Transcript [00:01] Hey everybody. So, we're going to talk [00:03] about Iraq and the Iraq Iran [00:06] relationship. The last week or so has [00:08] seen this flurry of diplomatic activity [00:10] between Iraq and Iran. And uh Iraq is an [00:14] interesting uh case. They're one of the [00:16] only Shiite majority countries in the [00:18] world. They also have this very u this [00:20] big border with Iran. [00:23] And uh there's also because of the [00:25] Shiite majority. But not only because of [00:27] that, there's a lot of influence of Iran [00:29] in Iraq. At the same time, Iraq is in [00:32] the American orbit. There's a [00:33] significant military presence there of [00:35] the United States uh and uh and and [00:38] more. And recently, there was a state [00:40] visit between the new Iraqi head of [00:42] state with President Trump in [00:44] Washington. And similar to what's going [00:47] on in Lebanon, the Americans have been [00:48] pressuring the Iraqis to disarm these [00:52] Iranianbacked militias. Okay, so there's [00:55] a lot going on with Iraq and Iran. It's [00:57] a very important piece of the puzzle and [00:58] it relates directly to American policy [01:02] right now in, you know, with the, you [01:05] know, with the economic uh uh sanctions [01:08] regime, this new economic D-Day that's [01:10] been announced. And we're going to get [01:12] into all of that in this video. Okay. [01:14] Okay, so let's get to the headlines of [01:15] what's been going on and we'll make the [01:17] picture clear. There's a lot happening. [01:19] Here we go. Iraq delays deadline for [01:22] Iran back Shiite militias to hand over [01:24] weapons. So, let's back up. [01:28] There's this kind of agreement sort of, [01:31] it's not a written agreement that US the [01:34] US would finally withdraw all of its [01:38] military presence from Iraq by the end [01:40] of September. [01:42] and Iraqi militias would also disarm. [01:46] Okay. And uh talked about this a while [01:49] around the time of the of the visit [01:52] between Trump and and uh and Zadi or [01:56] Zedi, whatever his name is, the new [01:58] Iraqi head of state. We talked about [02:00] this around that time that he was [02:02] arguing that these that these militias, [02:05] the the resistance, that's what they [02:07] call themselves, the Iranbacked [02:08] militias, have no reason to have weapons [02:10] if the American forces are gone because [02:12] who who are they trying to attack? [02:15] In any event, the disarming of the of [02:18] the militias, similar to the Lebanon [02:20] situation, but not the same, uh is a big [02:23] issue. Now, Iraq trying to gain its [02:26] sovereignty from the influence of Iran. [02:28] So, let's see what it says in this [02:30] article. A se and this is from two days [02:32] ago. A senior Iraqi official on Sunday [02:35] pushed back a September 30th deadline [02:37] for pro-Iran armed factions to hand over [02:40] their weapons without offering an [02:42] explanation for the move or providing a [02:43] new date. Well, the explanation is going [02:45] to become clear. Stay tuned. Iraq has [02:48] come under pressure from the United [02:49] States to reign in armed factions, [02:51] particularly those close to Iran. For [02:54] several months, Iraq's government has [02:56] stood by its deadline. Okay? So, they [02:58] had set this deadline. September 30th is [03:01] the deadline. By then, all of the [03:04] uh nonstate [03:07] militias, all of these independent [03:09] militias, and there's a bunch of them in [03:10] Iraq. Iraq's a mess. They were all going [03:12] to disarm. But on Sunday, the security [03:15] adviser to the prime minister, Kasim [03:17] Malaraji, told state media the process [03:20] would only begin at the end of next [03:22] month. [03:25] Okay. September 30th is the date for the [03:27] international coalition to depart, [03:29] meaning the Americans, not the deadline [03:31] to hand over weapons, Arji told the Al [03:34] Iraqia broadcaster, referring to the [03:36] coalition of US-led forces. [03:39] September 30th, he said, was the date [03:41] for the International Coalition to end [03:43] its presence, not the deadline for armed [03:45] factions. Perhaps people are confusing [03:47] the two. Since taking office in May, [03:49] Prime Minister Ali al- Zahedi, that's [03:51] the new head of state, Prime Minister [03:52] Ali