Russian site: Will Iraq remain on the political map?

A report published by a Russian research center considered that the resignation of Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and the speedy approval of parliament by it would be a victory, which would be costly for the demonstrators, especially in light of the armed forces losing their supreme leader, the cabinet losing its president and entering the country in chaos.

In a report published by the Russian "Strategic Center for Cultures", journalist Anton Vesilov said that the demonstrators demanded the dissolution of Parliament and the resignation of Iraqi President Barham Salih as soon as they succeeded in pushing Abdul-Mahdi to step down.

Veselov added that the fate of the country depends a lot on the party that will occupy the position of prime minister and how fast he can take and implement decisions, because this position is one of the decision-making centers in the country, knowing that the authority in Iraq today is similar to the badminton that players throw without any rules.

Sea of ​​Science
Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi had said that President Barham Salih would entrust the task of presenting a new candidate to the largest bloc in parliament, a bloc of leaders headed by Muqtada al-Sadr, who rejected this idea, saying that this task is taken care of by the people.

This forced the speaker of parliament to call on Saleh to appoint a candidate for prime minister within 15 days. Some official media reported that the Iraqi President had begun consultations with the political parties to reach a consensus. Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Haider al-Abadi announced their refusal to run for this position.

And there were leaks indicating the possibility of nominating former Oil Minister Ibrahim Muhammad Bahr al-Ulum to take charge of forming the new government. The writer stated that Bahr al-Ulum is well accepted by both Iran and the United States.

Tehran's calculations, which are based on the powerful Shiite lobby in Baghdad, depend on the fact that Ibrahim Bahr al-Ulum belonged to a very religious family, his father remained 25 years in exile in Iran, and the strength of his relations with influential members of the Dawa Party. Besides, Tehran is playing on the contradictions between Sadr and religious authority Ali Sistani.

The writer mentioned that Bahr al-Ulum studied in the United States and worked in the United Kingdom with several oil companies, which enabled him to take over the Iraqi Oil Ministry portfolio earlier. Bahr al-Ulum did not make any comments regarding this nomination. In the near future, it will become clear whether this position is still required, or whether there are few memories from Iraq.

Iranian-American conflict
On the other hand, the attacks on Iranian diplomatic headquarters and the insult of Iran's top clerics cannot remain without consequences, as Abdul-Mahdi's resignation forced Tehran to respond quickly.

In late October, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, Qassem Soleimani, visited Baghdad on a secret mission. It is well-known that Soleimani has a word with prominent Shiite factions such as the Badr Corps, Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq and Hezbollah, which have an impact on the events, as media reports stated that militias shot the demonstrators alongside members of the army and police officers.

The writer pointed out that in the midst of these events, the frequency of rocket fire increased greatly and the firing of mortar shells at American targets such as the American embassy and military sites, including the Ain al-Assad air base in Anbar province. On December 9, a military base on the territory of Baghdad International Airport was fired upon, wounding six people whose nationalities are unknown. In general, this base is considered a major emergency point for the evacuation of American citizens.

On November 26, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Millie, arrived in Iraq, and asked the more than 5,000 US military units to be on high alert. On December 9, about five hundred American soldiers were transferred from Jordan to Ain al-Assad Air Force Base.

Against the background of targeting Iraqi demonstrators, and the killing and wounding of many of them in the protest arenas, the US Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, considered "Iran's attempts to suppress the legitimate demands of the Iraqi people to reform the government by killing protesters, a horrific matter," and thus the West has determined who is behind the bloodbath. in Iraq.

Moreover, US Vice President Mike Pence called Iraqi President Barham Salih, and assured him of the importance of respecting the demands of the demonstrators by the Iraqi authorities.

The writer pointed out that the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the ambassadors of four European countries, stressing that the mission of the ambassadors to Baghdad is to strengthen relations and build a base of common interests without interfering in its internal affairs.

The writer stated that announcing the demonstrators' intention to come from various governorates to Baghdad and go to the Green Zone a few days ago, which prompted the Secretary General of Asaib al-Haqq Qais Khazali to warn of the devastating consequences of this step, and the deepening of the chaos inside the country.