IRGC set up secret Iraqi cells to attack Gulf neighbors - report
Iraq's new prime minister has condemned the attacks and pledged a joint inquiry with affected Gulf states
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has set up secretive new cells in Iraq to attack Gulf countries that host American forces. This is according to Iraqi sources who spoke with Reuters. These new cells, each made up of about 10 Iraqi Shi’ite fighters, bypass established militia networks to avoid detection. According to the report, they have launched at least seven drone attacks from desert locations near Basra and Samawa against sites in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE between April 20 and May 17.
The attacks included at least three targeting Kuwait, two targeting Saudi Arabia, and two aimed at the UAE. Targets included Kuwait's Ali Al Salem Air Base, where US forces are deployed, and a military terminal at the country's international airport. The Saudi and UAE attacks were intercepted.
Many of the cells' members were drawn from Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of hardline Shi'ite factions that answer directly to Iran. According to militia commanders, the shift reflects an effort to preserve Iran's ability to project force across the region as its proxy groups have been diminished and its own resources depleted.
Jasim al-Bahadli, a retired Iraqi general and expert on Shi'ite armed groups, said the IRGC may have acted after powerful Shi'ite factions signaled readiness to disarm. Two of those factions, Asaib Ahl al-Haq and the Imam Ali Brigades, announced this month that they would begin surrendering weapons to state authorities. "The newer groups established by the IRGC appear smaller, more ideologically hardened and more tightly controlled, reflecting Iran's need to conserve resources amid economic strain," Bahadli said.
Iraqi authorities are investigating whether the new cells carried out a May 17 drone attack that caused a fire at the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant. Saudi Arabia said it intercepted three drones that entered its airspace from Iraq the same day, an attack Iraqi officials said was carried out by a new group.
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE summoned Iraq's envoys in April to protest, and Iraq’s new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi condemned the attacks, pledging a joint inquiry with the Gulf states.
Iran's foreign ministry did not respond to questions for the report. Tehran has said its support for "resistance groups" is not up for discussion in talks with Washington.