al- Zahedi, has pledged to ensure [03:55] the armed factions that emerged in the [03:57] years that followed the US-led invasion, [04:00] hand over their weapons to the state. [04:03] While some factions have in recent weeks [04:05] said they would join state institutions, [04:07] others, in particularly those closer to [04:09] Iran, are refusing. [04:12] Surprise, surprise. Kind of similar to, [04:14] you know, I don't know, Kamas. The [04:17] situation is is extremely complicated, a [04:19] government official told AFP, requesting [04:22] anonymity because he was not authorized [04:24] to speak on the matter. The government [04:26] is insisting on closing the weapons [04:28] file, but faction leaders are determined [04:30] to hold on to their weapons because they [04:32] believe disarming would serve Israel and [04:34] the United States. The most powerful [04:36] armed factions in Iraq include Kataybah, [04:39] a part of Iran's so-called axis of [04:41] resistance against the US and Israel. [04:44] Saudi Arabia, a close ally of the US, [04:47] has also accused armed groups in Iraq, [04:49] of launching attacks against it. Another [04:52] Iraqi source told AFP [04:55] that Iran views its proxies in the [04:57] region, especially in Iraq, as a source [05:00] as a source of strength it refuses to [05:02] give up. Look, let me pull back the [05:04] camera and just talk about uh you know [05:06] this this regional issue because it [05:09] really is the same thing. See, what do [05:11] you have? You have these militias, these [05:14] terrorist militias backed by the [05:15] Iranians or but not only by the [05:17] Iranians. You know, Hamas has other [05:18] backers, but you have these these [05:20] terrorist militias that get into power [05:24] roles [05:26] and now everyone wants them to disarm. [05:28] They're not going to disarm. Okay? They [05:30] are never none of these militias are [05:32] going to hand over their weapons and not [05:34] have a weapon on them and just be [05:35] disarmed. It it is there is zero zero [05:38] chance that they're going to do this. [05:40] Okay. So, what does it all mean? What's [05:42] all this dynamic? So, look at Lebanon's [05:44] the easiest case to discuss. You have [05:46] this government that openly says it [05:48] wants to disarmah, [05:50] but it's never going to do anything [05:52] about it. When Israel fights, they [05:54] attack Israel. [05:56] They pretend that they're disarming [05:58] them, but they're really not because [05:59] really there's popular support for these [06:01] militias. [06:03] Okay, now let's take a look at Gaza. [06:06] Kamas is never going to hand over their [06:08] weapons ever, ever, ever. They're not [06:10] going to lay them down, but they say [06:12] that they're going to disarm. And [06:14] everyone says they want them disarmed. [06:16] And yet, when Israel attacks Hamas guys, [06:19] which is the only way to disarm them, [06:22] everyone says Israel is carrying out air [06:24] strikes against Gaza [06:26] because no one actually wants to disarm [06:28] them. And then you have the Iraqi [06:31] militias. Same thing. The official [06:33] government position is we're going to [06:34] disarm the militias. America wants them [06:36] disarmed. No one's going to disarm them [06:39] because there's no way to disarm [06:41] militias. There is only defeating them. [06:44] And no one's interested in defeating [06:46] these guys. No one's interested in [06:47] fighting them. No one's interested in in [06:49] actually removing them. [06:52] This is the problem throughout the [06:53] Middle East. [06:56] But there's a whole lot more to this [06:57] Iraq story. Okay. So, I want I want to [06:59] paint you a broader picture of what is [07:02] going on with Iraq and how it relates to [07:03] this war. So, let's take a look at a few [07:05] more headlines. This is an interesting [07:07] one. Iraq summons Iran envoy. This is [07:10] from today. Over Persian Gulf post, [07:13] Baghdad name origins. What to know? [07:17] Okay, so what is this? This is a really [07:19] bizarre story. I mean, to those of us in [07:21] the West, we're like, what on earth is [07:23] this? But it's a big story today in the [07:25] Arab world. Here we go. [07:28] So, look what happened. In the past [07:30] week, Iranian officials and embassies [07:33] made controversial posts involving the [07:35] name