ورود ایران به نزاع اربیل ـ بغداد به حل مسالمت‌آمیز بحران منجر شد

In an interview with the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar:

Iran’s involvement in the Erbil-Baghdad conflict led to a peaceful resolution of the crisis

 

The secretary-general of the al-Nujaba Islamic Resistance Movement described Iran’s role in the peaceful settlement of the Baghdad-Erbil conflict as important, saying, “Saudi Arabia is currently implementing the American plan to keep Iraq away from Iran.”

 

According to the Communication and Media Affairs Centre of al-‎Nujaba in Iran‎, Hujjat al-Islam Akram al-Kaabi, the secretary-general of the al-Nujaba Islamic Resistance Movement ‎gave a detailed interview to the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar in which he analyzed some of the rapid political and field developments in Iraq.

Hujjat al-Islam al-Kaabi said of post-Daesh Iraq, “Although Baghdad will soon declare a great victory over Daesh, this terrorist group will retain its dormant nuclei and its suppression will require extensive and intensive security cooperation.”

He added, “The ideas that Daesh has left in the areas under its former control need a revolution and a great cultural and social movement to clear the public mind of misconceptions.”

The secretary-general of the al-Nujaba Islamic Resistance Movement stated that the plan of Iraqi political coalitions has also changed at the current stage and added, “We are witnessing a new development every day. As the Iraqi elections approach, the parties that participated in the formation of the Popular Mobilization Forces and represent the Islamic Resistance groups will play a key and important role in the political future of Iraq while forming a coalition with each other.”

Hujjat al-Islam al-Kaabi confirmed the statements of some Islamic Resistance groups in the country to return to armed operations against the Americans in the next phase, saying, “We in the Islamic Resistance groups have the main duty and one of our goals is to prevent any occupation in Iraq.”

He stressed, “The Islamic Resistance was formed with the beginning of the American occupation of Iraq in 2003. Therefore, the duty of the Islamic Resistance is to oppose any American military presence in Iraq and prevent its survival, especially a non-diplomatic presence.”

The secretary-general of the al-Nujaba Islamic Resistance Movement referred to the opposition of this movement to participating in the elections, saying, “al-Nujaba will not run in the elections for various reasons. This is a political decision but it is not from the origin of opposition to entering political work. We enter political work and we have a clear discourse and positions but our priority now is the Iraqi people.”

The high-ranking commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces stressed the need for the active participation of his country’s people in the elections and said, “We believe that pure personalities are also present in the elections and when we are asked about worthy candidates, we will pursue the parties and lists that we believe are right and sound, and fulfill the demands of the nation, engage in reform and suppress corruption and support the Islamic Resistance and its thought.”

Regarding the reasons for al-Nujaba’s position to running in the elections, he said, “If everyone wants to get involved in politics, society will be left with its own situation, especially since we will transfer our resistance to the cultural arena to strengthen the principle of resistance within society, and we will also focus on security work because Daesh is a dormant nucleus.”

The secretary-general of the al-Nujaba Islamic Resistance Movement spoke in regard to the remarks of the Iraqi Prime Minister Haydar al-Abadi in preventing the presence of armed groups and the Popular Mobilization Forces in the elections, “al-Abadi’s statements are normal and natural, and the Popular Mobilization Forces’ organization, that is, its military institution in general, and its groups will never run in the elections. For example, the Islamic Da’wah Party, Mr. al-Abadi’s party, which has a military branch in the Popular Mobilization Forces called the Shahid Sadr’s Forces, will not run in the elections. Therefore, anyone who wants to run in the elections must resign from the Popular Mobilization Forces. This also applies to the Iraqi military and security apparatus, and it is a rule which is enacted and implemented according to the Iraqi constitution. Thus, anyone seeking to run in the elections will first resign from the military establishment.”

Hujjat al-Islam al-Kaabi said that the Iraqi government has no connection with the al-Nujaba forces outside Iraq, adding, “They are a group of travellers who go to Syria naturally and officially, where they are equipped with weapons, and their work is not related to the Iraqi government at all.”

The senior official of the Popular Mobilization Forces referred to the recent Kurdish crisis and its consequences and said, “Masoud Barzani’s project failed and it was his stupidity that pushed this defeat forward. So far, many of his behaviours within his party are angry and furious. He completely destroyed the plan to form an independent Kurdish state with his tribal beliefs.”

He called Barzani’s beliefs tribal and far from politics, real management and leadership, and said, “Throughout history, the Barzani family has caused many problems for the Kurdish people. They allied themselves with Saddam Hussein against the Kurds when Saddam oppressed our people. This family also has a wide-ranging relationship with the Zionist regime.”

