Iran Warns Sadr of Divisions Leading to ISIS Resurgence

File photo: Supporters of Moqtada Al Sadr during Friday prayers in Sadr City, on the outskirts of Baghdad (AFP)
File photo: Supporters of Moqtada Al Sadr during Friday prayers in Sadr City, on the outskirts of Baghdad (AFP)
TT
20

Iran Warns Sadr of Divisions Leading to ISIS Resurgence

File photo: Supporters of Moqtada Al Sadr during Friday prayers in Sadr City, on the outskirts of Baghdad (AFP)
File photo: Supporters of Moqtada Al Sadr during Friday prayers in Sadr City, on the outskirts of Baghdad (AFP)

While Iraq’s Coordination Framework, a coalition of Shiite parties, holds meetings to announce a new political initiative, Iran’s Quds Force Commander Esmail Qaani warned head of the Sadrist Movement Moqtada Al Sadr against the resurgence of ISIS amid Iraqi divisions.

Qaani had met with Sadr on Tuesday in the central Iraqi city of Najaf.

Multiple sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Qaani conveyed Tehran’s fears of “unacceptable consequences” in the event of the disintegration of Shiite forces, including the possibility of “a new invasion of (ISIS) according to a foreign conspiracy.”

A political source who spoke with the team accompanying Qaani said that the Iranian commander assured Sadr that Tehran did not object to the government he wanted to form.

Nevertheless, Qaani stressed that Tehran is rather interested in obtaining realistic guarantees that Iran’s national security will not be threatened.

Mediation efforts continue in Iraq, to bridge the gap between the two largest Shiite blocs that have been at daggers-end since the country's latest parliamentary elections in October.

One bloc, headed by Al Sadr, swept the polls winning 73 out of 329 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Challenging those numbers is the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Shiite parties — all former allies of Al Sadr — who claim that they collectively hold the majority of 88 seats, rather than the Sadrists.

A source quoting a member of Qaani’s accompanying delegation said that “not involving the Coordination Framework does not constitute a guarantee against threats to Iran’s national security, because it means an unprecedented Shiite division.”

After meeting with Sadr, Qaani returned to Baghdad in conjunction with talks held by the Coordinating Framework to announce a new political initiative.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi on Wednesday reiterated his government’s rejection of some parties exploiting political divisions in Iraq to settle scores.



North Korea’s Kim Calls for Building Modern Army to Brace for War

This picture taken on February 25, 2025 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on February 26, 2025 shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (C) visiting the Kang Kon Military Academy in Pyongyang. (KCNA via KNS / AFP) 
This picture taken on February 25, 2025 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on February 26, 2025 shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (C) visiting the Kang Kon Military Academy in Pyongyang. (KCNA via KNS / AFP) 
TT
20

North Korea’s Kim Calls for Building Modern Army to Brace for War

This picture taken on February 25, 2025 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on February 26, 2025 shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (C) visiting the Kang Kon Military Academy in Pyongyang. (KCNA via KNS / AFP) 
This picture taken on February 25, 2025 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on February 26, 2025 shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (C) visiting the Kang Kon Military Academy in Pyongyang. (KCNA via KNS / AFP) 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for building a strong, modern army to cope with any war during a visit to a military academy, state media KCNA said on Wednesday.

Kim's trip to the Kang Kon Military Academy comes after North Korea has sent thousands of troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine. This week Kim also visited the Kim Il Sung University of Politics, another elite cadre training institution, calling for military loyalty and sacrifice.

South Korea's intelligence agency has said Kim's previous inspections of military units and training might be part of preparations for an additional dispatch of soldiers to Russia.

During the latest visit to the military academy, Kim criticized the school's poor management and operation of educational facilities, saying it failed to meet the ruling party's pursuit of "modernity and advanced character" in building a powerful army, KCNA said.

He laid out tasks to refurbish the facilities and intensify education focusing on practice so that the students would learn about the "actual experiences of modern warfare", and to master advanced weapons and technical equipment, it said.

"The present international situation, in which the aggressive and bellicose nature of the imperialists is most openly expressed in history and war and bloodshed become commonplaces, requires the armed forces ... to perfectly cope with a war," Kim said, according to KCNA.

South Korean officials have warned that North Korea could benefit from supplying weapons and troops to fight in Russia by gaining experience and insight from operating on a modern battlefield.

Kyiv has said North Korean forces have suffered heavy casualties in Russia, with more than 3,000 soldiers killed or wounded by early January this year.