Iran struggling to maintain sway over Iraqi militias six months after US killed Qasem Soleimani
Iraqi militia factions expected the usual cash handout when the new head of Iran’s expeditionary Quds Force made his first visit to Baghdad earlier this year, succeeding the slain General Qasem Soleimani. Instead, to their disappointment, Esmail Ghaani brought them silver rings.
Without imposing figures like Soleimani and al Muhandis to unify disparate factions, divisions have emerged in the Popular Mobilisation Forces, the umbrella group of mainly Shia forces. Charismatic and a fluent Arabic speaker, his rapport with Iraqi officials was unmatched. He slipped in and out of Iraq regularly to plan, mediate and give out cash assistance. One surprise visit by him was sufficient to broker agreement between rival factions, officials said.
Ghaani’s gift of silver rings, symbolically important in Shia Islam, rather than cash came during a meeting in April with leaders of several militia factions, according to three officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press. His death opened the door for factions opposed to that influence, particularly ones associated with Sistani, to break from the PMF leadership. Militias complain that Iran-friendly groups receive preferential treatment.
A senior official from Kataib Hezbollah said the move has weakened the PMF and its legitimacy among the public. For many Iraqis, the group's credibility is derived from Sistani's fatwa.
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