of the body of water separating [07:38] Iran from the Arabian Peninsula and the [07:41] origin of the names of Iraq and Baghdad. [07:45] During his visit to Baghdad, that's in [07:47] Iraq, of course, last last Wednesday, [07:50] last week, a week ago, Iranian [07:52] Parliament Speaker Muhammad Bergalibah [07:54] posted a photograph on X of himself with [07:56] a map of the region labeled the Persian [07:59] Gulf. Okay. Now, why is that so [08:02] controversial? Find out. [08:04] Well, let me just tell you. It's going [08:06] to explain it, but we we think of it as [08:08] the Persian Gulf. Like the inside of the [08:09] straight of Hormuz there, we call it the [08:11] Persian Gulf. [08:13] The Arab countries do not call it the [08:15] Persian Gulf. They call it the Arabian [08:17] Gulf or the Gulf of Arabia. Okay? [08:19] Because it borders it it it separates [08:22] between Persia and the Arabian [08:23] Peninsula. [08:25] So Galivo posts this picture while he's [08:28] visiting Iraq of himself with the word [08:31] Persian Gulf clearly written there. [08:34] Iraqi Parliament Speaker Hibbat [08:37] Al-Halbusi responded to Galivba's post [08:39] the following day putting up his own [08:42] photo in front of the same map bearing [08:44] Arabian Gulf. [08:47] Okay, [08:49] now this might seem silly, but it's not. [08:50] There's a there's a very serious [08:52] underlying uh uh meta narrative, shall [08:56] we say, going on here. The public [08:58] exchange continued as the Iranian [09:00] embassy in Kenya shared Halbusi's post [09:02] and claimed that Iraq is a Persian word [09:06] meaning plain or lowland and that [09:08] Baghdad is also a Persian name meaning [09:11] God-given meaning. So here's what [09:13] happens. Galiva posts a picture. It says [09:15] Persian Gulf. That's offensive to Iraq [09:19] or to to the Arabian countries in [09:21] general, but Iraq is now stepping up and [09:23] flexing its muscles and pushing back. [09:25] That's part of the narrative here. And [09:27] so you have this Iraqi diplomat, the [09:30] Iraqi, sorry, the Iraqi parliament [09:31] speaker pushing back against Galibbah [09:36] and saying, "No, it's called the Arabian [09:37] Gulf." The Iranian embassy in Kenya then [09:42] mocks the Iraqis by pointing out that [09:44] the word Iraq and the word Baghdad are [09:47] Persian. [09:49] The embassy later deleted the post in [09:51] response to backlash. Iran and Arab Gulf [09:55] countries have been entangled in a [09:56] decades old row over the name. While the [10:00] Persian Gulf is the internationally [10:01] recognized name of the body of water, [10:03] Gulf and other Arab governments refer to [10:05] it as the Arabian Gulf. The term Arabian [10:07] Gulf has been used by Arab states since [10:09] the rise of panarabism in the 1960s. [10:12] Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and [10:14] Saudi Arabia and the UAE all border the [10:16] Gulf and collectively have about 3,500 [10:19] kilometers of coastline along it. Iran's [10:23] coastline amounts to only500 kilometers. [10:26] In January 2023, Iran summoned Iraq's [10:30] ambassador to Thran, Nasir Abdul Mosen [10:33] Abdullah, to protest Baghdad's use of [10:36] the term Arabian Gulf during an Asian [10:39] soccer event held in Iraq's southern [10:41] city of Basra. So, this is a ser they [10:44] consider this a serious issue, but [10:45] what's the meta narrative here? We'll [10:47] see in the next piece. So, this is [10:48] coverage of the same event in the Arab [10:50] Weekly. And look how they cover it. Iraq [10:54] summoned Iran's ambassador on Wednesday [10:55] over maps and other material published [10:57] by Iranian diplomatic missions that [10:59] Baghdad said required clarification and [11:02] risked inflaming sensitivities over [11:04] Iraqi sovereignty and national identity. [11:07] Foreign Ministry officials summoned [11:09] Ambassador Muhammad Kazam al-Sadek after [11:11] official Iranian diplomatic accounts [11:13] circulated maps and posts. And this is [11:15] the Persian Gulf Arabian Gulf thing. The [11:18] Iraqi objection was fueled by several [11:21] pieces of material, including posts [11:23] discussing the origin of the names of [11:25] Iraq and Baghdad and a map using the [11:27] term Persian Gulf. The publications [11:29] prompted criticism in Iraq, where the [11:32] issue was viewed by some as extending [11:34] beyond the long-standing dispute over [11:36] Gulf terminology into questions of [11:39] national history and identity. Now, [11:41] we're getting into it. The episode comes [11:43] at a sensitive point in relations [11:45] between the neighboring countries with [11:47] Baghdad seeking to maintain close [11:50] political, economic, and security ties [11:53] with Thran. They want to have a good [11:55] relationship with Iran while facing [11:58] continuing debate over the extent of [12:00] Iranian influence in Iraq. Iran has [12:03] extensive links with Iraq through trade, [12:06] energy, political parties. Like I said, [12:08] there's the basically the ruling block [12:12] in the Iraqi parliament is this [12:14] coalition of of Shiite parties. They [12:17] operate as a block. [12:20] Okay. So, and armed groups. So, Iran has [12:24] has Iran has a lot of influence there. [12:27] While successive Iraqi governments have [12:29] sought to prevent the country from [12:31] becoming an arena for confrontation [12:34] between Tehran and its regional and [12:35] international rivals, which is exactly [12:37] how Iran wants to use Iraq. They have [12:40] these these proxy militias there that [12:42] fight their battles for them, attacking [12:44] Israel. Iraq has been one of the fronts [12:47] in the war that Israel has been fighting [12:48] since October 7th. It doesn't get as [12:50] much press, but also currently attacking [12:52] Saudi Arabia. Okay. Officials from both [12:56] sides also discussed strengthening [12:58] bilateral political, economic, [13:02] and security cooperation and increasing [13:04] coordination through international [13:06] organizations. The dispute over the [13:08] Gulf's name has also exposed a wider [13:10] regional fault line. Iran officially [13:13] uses Persian Gulf while Arab states use [13:15] Arabian Gulf, making the terminology a [13:18] politically charged issue well beyond [13:20] Iraq. [13:22] For Baghdad, however, the more sensitive [13:24] element was the inclusion of the [13:26] references to Iraqi cities, territory, [13:28] and history in material issued by [13:31] official representatives of another [13:33] state. The dispute comes amid a broader [13:36] reassessment in Iraq of the country's [13:38] relationship with Tehran, including [13:40] questions over Iranbacked armed factions [13:43] and the degree to which external actors [13:46] should influence Iraqi political and [13:48] security decisions. You see, that's what [13:50] this is really about. This is about [13:52] Iraqi sovereignty. You see, Iran sees [13:56] Iraq as it's as as as the whole country. [13:59] It's kind of like theirs. It's Shiite [14:01] and they're and they're the big Shiite [14:03] headquarters in the world. And it it's [14:06] Shiite. And they have their Iraq they [14:08] have their they have the this Shiite [14:10] majority in the parliament that they [14:12] basically control with a wink and a [14:14] nudge. They have their militias that are [14:16] very powerful that are similar to but [14:19] not quite to the same extent a very [14:21] powerful force in Iraq [14:24] and [14:26] you know when they did [14:28] funeral it actually went into Iraq for [14:31] part of the funeral. [14:33] So like they kind of treat they're [14:35] always messaging that Iraq is really [14:37] within their within their sphere of [14:40] influence and Iraq is trying there's a [14:42] big there's this internal struggle going [14:44] on in Iraq over how much influence Iran [14:47] should have. [14:49] Baghdad has also been attempting to [14:51] position itself as a regional mediator [14:53] while maintaining working relationships [14:55] with Iran, Gulf Arab states, Turkey and [14:59] the United States. That policy requires [15:01] Iraq to preserve its ties with Tehran [15:04] while demonstrating that those ties do [15:06] not amount to acceptance of external [15:08] influence over its sovereignty. So, it's [15:09] got this balancing act going on trying [15:12] to like they don't want to have a bad [15:13] relationship with with Thran. They need [15:14] a good relationship with Thran for in [15:17] order to have um you know cohesion at [15:20] home because you have so many pro-Iran [15:23] people both in the parliament and and [15:25] militias and people in the country, [15:26] Shiites. [15:28] The swift removal of the disputed [15:30] publication suggests both sides have an [15:32] interest in preventing the incident from [15:33] escalating. But the summon sends a clear [15:36] message from Baghdad. Remember summoning [15:38] this is how the article started that in [15:40] Baghdad they summoned the Iranian [15:41] ambassador that it intends to draw that [15:44] Iraq uh intends to draw a firmer line [15:47] around how Iraqi territory, history, and [15:50] national symbols are represented by [15:52] foreign diplomatic missions. The [15:54] incident is unlikely by itself to [15:56] fundamentally alter Iraqi Iranian [15:58] relations. It does however illustrate [16:01] the increasingly sensitive political [16:03] environment in which Baghdad is [16:05] attempting to balance strategic [16:07] cooperation with Iran against a growing [16:10] insistence on an independent Iraqi [16:12] national identity. So you see that this [16:15] bizarre little story about a spat over [16:18] what to call the Persian Gulf or the [16:19] Arabian Gulf is actually about something [16:21] much deeper. [16:23] Meanwhile, Iraq and this this video is [16:26] really all about the tightroppe that [16:28] Iraq is walking. Look at this. This is [16:30] from two days ago. Iraq proposes joint [16:33] security council between Iran and Saudi [16:36] Arabia. Okay, let's put this in context. [16:38] Right now there are Iraq backed militias [16:40] that have been attacking Saudi Arabia. [16:42] Okay, the Saudis are adversaries of the [16:46] Iranians. They have been for a long [16:47] time. It's been an on andoff but mostly [16:49] off relationship [16:52] and Iraq is kind of caught between them [16:55] and look what they're trying to do. Iraq [16:57] has proposed creating a joint security [16:59] council between Iran and Saudi Arabia, a [17:03] senior Iraqi official said Sunday, [17:04] citing a crisis of trust between the two [17:07] regional powers. Now Saudi Arabia just [17:10] signed that pact with Pakistan and [17:12] Turkey also. Let's keep that in mind. [17:13] Kasim Malaraji, national security [17:15] adviser to the Iraqi prime minister said [17:18] Baghdad had presented the proposal to [17:20] both Tehran and Riyad. The problem [17:22] between the two countries is a crisis of [17:24] trust. He said he gave no further [17:26] details on the proposed mechanism while [17:28] neither Iran nor Saudi Arabia [17:29] immediately commented. He also said that [17:32] bringing all weapons under state control [17:33] was a purely Iraqi strategic decision. [17:36] In other words, Iran should stay out of [17:38] it. Okay, look what it says here. On [17:41] July 27th, a month ago, Saudi Arabia [17:44] said it intercepted and destroyed [17:45] several drones launched from Iraqi [17:48] territory that attempted to target oil [17:50] facilities in the eastern province of Ri [17:52] and Riyad. Riad blamed Iran affili Iran [17:56] affiliated militias for the attacks and [17:57] said it reserved the right to respond. [17:59] In other words, that's part of the [18:00] crisis here that Saudi Arabia has [18:03] basically said to Iraq, "Look, you've [18:05] got this Iranianbacked militias. They're [18:06] attacking us. You better reign them in [18:09] or we're going to hold you responsible." [18:11] So, that's also happening here. All [18:12] right. Visiting Iraq, Iran's parliament [18:15] speaker hails new order in the region. [18:17] This is from a week ago. This is the [18:18] famous Galibbah visit that we talked [18:20] about where he put out a picture of the [18:22] Persian Gulf, right? So, during that, [18:24] this is a report on that visit from [18:26] France 24. Galibav's trip comes at a [18:29] time when Iraq is facing American [18:32] pressure to disarm factions close to [18:34] Tehran which wields significant [18:36] political influence in Iraq. Speaking [18:38] from the site near Baghdad airport where [18:40] where Kasamsulammani was killed in 2020, [18:43] Galibah said, "Our trip to Iraq today is [18:45] aimed at strengthening the new order in [18:47] the region and strengthening cooperation [18:50] between all countries." Resistance in [18:52] Iraq. Now, resistance is a word when [18:54] whenever you hear it in Iran from [18:56] Iranian media or Iranian people, [18:58] resistance means terrorism. Resistance [19:01] means um the proxy network. Okay. [19:04] Resistance in Iraq is one of the [19:06] elements