Khamenei's Request to Iraqi President to Preserve Hashd al-Shaabi

The leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a meeting with the new President of Iraq, Barham Salih, called for the 'preservation' of the Hashd al-Shaabi, a group of Shiite militias supported by Iran. According to IRNA news agency, on Saturday, November 17, Khamenei stated that 'a clear example of the extraordinary results of relying on youth was the formation of Hashd al-Shaabi during the fight against Takfiri terrorism, which must be preserved.' Hashd al-Shaabi, or 'Popular Mobilization Forces,' primarily composed of Shiite militias supported by Tehran, was recognized by the Iraqi parliament in December 2016 as a reserve force for the army and police of the country. Senior Iranian military commanders have repeatedly compared Hashd al-Shaabi to the Basij forces affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and have expressed pride in the influence of these forces from Iran. Meanwhile, the United States has set forth 12 conditions for reaching a new agreement with Iran, including that the Islamic Republic respects Iraq's independence and takes steps to disarm and dissolve Shiite militias. Recently, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis stated that NATO and American forces should provide sufficient skills and training to the Iraqi army so that ultimately this military force stands on its own rather than relying on Tehran. In the Iraqi parliamentary elections, the list supported by Muqtada al-Sadr, known as 'Sairoon,' which also includes Iraqi communists, secured 54 seats out of 329 in the Iraqi parliament. Following 'Sairoon,' the coalition of Hashd al-Shaabi forces ranked second, and Haider al-Abadi's coalition came in third. However, Ali Sadrzadeh noted in a commentary on Radio Farda that 'distance from Iran is like a common political currency that has many buyers in the current Iraqi political market.' The Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament is elected from among the Sunnis, the Prime Minister, who heads the government, is Shiite, and the presidency is assigned to the Kurds. Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry congratulated the election of Mohammad al-Halbousi, the Tehran-supported candidate, as the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, stating that the Islamic Republic supports the decision of the parliament representatives to elect him. Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, also told Barham Salih that 'the multiple designs of the U.S. and some reactionary countries in the region to disrupt the friendly relations between the two nations of Iran and Iraq will lead nowhere.' Barham Salih's visit on Saturday was his first trip to Iran and his fourth regional visit, having previously traveled to Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan. The official visit of the Iraqi President comes a day after Reuters reported, citing sources in the Iraqi oil industry, that oil exports from Kirkuk have 'resumed' after a year-long halt. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad announced last week that the U.S. government has exempted Iraq from recent sanctions for 45 days to allow it to continue purchasing gas and electricity from Iran, which will enable Iraq to 'take steps towards energy independence.' On the other hand, the Iraqi President stated that Baghdad continues its negotiations with the U.S. regarding Iran's sanctions, and the United States must consider the special conditions of his country in this regard. Iraq is also one of the largest customers of non-oil goods from Iran. According to the Trade Development Organization, Iran's non-oil exports (excluding oil, oil products, electricity, and gas) to Iraq increased by 45% in the first half of the current Iranian year compared to the same period last year, reaching over $4.5 billion. Iraq's share of Iran's total non-oil exports is 20%.