Because he is not "Hajj Qassem".

Iran's man in Iraq fails to impose his control over the militias

• Qaani has no experience in Iraq or Syria, does not speak Arabic, and most of all, he does not have a close relationship with Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

  AFP

• A soldier in front of the entry of the American embassy, ​​which was bombed by the Iraqi militias, following the killing of General Soleimani.

  AFP

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On a hot summer day last June, Iran's man in Iraq, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, General Ismail Qaani, met with a group of Iraqi militia leaders in an attempt to calm the situation on the streets of Baghdad.

Those assembled in that room were the leaders of the region's most feared militias, who were planning to stage a military parade alone in the streets of the Iraqi capital.

Qaani came, a successor to the late General Qassem Soleimani, who ruled Iraq, Lebanon and Syria for more than 15 years, before he was killed by a US drone in 2020. Qaani's meeting with militia leaders last June is a crucial moment for him, as he is trying He imposed his will, just like Soleimani, whom the militia leaders called "Hajj Qassem." According to what two of the participants said, and the last learned from the meeting, Qaani failed to impose his authority in Iraq.

interest

Qaani tried to convince the militia leaders that it was not in their interest to continue firing rockets at the US embassy in the Green Zone, or at Erbil airport in northern Iraq, where US forces are stationed. The strikes of these militias against the American presence increased during the six months of the presence of US President Joe Biden in power, defying the Iraqi army and the government.

Despite the firm stance taken by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi against the militias, when he came to power 18 months ago, the government's response to them remained mere lip service.

The fact that they were not confronted with force by the government is evidence of the power and influence that the militias reached through the weapons they own, and their penetration of state institutions, and the meeting was expected to lead to the acquiescence of these militias.

One of the attendees said, "At first, everyone was interested in what the man would say, but in the end they were convinced that Qaani was not Hajj Qassem."

A senior Iraqi official said, "I don't think Qaani can help improve the situation in Iraq, because Soleimani was able to curb the militias if he wanted."

rich experience

Qani's mission was enormous, as he spent about 12 years in the Quds Force's operations in Afghanistan, but he has no experience in Iraq or Syria, nor does he speak Arabic, and most important of all - according to several sources who met Qani and know his relations in Iran - He has no close relationship with Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

On paper, he plays the same role as Soleimani, and was a unique mixture of several tasks, being a special forces commander, intelligence leader, and presidential envoy at the same time, but those who know Qaani know that he lacks the last element, which is considered the most important among the elements. The three.

"I met with Qaani," one Iraqi official said.

He is an honest person, but he still needs a lot of learning compared to Soleimani.”

While Qaani is still consolidating his authority, an Iraqi figure with long ties to Iran has emerged, Muhammad al-Hashemi, known as "Abu Jihad", who rose quickly as one of the important figures in Iraq, who can be relied on to get the difficult things done, and is a senior aide. The former prime minister in Iraq, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, has strong relations with the Iranian-backed opposition to the late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, and therefore he played a role in negotiating with the militias to reduce their fanaticism.

Qaani's role has helped some Iraqi and American observers believe that holding local figures responsible for local decisions is ahead of Soleimani, or any other Iranian.

rare move

At the beginning of last week, Al-Kazemi announced the arrest of a prominent person from the "Hezbollah Brigades" militia, Ahmed Al-Kinani, a rare step, on charges of participating in the shooting and killing of the scientist and government advisor on Islamic extremism, Hisham Al-Hashemi, last July.

This arrest is the first stage of the investigation into the murder case that shook the entire country, and it comes months after the killer's identity was revealed.

Analysts say the real test of whether the balance of power has tilted in the government's favor will be when the accused is brought to court and convicted.

A resident of eastern Baghdad said, “If the man was prosecuted, we would have moved forward a lot, but for the time being, Soleimani’s pictures are scattered all over the Green Zone in Baghdad, and the airport road now bears Soleimani’s name as well, so who is stronger?”

These photos seem to provide the answer.

• On paper, Qaani plays the same role as Soleimani, and he was a unique mixture of several functions: commander of special forces, intelligence chief, and presidential envoy at the same time.

• Despite the firm stance taken by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi against the militias when he came to power 18 months ago, the government's response to them remained mere talk.

Martin Chulov ■ The Guardian's Middle East correspondent

Renewed hostility to the United States

Baghdad ■ Reuters

/ General Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force, the special forces unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy head of the Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces, were killed on January 3, 2020, in a US drone strike targeting their convoy at Baghdad airport.

Washington accused Soleimani of being the mastermind of attacks by Iran-aligned militants on US forces in the region.

His killing took the hostility between the United States and Iran to an unprecedented level, and raised concern about the widening of the conflict.

The commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces, Faleh al-Fayyad, and the politician Hadi al-Amiri, the leader of the Badr Organization, demanded the expulsion of US forces on more than one occasion.

Washington accuses militants backed by Tehran of launching missile attacks from time to time on US facilities in Iraq, including attacks near the US embassy.

No known Iranian-backed group has claimed responsibility for these attacks.

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