DAR AL HARB/ISLAM - U.S.A./IRAN: THE IRANIAN JIHAD ON AMERICA, IN IRAQ

Iran’s Terror War Against the U.S. in Iraq
By Alireza Jafarzadeh

Iran’s broad and destructive activities in Iraq are bringing renewed attention to the Iranian regime’s longstanding role as the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. As it continues to fund Shi’ia militias in Iraq and deliver weapons such as IEDs to the insurgency, Tehran is also escalating its presence in the Middle East as part of its goal to export Islamic fundamentalist rule throughout the Muslim world.

Earlier this month, Sen. Joseph Lieberman discussed this issue in the Wall Street Journal, summarizing that “Iran is acting aggressively and consistently to undermine moderate regimes in the Middle East, establish itself as the dominant regional power and reshape the region in its own ideological image.”

New intelligence out of Iran reveals that Tehran has instituted several new strategies for building its presence in the neighboring region. According to my sources associated with the National Council of Resistance of Iran — the same group that revealed the secret nuclear facilities in Natanz and Ark in 2002 and many additional, validated facts about Iran’s nuclear program and activities in Iraq — one of these tactics is the covert militarization of Iran’s diplomatic corps.

Today, most of the Iranian ambassadors in Middle Eastern embassies are members of the Qods Force, the elite unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In the few embassies that are not led by a Qods Force officer, the unit has a presence with at least two or three members on the embassy staff whose job is to recruit locals and ensure that the ambassador strictly follows the IRGC line.

In the case of Iraq, Tehran's ambassador, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, is a senior Qods Force commander. In addition, at least six other Qods Force officers are part of the embassy personnel facilitating the operation of Iran's terror network in Iraq.

For years, one of the primary functions of the Iranian embassies in the Middle East has been intelligence gathering, which is carried out by Qods Force staff as well as local personnel who are hired and trained by the IRGC.

A new element of the militarization of Iran’s intelligence-gathering system is the close relationship that has been forged between the IRGC and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS). This partnership, developed during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s presidency, has created new operations systems that contrasts with the strategies used during the previous administration. Under former Intelligence Minister Ali Yunessi, the majority of Iran’s plans for activities in foreign countries were initiated by the MOIS and then approved by the executive branch or the Supreme National Security Council. Under Ahmadinejad, however, most of the plans for foreign intervention now originate with the IRGC and are immediately sent to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Only then does the MOIS participate in discussions and planning.

This direct line between the military and the Supreme Leader is facilitated by a special section in Khamenei’s office set up to coordinate the smoothing functioning of the Intelligence Ministry (MOIS), the Qods Force and the Foreign Ministry in spreading Islamic extremism and inciting violence in Muslim countries.

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Pertinent Links:

1) Iran’s Terror War Against the U.S. in Iraq