![](https://www.longwarjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Qais-Khazali-Akram-al-Kaabi-Hawija.png)
Newly released interrogation files demonstrate Iran’s long game in Iraq
A newly released interrogation report shows that Qayis al-Khazali identified Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Abu Mustafa al-Sheibani as the two individuals Iran trusted “the most with attempting to implement the Iranian agenda in Iraq.” The pair went from being marginal players shortly after the US-led invasion in 2003 to leading the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces, one of most powerful and influential military organizations in Iraq.