The secretary-general of the al-Nujaba Islamic Resistance Movement called Barzani’s goal in pursuing the plan to separate the Iraqi Kurdistan region “weak” and an act that will lead to the “disintegration of the country” and said, “Barzani sought to declare his self-proclaimed country by sending troops to Kirkuk and some other areas and occupying them so that Israel would be the second in the region.”

Referring to Barzani’s maliciousness and betrayal, Hujjat al-Islam al-Kaabi, added, “According to the new American project, he sought the division of the Iraqi Kurdistan region, and in fact, the Americans are the owners of the project to divide Iraq.”

He cited the liberation of al-Hawijah by joint Iraqi forces as one of the reasons for Barzani’s insistence on holding a hasty referendum and said, “That is why Baghdad made its decision immediately and transparently. The Iraqi government and people, including Kurds, Iraqis and other ethnic groups, have all taken responsibility, in addition to the Popular Mobilization Forces, the Iraqi army and security forces and they decided to end the conflict in northern Iraq politically and militarily.”

The secretary-general of the al-Nujaba Islamic Resistance Movement stated, “The intervention of the Islamic Republic of Iran in this issue and the presence of Haj Qasem Soleymani and his dialogue with all parties to advance a peaceful solution achieved an important achievement in creating a peaceful solution which stops the bloodshed and protects the children of Iraq with all its tribes.”

Hujjat al-Islam al-Kaabi added, “The Peshmerga forces helped us when the joint Iraqi forces entered Kirkuk and the disputed areas and as a result, we took control of the region peacefully, while Masoud Barzani’s forces deliberately targeted the Peshmerga and the Iraqi joint forces. Masoud Barzani, through his betrayal and following of Israel and the United States, deepened the hatred and resentment of the Arabs, and in fact, the enemies of the Kurds are the Arabs themselves, and Israel is their friend.”

Regarding the reason for Saudi Arabia’s rapprochement with Iraq at this time, he said, “We see that most of the people who were sent to work in Iraq are people who were trained and worked in the American intelligence services, and it does not matter if their work was diplomatic or intelligence and Thamer al-Sabhan, the former Saudi ambassador to Baghdad, is an example.”

He stressed, “All those who have focused on the Iraq case are apparently Saudi personalities but in reality, they are Americans because the Americans are not able to implement their plans in Iraq alone. al-Sabhan’s departure from Iraq does not mean the end of the United States-Saudi project but this project continues. In fact, the new ambassador works under al-Sabhan and has no authority of his own.”

Emphasizing that the Americans have hired a perfect country like Saudi Arabia, the secretary-general of the al-Nujaba Islamic Resistance Movement said, “The Americans are seeking to consolidate a single idea for which they have spent a lot of money and that is the concept of enmity with Iran and friendship with the United States and Saudi Arabia to dismantle the Islamic Resistance Front.”

Referring to the continuation of the Golan Liberation Battalion from armed groups affiliated with the al-Nujaba movement in Syria, Hujjat al-Islam al-Kaabi said, “The group is still fighting the Takfiris who are fighting on behalf of the Zionist regime in Syria, and if the Syrian government ever wants the Syrian army to participate in the liberation of the Golan Heights, this battalion is ready to be on the battlefield with the Zionist regime, just as Sayyid Hasan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hezbollah, explicitly stated that ‘in the next phase, it is not only Hezbollah that will be fighting Israel, but all Islamic Resistance groups in the world will be present in the fight against the occupiers’ and al-Nujaba will be among them.”

“The Saudis are implementing the United States’ goals in Iraq,” he told al-Akhbar and added, “The American agenda is clear, and Thamer al-Sabhan, a Saudi intelligence and security figure, exposed the American project with his behaviour to the point that political parties seeking Baghdad’s relationship with Riyadh rejected him.”

The secretary-general of the al-Nujaba Islamic Resistance Movement called the establishment of economic companies and security centres in southern and northern Iraq as one of Saudi Arabia’s projects in Iraq, and said, “To do so, Saudi Arabia provided large financial assistance to tribal chiefs and prominent figures, as well as agricultural reforms and economic and cultural movements to change the cultural approach of Iraqis.”

Hujjat al-Islam al-Kaabi concluded by emphasizing that the Americans will never remain loyal to their allies in the region, “Just as Barzani openly expressed anger at being deceived by the Americans, today in Syria the Syrian Democratic Forces must know that the United States has abandoned them at the end of its project in Syria and is emptying their backs just as they left Barzani behind.”