of this country's power. Today, [19:09] resistance has gone beyond the borders [19:11] of Iran and Iraq and has become global. [19:13] Kalibuff is uh and he's scheduled was [19:16] scheduled to meet uh Zahedi. But look [19:19] what else it says. We scheduled to meet [19:21] Zahedi and then hold a meeting with the [19:23] coordination framework. What's that? [19:26] That's that block of of pro- Iran of [19:30] Shiite, sorry, of Shiite parties in the [19:33] Iraqi parliament that that basically [19:35] controls the government. They choose [19:37] who's going to be the the prime [19:38] minister. U so Galibah met with them, [19:42] the largest block in parliament made up [19:43] of Shia parties with varying degrees of [19:45] proximity to Thran. And then as part of [19:47] his trip, look what he did on Thursday. [19:49] Galibbaf will head to the holy city of [19:51] Carbala where he will take part in [19:53] ceremonies marking 40 days since the [19:55] funeral of former Iranian supreme leader [19:57] Ali Kabani was not buried there but he's [20:00] going to he's going to go there and this [20:01] is all um you could maybe it's just for [20:04] religious reasons but there also like I [20:07] said before Iran likes to show that as [20:10] the leaders of the Shiite world Iraq is [20:12] basically under their control. Now this [20:15] is from a Kurdish uh media outlet. Iran [20:18] presses Iraq against disarming armed [20:21] groups, sources say. This is from two [20:23] days ago. Senior Iranian officials have [20:25] privately urged Iraqi leaders not to [20:27] disarm armed factions aligned with [20:29] Tehran. [20:30] During a recent visit to Iraq, Islamic [20:33] Revolutionary Guard Corps coups force [20:34] commander Ezel Kawani. So Esme Kahani [20:40] the head of the coupuds force the [20:41] coupuds force coupuds force is the part [20:44] of the IRGC which manages the proxy [20:47] network outside of Iran. Okay. So he's [20:49] like the commander of and the [20:52] coordinator of the relationships with [20:54] the Houthis Iraqi [20:57] and Lebanon like all of it is managed by [20:59] the coup. That's the Kuds force. So the [21:01] head of the coups force was just in [21:03] Iraq. Galibbah was just in Iraq. We'll [21:05] see more. [21:07] We oppose disarming the resistance [21:09] front. We do not want the experiences of [21:12] Lebanon and Syria to be repeated in [21:14] Iraq. What are the experiences of [21:15] Lebanon and Syria? Syria is I mean Iran [21:19] used to own Syria before the Assad [21:21] regime fell and they lost that [21:24] and now they're losing Lebanon because [21:27] Israel's pounding and destroying them. [21:30] So they he's he was very open. He [21:32] visited Iraq and he said, "We don't want [21:34] to lose Iraq. We have our militias [21:36] here." Iraqi lawmaker Kazim al- Shamari [21:39] said the government and armed factions [21:41] had agreed to stop describing the [21:42] process as disarmament of armed groups. [21:46] Instead, he said the discussions would [21:47] focus on ending the fighters affiliation [21:50] with independent factions and [21:52] integrating them into the popular [21:54] mobilization forces which are formerly [21:56] part of the Iraq security apparatus. [21:58] Okay. The Popular Mobilization Forces is [22:00] this name given to a bunch of different [22:04] uh militias in Iraq, terrorist [22:06] organizations in Iraq that all kind of [22:10] are sort of quasi part of the government [22:14] security forces. Like they're even paid [22:16] by the Iraqi government, but they're [22:19] kind of independent militias. [22:21] Um so he basically what they're saying [22:24] is we're not going to disarm them. We're [22:25] going to we're not going to disarm you [22:27] anymore. We're just going to incorporate [22:29] you into our security apparatus. Al- [22:31] Shamari said Prime Minister Ali Zahedi [22:34] had met with representatives of all the [22:36] relevant armed groups except Katibbah. [22:40] That's the most important one and had [22:41] reached what he described as a strong [22:43] understanding with them. [22:47] Alaraji. So that's the national security [22:49] adviser. He's the one who said that um [22:52] that it's not we don't really we're not [22:54] really going to disarm them by the 30th. [22:55] That's just when the Americans have to [22:57] leave. So that's what right that just [22:59] says that here. Iraqi lawmaker Sherwin [23:01] Alu Dubardani separately told Kurdistan [23:04] 24 that Prime Minister Zedi's position [23:06] has softened that he's not even seeking [23:09] to disarm them anymore. Iraqi Prime [23:11] Minister Ali Zedi's position on [23:13] disarming the armed groups has now [23:14] softened. It's no longer as firm as it [23:17] was before. Several groups had [23:19] previously resisted surrendering their [23:20] arms or tied any agreement to the [23:23] departure of US forces and improvements [23:26] in Iraq's military capabilities. In [23:28] other words, this is all a very [23:29] long-winded way of saying the Iranians [23:32] uh Esme Kani, the head of the Kuds force [23:34] went in there, he laid down the law, he [23:36] told all of these Shiite militias there, [23:38] don't give up your weapons. Meanwhile, [23:40] the Iraqi government, from the prime [23:42] minister to the security adviser, are [23:45] all backing off of the insistence that [23:49] they disarm. In other words, the [23:51] disarming of the Iraqi militias is being [23:53] taken off the table. And then we get to [23:56] the to the economic warfare that the US [23:59] is waging against Iran and where Iraq [24:01] fits into that. Iraq may show how the US [24:04] can squeeze Iran's trade partners. This [24:06] is from yesterday from Reuters. Iraq [24:08] could serve as an example of how the [24:10] United States could carry out its threat [24:12] to force countries that continue trading [24:15] with Iran out of the dollar-based [24:17] financial system. Washington has already [24:19] sanctioned a host of Iraqi banks accused [24:22] of doing business with Tehran, though it [24:24] had avoided measures that would [24:26] devastate the economy of the strategic [24:28] ally of both countries. The United [24:30] States since its 2003 invasion of Iraq [24:33] has held effective control over the [24:36] country's oil revenue dollars primarily [24:38] through the Federal Reserve Bank of New [24:40] York, giving Washington extraordinary [24:43] leverage over Baghdad's affairs. Let me [24:45] explain this. After the US invasion of [24:46] Iraq, when the United States kind of [24:48] took the place over, all of the oil [24:51] revenue of Iraq flows through the [24:54] Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Okay? [24:57] So, the United States has tremendous uh [25:00] power over Iraq that it doesn't even [25:02] wield over other countries. A rare ally [25:04] of both the United States and Iran with [25:07] more than a hundred billion dollars in [25:08] reserves held in the US. You see what I [25:11] mean? Iraq relies heavily on [25:13] Washington's goodwill to keep its oil [25:15] revenues and finances flowing. I mean, [25:17] think of the tight spot that the Iraqis [25:19] are in. I just described this whole [25:21] complex relationship they have with Iran [25:23] and with these Shiites in their [25:25] government and these militias that are [25:26] there and they're not going to dislodge [25:28] them. And meanwhile, the Americans are [25:30] holding all their money and have forces [25:33] there. Reuters revealed in late 2024 a [25:37] fuel oil smuggling network generating at [25:40] least a billion a year for Iran and its [25:42] proxies in Iraq. [25:45] Other neighbors of Iran involved in [25:46] similar schemes could face similar [25:48] scrutiny from Washington. While the US [25:50] has a has uniquely strong leverage over [25:53] Iraq compared with other major trading [25:54] partners of Iran, the US dollar's status [25:57] as the lynchman of global trade makes [25:59] its reach formidable. In April, Reuters [26:02] reported that the US halted $500 million [26:06] million dollar cash shipment to Iraq and [26:08] suspended parts of security cooperation [26:12] to pressure Baghdad over Iran back [26:14] militias. I I I talked about that in my [26:16] video back in April. Okay, this is what [26:18] happened here. There was supposed to be [26:19] $500 million in cash sent to Iraq. They [26:22] do a lot with cash there. And the United [26:24] States held it back. They halted it as a [26:28] way of holding leverage over Iraq, [26:29] saying, "You have to disarm the [26:31] Iranbacked militias." [26:33] In January, Washington reportedly [26:35] threatened senior Iraqi politicians with [26:37] sanctions, including on oil