Hundreds of leaked Iranian intelligence reports revealed the depth of Tehran's influence in Iraq, where anti-government protests have been going on for weeks. The ruling class, for their anger against the Iranian interference, and demanded to "overthrow the regime."

In detail, the New York Times and The Intercept website revealed hundreds of Iranian intelligence reports leaked showing the depth of Tehran's influence in Iraq.

The documents provide a "detailed picture of how powerful Tehran has worked to establish itself in Iraqi affairs and the role of (Qasim) Soleimani."

Soleimani, the commander of the Qods Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, is Tehran's main man in Iraq. He has been visiting Baghdad during political turmoil.

Amidst the biggest and bloodiest protests in Iraq in decades, Soleimani has chaired meetings in Baghdad and Najaf in recent weeks to persuade political parties to close ranks around Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.

In one Iranian leak, Abdul Mahdi is described as having a "special relationship" with Tehran, when he was Iraq's oil minister in 2014.

The prime minister's office said it had "no comment" on the report at the moment. The newspaper and the US website said they had verified nearly 700 pages of reports written in 2014 and 2015 by Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security and sent to The Intercept by someone who refused to reveal himself.

The anonymous source, who refused to meet the journalist in person, said he wanted to "see the world what Iran is doing in his country Iraq."

The documents also stated that former prime ministers Haider al-Abadi, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, and former speaker of parliament Salim al-Jubouri were politicians with close ties to Iran.

According to The New York Times, Tehran managed to reap more gains and influence after the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq in 2011, which it said left Iraqi informants to the CIA "unemployed and destitute."

They then sought refuge in Iran and provided information about the CIA's operations in Iraq in return for money, the report said.

In one example, an Iraqi military intelligence officer traveled from Baghdad to the city of Karbala to meet with an Iranian intelligence official.

During the three-hour meeting, the Iraqi official said that his head, Lieutenant General Hatem al-Maksousi, told him to convey a message to Iran that "all the intelligence of the Iraqi army, considered it under your command."

Maksousi offered to provide Iran with information about a secret system set up by the United States to eavesdrop on Iraqi phones, run by the Prime Minister's Office and military intelligence, according to the same report.

This allowed Iran to expand its influence through its close ties with a new generation of politicians who became leaders of Iraq, and helped it to form the Popular Mobilization Forces, which include pro-Shiite factions.

This has also made it a major trading partner for Iraq, which imports electricity and natural gas to support destroyed energy facilities, in a country that has become the second largest importer of Iranian products, including cars, carpets and foodstuffs.

Iran has used intelligence work to maintain its role in Iraq, according to the newspaper and the American website, to achieve the strategic objectives of «prevent the collapse of Iraq, and prevent the independence of (Kurdistan) northern».

The documents pointed out that the "biggest focus" was toward "preserving Iraq as an Iranian state, and emphasizing that the political factions loyal to Tehran remain in power."

This comes at a time, witnessed the cities of Hilla, Najaf, Nasiriyah, Diwaniyah and Kut south, yesterday, strikes and sit-ins anti-government, and closed government departments and schools.

Demonstrators yesterday in the oil-rich province of Basra, blocked roads leading to the oil fields in Shuaiba and Barjasiyah.

In Baghdad, sit-ins and demonstrations continued to expand from Tahrir Square to the al-Sunak and al-Ahrar bridges, despite tight security, according to AFP correspondents. Faced with the spread of the demonstrations, security forces put up concrete barriers around the building of the Central Bank of Iraq, in anticipation of any emergency, according to security sources.

The documents provide a detailed picture of how powerful Tehran has worked to establish itself in Iraq.