The Iraqi Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia is increasingly distancing itself from Iran and its terrorist designated IRGC forces, observers say, as its recent actions and posture of defiance highlight acute divisions among Iranian proxies in Iraq and the militia’s own bid for supremacy among them.
Since its formation in 2006 by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Asaib Ahl al-Haq has been actively serving Iran’s destructive agenda. It has engaged in sectarian violence in Iraq and Syria and carried out attacks on international interests. Iran-backed militias have been involved in drugs and weapons smuggling, as well as extortion and kidnapping in Iraq as the government struggles to keep in check.
The relationship between the two sides became tense at the end of last year when the IRGC directed all its proxies to refrain from attacking any international interests in Iraq without prior IRGC approval.
The so-called Iranian “Axis of Resistance” is now cracking under the strain of conflicts over money, influence, and leadership, observers said. Tension has increased accordingly between Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Hizbullah, with each accusing the other of attempting to achieve dominance and gain an advantage for themselves.
The rift among the two militias was evident in Iraq’s parliamentary elections, when Kataib Hizbullah had its own separate electoral list of candidates, while Asaib Ahl al-Haq remained under the umbrella of the Fatah Alliance.
“Asaib [Ahl al-Haq] is a dangerous Iranian affiliate and will not stand idly by in the face of its defeat after the Iraqi elections,” said political analyst Ghanem al-Abed.
Estimates of Iran’s actual military and economic spending in Iraq and Syria range from $30 billion to $105 billion to this date, according to a new report by a Lebanese newspaper.
Despite constant IRGC claims that it is there to help civilians, it has been providing money and aid only to members of its militias, while the people of the area it controls suffer from poverty.
Source » iranbriefing