Trusted sources informed Asharq Al-Awsat that commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Forces Esmail Qaani has warned Iraqi armed factions “against provoking the Americans and Israelis” or risk the US attacking them the way it is the Houthis in Yemen.
The pro-Iran factions in Iraq have for weeks been toning down their rhetoric and hostile activity after coming under international pressure and given the American strikes against the Houthis.
The sources revealed that Qaani had delivered his message from the Iranian leadership during a recent visit to Iraq.
He asked them against carrying out “any military activity during their critical phase.”
“A single spark could ignite the Iraqi front,” he warned. The factions were “relieved” by the message given the pressure they have been facing for months, said the sources.
Tehran believes that the US “will not hesitate in attacking Iraq if the factions there act to support the Houthis,” they went on to say.
Media reports said Qaani had visited Baghdad last week where he met with politicians in the pro-Iran Coordination Framework and leaders of armed factions. His visits are often held in secret but not this time.
Qaani reiterated Tehran’s “commitment to supporting its allies in Baghdad should they come under American pressure,” added the reports.
Houthis shut Iraqi HQ
Meanwhile, the Yemeni Houthis shut a “strategic” headquarters in a high-class neighborhood near the Green Zone in Baghdad, revealed the sources.
They told Asharq Al-Awsat that a Shiite party from the Framework had helped the Houthis set up the headquarters in 2023. The facility had raised Houthi banners and posters of its leader Abdel Malik al-Houthi.
The sources explained that the position oversaw business and media operations in Baghdad that intensified after Hamas’ al-Aqsa Flood Operation against Israel in October 2023 that sparked the war on Gaza and prompted the Houthis to start attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
The Houthi center was shut in wake of the US strikes on Yemen and at the “firm advice of a Shiite faction,” said the sources. The Houthis complied with the demand and shut the center after noting the Shiite consensus in Baghdad on halting any provocative acts.
The Houthis boast two other centers in Baghdad and another in southern Iraq that they may also close under pressure from the Framework.
The Iraqi government had denied a Foreign Policy report that the Houthis were training their members in the Diyala province.
On March 18, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth discussed with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani the military operations aimed at “eliminating the Houthi threat to American commerce and restoring American freedom of navigation,” said the Pentagon.
Meanwhile, the legitimate Yemeni government confirmed that it was “monitoring Houthi militia activity in any country and the harm they are causing to Arab national security.”
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani called on the Iraqi government to “stand firmly against any Houthi media, political or logistic activity on Iraqi territories.”
He urged it to take “clear steps to ensure that Iraq is not used as a platform or a haven for any entity that threatens the security of Yemen or the region.”
The Yemeni government “is confident that Iraq will not allow itself to be part of the chaos that Iran is seeking to impose through its proxies in the region,” he added.
For a week, the US has been striking Houthi positions in the Yemeni capital Sanaa and the provinces of Saada, al-Bayda and al-Jawf in response to their attacks on Red Sea shipping.
US President Donald Trump vowed to “annihilate” the Houthis, warning Iran against continuing to support them.
The Houthis remained defiant, saying they will continue to attack American vessels in the Red Sea.
