The US military launched missile strikes on three radar sites in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen. The strikes came in response to two attacks on the USS Mason earlier this week. The Houthis’ insurgency in Yemen is backed by Iran and has greatly complicated US counterterrorism efforts.
Two top officials from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force (IRGC-QF) delivered remarks commemorating the most senior IRGC commander killed in Syria last year. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the IRGC-QF, spoke about the strategic importance of Syria, and claimed that the Islamic State was established with the goal of threatening Iran.
An Iranian media outlet citing unnamed sources has claimed that security forces have killed the designated emir of the Islamic State in Iran. The narrative matches some of the accounts of an operation confirmed by authorities last month. Iranian officials and major news outlets, however, have not commented on the latest claims.
Israel’s nationwide Home Front Drill, to be held next week, will simulate a worst-case-scenario war with Hezbollah, involving Iran, Syria and Hamas.
Iraqi Shiite militia leader Akram al Kabi has met with top Iranian government official in Iran. Kabi, who is a member of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces that has become an official part of the Iraqi government, boldly proclaimed his allegiance to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.
In a revealing interview, a retired senior IRGC commander who has deployed to Syria discussed a wide range of issues. He praised the Afghan militia fighting for the IRGC in Syria, and claimed that a “Shia liberation army” is forming, with the ultimate goal of destroying Israel. The commander’s talk about his mission in Syria reflects the IRGC’s pattern of deployment since its military escalation in October 2015.
The Yemeni Houthi movement, officially known as Ansar Allah, has recently deployed Zelzal-3, an Iranian-manufactured artillery rocket.
Hamza bin Laden, Osama’s son, criticizes Saudi Arabia’s intervention in Yemen in a newly released audio message. Hamza claims that the Saudi campaign has aided Houthi rebels by interfering in Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s war against them. He calls on Muslims to overthrow the Saudi government.
A leaked Joint Task Force – Guantanamo threat assessment describes Haji Hamidullah, who was recently transferred from Guantanamo to the UAE, as an “agent” of Iran. The Long War Journal first profiled Hamidullah in 2011. The leaked JTF-GTMO file contains numerous intelligence reports tying Iranian intelligence to the Afghan insurgency.
Moscow and Tehran have reportedly struck an agreement permitting the Russian Air Force to use an Iranian military base to conduct airstrikes in Syria.
The Iranian-backed Iraqi Shia militia has shown off a considerable troop deployment to the frontlines of Aleppo just days after Iranian media reported the move.
Qassem Soleimani will play a “major” role in upcoming operations to retake Mosul from the Islamic State, according to the spokesman of the Iraqi Population Mobilization Front.
The Iraqi Prime Minister’s order will establish Iraq’s own IRGC, institutionalizing Tehran’s influence in the country. This development follows similar trends in Iran and Lebanon.
The US Treasury Department designated three al Qaeda terrorists today. All three of them are based inside Iran. One of them has served as al Qaeda’s “Military Commission Chief” and was identified in Osama bin Laden’s files as part of a “new generation” of leaders.
A short clip has circulated on Arab Twitter accounts claiming to show an Iranian who was arrested in Fallujah, Iraq. [Update: the video is from 2005]
A senior advisor to the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps – Qods Force vowed that Iranian forces would continue to fight in Iraq and Syria until the last Islamic State and “takfiri” fighters are killed. The statement signals the entrenchment of Iranian military assets in Iraq and Syria and the two countries continue to be mired in civil wars.
The discussions reportedly centered around the Taliban’s commitment to preventing the Islamic State from expanding, “especially in Afghanistan’s northeastern border and the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border.” The Taliban and Iran have colluded since the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
Iranian media reported that the head of Iranian-backed Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces left the front lines of Fallujah yesterday to brief a senior cleric in Najaf, who praised the forces and stressed the protection of civilians.
Abu Ezrael, a famous commander in Iranian-backed Shiite militias who has burned an Islamic State fighter alive, taped a message addressing both the enemies and friends of Iran.
Foreign Minister Ibrahim Jafari defended Qassem Soleimani’s role in bolstering sectarian militias that have often acted outside of the law in Iraq as they battle the Islamic State.
The Iranian, who spoke in Farsi, belongs to the “Ansar al Hojja,” a militia that was formed in June 2014 and battles the Islamic State.
Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour’s presence in Fallujah alongside Qassem Soleimani underscores the importance of operations in Iraq to the IRGC’s leadership.
Multiple reports say Taliban leader Mullah Mansour was killed earlier this month after he returned to Pakistani soil from Iran. While some have praised Iran for supposedly seeking stability inside Afghanistan, the Iranians have supported the Taliban’s insurgency since late 2001.
Ahead of an anticipated assault to recapture Khan Touman, Iranian media claim Iraqi militia Harakat al Nujaba has deployed its ground and missile units.
Senior Iraqi Shia militia leader Abu Mahdi al Muhandis told a reporter that the second phase of the Fallujah operation was imminent. He criticized US airstrikes in Fallujah and announced his forces were prepared to enter the city if requested.
The photo shows Soleimani’s and the militias dependent on Iran’s importance in the fight for Fallujah.
Iranian-supported militias such as Hezbollah Brigades, Asaib al Haq, Harakat al Nujaba, Kata’ib Imam Ali, and Kata’ib Sayyid al Shuhada are taking part in the effort to wrest Fallujah from the Islamic State.
Harakat al Nujaba’s leader said that the Shia militia is operating in the Fallujah corridor and has prepared its forces to participate with the Anbar Brigade to retake Fallujah from the Islamic State.
Muqtada al Sadr, the radical Shia cleric who battled US forces during the Iraqi occupation, is preparing his militia to participate in an offensive to retake the northern city of Mosul from the Islamic State. The US military has insisted that Iranian-backed militias will not fight in Mosul.
Mustafa Badreddine, Imad Mughniyah’s replacement and a notorious Hezbollah senior military commander, was killed in an attack on Damascus International Airport initially attributed to Israel.