Analyzing the outpouring of commentary after Fakhrizadeh’s death from Iranian politicians, military personnel, and media outlets can help shed light on Tehran’s immediate political concerns, security imperatives, as well as prospects for retaliation and escalation.
On 31 October, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that intelligence veteran Hamid Mirza’i died of COVID-19. He was the Foreign Intelligence Directorate chief of the IRGC Intelligence Organization, according to an expose of last year.
63-year-old IRGC Brigadier General Hossein Dehghan is eying the Iranian presidency. If his candidacy is approved and he is elected in 2021, Dehghan will be the Islamic Republic’s first military president, a development with significant implications for Iranian domestic politics and foreign policy.
Two dual Lebanese nationals with ties to Hezbollah have been convicted of being involved in the 2012 Burgas bombing that killed six, including five Israelis.
Four newly-formed front groups for Iran have claimed several recent attacks across Iraq. American officials have attempted to downplay the events.
In the first official Bahraini militant statement since the announcement of a peace deal between Bahrain and Israel, Saraya Wa’ad Allah says it is opening its doors for recruitment for a new sub-unit dedicated to attacking Israelis on the island.
The IRGC-led Afghan Fatemiyoun Division held its first “international conference” in Iran, a heavily publicized event featuring speakers from other IRGC-led paramilitary groups, as well as, for the first time, an appearance – sort of – by the Fatemiyoun’s chief commander.
This is the first time that the Zulfiiqar Forces, a group that formed in June 2020, has claimed a physical attack on US personnel.
An Afghan Fatemiyoun fighter has died of COVID-19 in Syria, raising questions about the virus’s spread among the ranks. Meanwhile, the Fatemiyoun buried two fighters who had died under uncertain circumstances.
People of the Cave, a newly formed outfit, has claimed various bombings on American supply convoys across Iraq. However, it is unclear how many of these claims are accurate.
Afghan fighters of the IRGC-led Fatemiyoun Division showcased their light infantry and snipers in a Syria training camp video released to commemorate an important Shiite holiday.
The Iranian proxy group League of the Revolutionaries has reemerged to claim further rocket barrages on US bases in Iraq.
Several groups have recently emerged inside Iraq that have claimed strikes against US troops. However, they all appear to be part of a calculated propaganda campaign propagated by Iran and its allies against the United States inside Iraq.
Since its founding in 2013, the Iranian-led Afghan Shia militia has been at the forefront of most major battles in the defense of the Assad regime.
There have been at least 43 attacks using rockets and/or mortars on U.S. positions in Iraq by Iranian-backed Shiite militias. These attacks shed light on Iranian and allied-Shiite militia intentions and strategy.
Iran continues its support for its proxy militias in Syria, as the Israeli military attempts to counter it.
Hezbollah operates closely in Iraq alongside Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to prop up and support Shia militias hostile to the U.S. and the West. Muhammad Kawtharani has played a key role in Hezbollah’s operations.
Additionally, the group’s leader, Qais al Khazali, and his brother, Laith al Khazali, have been listed as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Both Qais and Laith were in U.S. custody up until the withdrawal from Iraq in December 2011.
A spokesman of the group warns US troops in Iraq, while also threatening Israel in a speech that alludes to Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah.
The group is likely a front for other Iranian proxies inside Iraq.
Recently, Hezbollah has suffered losses it has not seen in years of fighting in Syria.
On 14 February, Akram al-Kabi, the leader of the Iraqi Harakat al Nujaba (HAN) paramilitary group, warned during an address in Tehran that the “resistance” would “certainly” give a “military response” to the US over the deaths of commanders Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Kabi said the responses would be “corrosive and unexpected” with […]
Iranian-backed militias are taking part in the battle for northwestern Syria.
Over the last two weeks, the Saudi-led coalition and its allies have reported killing several members of Lebanese Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in Yemen.
Iranian-backed militia sites struck by what is thought to be Israeli warplanes Thursday morning.
Heavy losses by Hezbollah and Iranian-backed militias fighting in Syria.
The killing of Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis last week reportedly claimed the lives of eight lesser-known colleagues as well. The death of these aides indicates that those who serve designated terrorists may suffer the same fate as their superiors.
The U.S. Department of Defense confirmed the attack was “launched from Iran” and that it “targeted at least two Iraqi military bases hosting U.S. military & coalition personnel at Al-Assad & Irbil.” No casualties have been reported.
The rare joint statement both eulogizes Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al Muhandis and offers vague threats of retaliation in Bahrain.
Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani became “complacent” while traveling to and from Iraq, and did not believe the U.S. would target him, U.S. military officials told FDD’s Long War Journal. The military was able to reliably track his movements at times.