Hundreds of leaked Iranian documents have been published by Intercept and the New York Times that shed light on Iranian interference in Iraqi affairs and reveal Iran's efforts to recruit former CIA agents after the US withdrawal from Iraq.
"Many of these cables describe realistic espionage adventures that look like pages extracted from an intriguing narrative of espionage," The New York Times said. "There are meetings in dark lanes, shopping malls or under the guise of a hunting trip or a birthday party."
"Detectives roam Baghdad airport, take pictures of US soldiers and record information about coalition military flights," the newspaper said.
The archives include even reports of expenditures in Iraq for intelligence ministry officers, one of which was spent on gifts to a Kurdish leader, the newspaper said.
Among the documents obtained by the Intercept news site and published jointly with the New York Times simultaneously on Monday was how Iran recruited a US State Department agent.
According to the documents, this agent, whom Iran tried to recruit, had information about US plans in Iraq.
In addition, the documents highlight the details of the role played by General Qasim Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.