Iraqi demonstrators were waving their country's flags and chanting slogans such as “The people want to topple the regime”, amid loud “rickets”, grenades and fireworks on Friday. Protesters on the al-Jumhuriya bridge leading to the Green Zone found refuge behind the concrete blocks, as security forces fired tear gas at them, and dozens were killed in one week.

At the other end of the bridge, at government offices, there was a different battle.Politicians were debating the future of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, and anticipation about his fate revealed the fault lines between the real power brokers in Iraq, some of whom live in Iran.

The Iranian role

Some protesters accuse Iran and its backers of being involved in the worst violence, making one of their most important demands the elimination of Iranian influence in the country. The slogan «Iran Get Out Immediately» became popular among the demonstrators in Tahrir Square in central Baghdad, and a video was posted on Friday showing protesters burning the Iranian flag. "It was the Iranians who attacked and destroyed us," said protester Ali Qasem, 17. "The Iranians created this situation, which we are now living in. It is Iran that rules the state."

Like many of his colleagues, Kassem sees Iran as a force that keeps Abdul Mahdi in power, while protesters accuse Tehran of exploiting Iraq for its own interests. Statistics show that 60% of Iraq's 40 million people are under the age of 25. Demonstrators took to the streets, spurred by the miserable economic situation facing this generation, which reached an intolerable state after years of corruption dating back to 2003, following the US invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Unemployment among young people is alarming (about 25%), and 20% of the population lives below the poverty line, although Iraq has a huge oil wealth. The mobile vendor, Mohammad Reza, 18, who is also a Raksha driver, said there was no work for him. Young men graduated from universities and stayed at home. “I left school to help my mother. We have no food. We are poor people. "Anything, we don't even have a quarter of a dinar, how will I go to school?"

Rumors spread last Thursday that Adel Abdul Mahdi would resign immediately. That night, Iraqi President Barham Salih delivered a speech in which he said that Mahdi had agreed to resign, but only if the Iraqi parliament found a replacement, but finding a replacement for the prime minister by negotiating with the network of rival Iraqi parties was a process that took several months.

Abdul Mahdi does not have the decision

After the dust cleared, it became clear that Abdul Mahdi, who had repeatedly accepted his resignation, could not decide on the matter. He came to power through an Iranian-backed coalition, and the Iranian authorities wanted him to stay in power, but the demonstrators were determined to stay in They say they will not leave until they put an end to Iran's influence over the country's government system comprehensively, and the future remains uncertain, as Iran faces the greatest challenges to its influence in the region.

Abdul-Mahdi came to power after an agreement between Iraq's two largest parliamentary blocs, the Sader bloc led by cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, and the Fatah coalition led by Badr Brigades commander Hadi al-Amiri, a militia heavily backed by Iran.

On Tuesday night, it appeared that Amiri and Sadr were ready to reach another agreement aimed at removing Abdul Mahdi from power to absorb the anger of the demonstrators. But on Wednesday, the Quds Force commander, Qasem Soleimani, the elite Revolutionary Guards, arrived in Baghdad and held a secret meeting with al-Amiri, who was said to have asked him to continue supporting Abdul Mahdi. "Iran does not want to appear to be destabilizing the situation in Iraq," said researcher Renad Mansour of Chatham House. "It is unclear how Abdul Mahdi will resign or who will replace him." "The current situation, which will not condemn the violence against the demonstrators, and is ready to use force to stop the demonstrations."

Smash the agreement

The meeting between Suleimani and al-Amiri shattered the already fragile agreement between Sadr and al-Amiri, and destroyed any chance of finding an easy way out of the crisis. Sadr later issued an angry statement saying that without Abdul Mahdi's resignation, there would be only more bloodshed and that he would not work with al-Amiri again.

But all these political debates and debates remain far from the demands of the demonstrators, who want much more than the resignation of Abdul Mahdi. "The resignation of Abdul Mahdi will not be enough for us," said student Ammar Abdul Khaleq, 18. "Even if he goes, there are those who will come worse than him. We want a republican state. We don't want a parliamentary state. They don't serve us. ''

"They are trying to avoid the main problem by focusing on Abdul Mahdi," said Miriam Benrad, a researcher at the Institute for the Study of Arab and Islamic World Studies in France.

Bisha Majeed is a journalist based in Baghdad

Bloodshed and determination

The demonstrations were marked by widespread bloodshed and unusual insistence by young Iraqi demonstrators. About 250 people have been killed since the protests erupted in early October. An Amnesty International report confirmed that security forces were firing directly at the protesters' heads and bodies with military and harmful gas canisters, killing dozens. Despite the violence they face, protesters say they are willing to sacrifice their lives in exchange for regime change. Overnight, as security forces fire a lot of tear gas, they respond with slogans saying, “Our souls and blood are redemption for Iraq.”

Iran is said to have coordinated some of the worst cases of violence in early October, when masked snipers shot at demonstrators from rooftops. "We in Iran know how to deal with protesters," Soleimani told Iraqi government officials in a secret meeting with them. Centralization, and away from the possibility of change under the pressure of demonstrations, and to achieve this goal we realize that in the simplest case the Iranians deployed soldiers from the Quds Force, to provide intelligence to snipers ».

Around 15 people were killed during the first round of violence, with Iraqi government investigations revealing that 70 percent of them were killed with head or chest injuries by live bullets. The killings increased after security forces used tear gas and stun grenades against demonstrators. Many of the dead were teenagers, sparking widespread public outrage in Iraq. "People went out of their homes to help their children who were injured in the demonstrations," said Younis Rahim, a 24-year-old demonstrator.

Iraq's religious authority, Ali al-Sistani, delivered a speech on Friday, warning foreign powers not to "impose their will" on Iraq, and warned security forces against excessive use of force, saying it could lead to civil war, chaos and destruction within the state.

But the recent visit by Qassem Soleimani suggests that Iran is not ready to lift its grip on Iraq, and observers and analysts fear that this means the return of snipers, and the live shooting that Iraq faced in early October. "I think Iran, through its proxies, is preparing for another round of violence, in an attempt to disperse and suppress the demonstrators," Cavarella said.

As the demonstrations enter their second month, more bloodshed is looming, and the future remains uncertain. The only certainty seems to be that Iraqi demonstrators will not return to their homes without a fight.

Unemployment among young people is alarming, at about 25%, and 20% of the population lives below the poverty line, although Iraq has a huge oil wealth.

Iran coordinated some of the worst cases of violence at the beginning of October, when masked snipers shot at demonstrators from rooftops.