revenues, [26:40] should such groups join the next [26:42] government. And dude, they're joining [26:44] the next government. Iraq is a mess. [26:47] Successive US administrations have [26:49] sought to choke that dollar stream with [26:51] sanctions on Iraqi banks in recent [26:53] years, though some of the largest banks [26:55] were spared. Iraq's current prime [26:57] minister emerged as a candidate seen as [26:59] acceptable to the Trump administration, [27:01] which has pressured Baghdad to curb [27:03] Iran's influence. Iran has long viewed [27:06] its neighbor and ally, Iraq, Iraq, as an [27:09] economic lung and wields considerable [27:12] military, political, and economic [27:14] influence there. and it talks about how [27:16] much energy they they trade between [27:18] them. And Iraq has also been an [27:20] effective sanctions evasion route for [27:22] Iran. Okay, so [27:27] last one here. Okay, last one. Look at [27:29] this one. This is from today. [27:32] Uh and this is from uh Iraqi News. [27:35] President of Iraq's Supreme Judicial [27:37] Council visits Iran. Now, why is the [27:39] president of Iraq's judiciary, the head [27:43] of their judiciary, why is he visiting [27:46] Iran? [27:48] The president of Iraq Supreme Judicial [27:49] Council, Fik Zidon, paid a high-profile [27:52] one-day visit to Thran on Tuesday, [27:54] yesterday, to boost crossber legal [27:57] cooperation, crossborder legal [28:00] cooperation, develop bilateral judicial [28:03] agreements, and address important [28:04] security concerns. The meetings focused [28:06] on aligning judicial protocols and [28:08] managing shared legal issues. What kind [28:11] of shared legal issues? We'll find out [28:13] at the end of the piece. Strengthening [28:15] legal relations, streamlining judicial [28:17] procedures, activating cooperative [28:20] security frameworks, ah reviewing [28:23] legislative support for crossborder law [28:26] enforcement, and addressing border [28:28] stability and security measures. The [28:31] Iraqi judicial chief indicated that Iraq [28:33] will never forget Iran's support during [28:35] the US war against the country against [28:38] the country in 2003 and the war against [28:42] ISIS terrorist groups. Look at that. [28:46] Thanking Iran for its help against the [28:48] US and against ISIS, which is of course [28:51] Sunni. [28:55] And look at the final line. The Iraqi [28:57] official added that it is important to [28:59] enhance intelligence cooperation, [29:02] curb smuggling networks, streamline [29:05] extradition protocols, and tackle the [29:08] existence of anti-Iran groups along [29:11] shared borders. That's what this is [29:14] about. This is about preventing weapons [29:18] from coming across from Iraq into [29:21] anti-Iran militias in Iran. It's about [29:25] preventing the Kurds who are anti-Iran [29:28] from getting across. Everything that [29:30] could help the the popular resistance [29:34] against the Iranian regime that could [29:36] come across the Iraqi border. That's [29:38] what this is about. It's about [29:40] extraditing uh people who Iran wants [29:43] extradited to Iran from Iraq that they [29:46] see as security threats. That's what [29:48] this is about. Iran is working hard to [29:51] ensure that it is safe from what it [29:54] fears most, which is an insurgency [29:57] against it. and they know that Iraq is a [30:00] problem area because of the anti-Iran [30:03] forces that are there and the way that [30:06] uh it could be used as a um [30:11] um as a route to traffic weapons into [30:15] the population in Iran who might want to [30:18] use them against the regime. So Iraq, [30:21] bottom line on this whole on this whole [30:22] video, it's gone on way too long, but [30:25] this is Iraq is in this impossible [30:27] position. Uh they um they're on the one [30:31] hand beholden to to the United States, [30:33] on the other hand, they're beholden to [30:35] Iran and the Shiite militias. [30:38] Anyway, I don't have a solution to this [30:40] problem. I'm just updating you. It's a [30:42] very important piece of the puzzle here, [30:44] and we'll watch it and see how it [30:45] unfolds. All right, thanks for watching. [30:47] Um, if you stayed to the end, God bless [30:50] you and uh and please share this video, [30:52] please like it, please drop a comment. [30:54] Let me know what you think. God bless.
