, who spoke on the condition of
anonymity to discuss security matters, said that since the Islamic State’s
capture of much of northern Iraq in June, Iran has sent more than 1,000
military advisers to Iraq, as well as elite units, and has conducted airstrikes
and spent more than $1 billion on military aid.
“The areas that have
been liberated from Daesh have been thanks to Iran’s advice, command, leaders
and support,” the cleric said, using the Arabic acronym for the group.
At the same time,
Iraq’s Shiite-led government is increasingly reliant on the powerful militias
and a massive Shiite volunteer force, which together may now equal the size of
Iraq’s security forces.
Although the Obama
administration says it is not coordinating directly with Iran, the two nations’
arms-length alliance against the Islamic State is an uncomfortable reality. That’s not only
because some of the militia shock troops who have proved effective in fighting
the Islamic State battled U.S. forces during the 2003-2011 war there, but also
because, in Syria, Iran continues to support President Bashar al-Assad, whom
the United States would like to see toppled. U.S. diplomats, meanwhile, are
pushing ahead with negotiations to reach a deal on Iran’s nuclear program to prevent the
country from developing a nuclear weapon…
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