Not Teheran’s man
A few months ago, Washington circles saw Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as “Tehran’s man” in Baghdad. Today, Tehran circles label him “Washington’s man” in Baghdad…The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) recently called Maliki “too pro-Arab.” In plain language, that means he emphasizes the Arab identity of the majority of Iraqi peoples – rather than their sectarian affiliation, as Tehran would prefer.
Last month, Ali Khamenei, the top mullah in the Khomeinist system, attacked Maliki in a roundabout way. He recalled that many leaders of the new Iraq spent years in Iran as exiles, and he implied that it was payback time. Last week, the mullahs showed their anger by refusing to let Maliki’s plane pass through Iranian airspace on its way to the Far East.
Maliki has offered no favors to the mullahs. He visited half a dozen capitals in the early stages of his premiership – but pointedly avoided Tehran. He also turned down Tehran’s offer of hosting a regional conference on Iraq, preferring to hold the exercise in Baghdad and then, later this year, in Cairo.
Maliki has also given the green light to a crackdown on Shiite militias and death squads, serving notice that the war of the sectarians must end. Within the next few weeks, he is expected to further anger Tehran by dropping from his Cabinet all five Sadrist ministers, who are beholden to the Iranian regime…
Tehran is also sore that the Maliki government has re-imposed visas for Iranians, making it more difficult to smuggle Khomeinist agents among thousands of pilgrims who travel to Iraq each day. Worse still, the Maliki government has arrested, or acquiesced in the arrest of, almost a dozen senior IRGC officers, including two generals still held by the Americans in Baghdad…
It may be a coincidence. However, each time Democrats throw a poisonous arrow at Maliki, they are followed by mullahs doing the same the next day. Maybe Maliki is doing something right?
Taheri says: Maliki “is expected to further anger Tehran by dropping from his Cabinet all five Sadrist ministers, who are beholden to the Iranian regime.” That just happened today, with six cabinet ministers quitting on orders from Moktada al-Sadr, according to the NYT. The Times says, “the withdrawal could seriously undermine Mr. Maliki’s already shaky administration.” We’ll see.