Iraqi 'Hashd al-Shaabi' Forces Accepted at Tehran University

The president of Tehran University welcomed the 'request for further education' from members of the Iraqi paramilitary group Hashd al-Shaabi on Sunday, July 9. According to the Tehran University website, Mohammad Moeini, in a meeting with a group of Iraqi students and applicants from this country, as well as Hossein Mousavi Bakhtiari, the deputy for education and training of Hashd al-Shaabi, regarded 'scientific interaction with Iraqi brothers, especially the fighters of Hashd al-Shaabi, as part of the interactive model' of Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Hashd al-Shaabi. Soleimani and al-Muhandis were killed on January 3, 2020, following a drone strike ordered by former U.S. President Donald Trump while leaving Baghdad International Airport. The president of Tehran University described the aim of accepting Hashd al-Shaabi forces for further education at the university as 'enhancing the level of knowledge and specialized capabilities of Muslim fighters.' In this context, according to the state news agency IRNA, Hossein Mousavi Bakhtiari stated, 'In the agreement and cooperation we will have with Tehran University, we will commit to all laws, standards, and legal conditions considered by Tehran University and will fully comply with the laws of the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education and the Iranian Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology.' He referred to 'the history of educational activities and cooperation with Iranian universities' and added, 'Before Hashd al-Shaabi was formed, we had schools and special institutions for fighters. Before the formation of Hashd al-Shaabi and under the supervision of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, 95 of our students were sent to study at Iranian universities.' This Hashd al-Shaabi official continued his remarks about 'the proposals of friendly countries to provide their educational services' to this paramilitary group, adding, 'We are seeking to establish cooperation with Iranian universities, with Tehran University at the forefront... and all scientific and academic interactions can be carried out with direct coordination with the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education.' Meanwhile, according to IRNA, Elham Aminzadeh, the international deputy of Tehran University, announced the beginning of 'the process of reforming and enhancing the qualitative and quantitative acceptance of students from various countries, especially neighboring countries.' She stated that the international deputy of Tehran University is considering 'creating infrastructure to handle the admission of applicants from neighbors, especially from Iraq, at Tehran University.' The announcement of the acceptance of Hashd al-Shaabi forces at Tehran University comes at a time when Mehdi Fakour Taghieh, the research deputy of Tehran University, had stated in May of this year in an interview with Mehr News Agency that the university's access to global scientific databases had been cut off due to a 60 billion tomans debt to these databases since 2018. Meanwhile, the news of welcoming Hashd al-Shaabi forces has faced widespread criticism on social media. The acceptance of Hashd al-Shaabi members at Tehran University occurs amid intensified security and judicial actions against students and student activists at this university and other universities in Iran, with several of them having been arrested or expelled. Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces of Iraq), which is supported by the Islamic Republic, was formed in 2014 after the Islamic State group controlled vast areas of Iraqi territory, following a fatwa from Ayatollah Ali Sistani, a Shiite cleric in Iraq. Aqil al-Husseini, the head of the Hashd al-Shaabi Council, described the formation of this paramilitary group as 'the continuation of popular mobilization in Iran' in an interview with the Rasa website on April 1, 2015. The 'Nujaba Movement,' one of the paramilitary groups forming Hashd al-Shaabi, is on the U.S. Treasury Department's blacklist of sanctions. In recent years, Hashd al-Shaabi has carried out attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq and several rival organizations and parties. In this context, a congressional inspector reported on May 2 last year that threats and operations by Iranian-supported or aligned militias continue to threaten U.S. interests and those of its allies in the region. The commander of Hashd al-Shaabi in Iran; the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps states that Hashd al-Shaabi is 'extraordinary.' A Hashd al-Shaabi commander states that Iran has armed this group with Iranian drones. The expansion of ideological education; an advisor to Khamenei states that a course on 'Soleimani's School' will be taught in universities starting in October. Two explosions occurred in Baghdad, coinciding with the presence of the commander of the Quds Force in Iraq. Supporters of Hashd al-Shaabi held a memorial ceremony at Baghdad Airport for Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Protests by Shiite groups aligned with Iran continue over the results of Iraq's parliamentary elections. A senior Afghan official described 'Hashd al-Shaabi' as a mercenary group and 'a conspiracy' by Iran against Afghanistan. A Hashd al-Shaabi commander states that this paramilitary group targets American centers in Iraq with Iranian drones.