PM Mohammed Shia al Sudani helping Iran boost military influence in Iraq, claim reports

Baghdad: Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia al Sudani has allegedly permitted Iran to increase its military presence in Iraq, particularly in the regions of Kirkuk and Sinjar.

According to a report by the Institute for Study of War, Iran has boosted its influence in neighbouring Iraq through the use of Iranian proxies – a process allegedly aided by Mohammed Shia al Sudani.

The PMF will establish a new operational headquarters in Kirkuk Province on April 17, according to a statement made on April 17 by the Popular Mobilisation Authority, the PMF’s official governing body.

According to UK-based Arabic language media outlet Al Araby, Mohammed Shia al Sudani had also given the go-ahead for Faleh al Fayadh, the head of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), to establish a new PMF-affiliated brigade at Sinjar in the Ninewa province of Iraq, on April 17.

The Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) is a Shia majority group that had reportedly played a significant role in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS), which was opposed to Shia-ruled Iran.

The brigade will be made up of Sinjar inhabitants chosen by local authorities and PMF leadership, as well as members of the PMF and the PKK-affiliated Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS), according to an unnamed PMF source reported by Al Araby. Sudani may have allowed these changes since his control over the PMF has waned lately.

Due to opposition from the Badr Organisation in the Diyala Province and previous Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, who backed electoral regulations that will bar Sudani from serving another term as Prime Minister, according to CTP, Sudani has faced political setbacks.