Quds Force chief urges Iraqi militias to avoid response to US, Israel threats

Esmail Qaani, commander of Iran’s Quds Force, told leaders of armed groups in Iraq not to take any action in response to threats from the United States and Israel during a recent trip to Baghdad.

According to Asharq Al-Awsat, Qaani’s message was also passed on to Yemen’s Houthis via intermediaries in Iraq.

Multiple meetings were held during Qaani’s visit, most of them in the Iraqi capital, according to reports received by Iran International.

According to Iraqi outlet Shafaq News, Qaani arrived in Baghdad last Wednesday for high-level talks with several key actors.

Among those in the talks were leaders of the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Iran-aligned Shia political parties; commanders of armed factions linked to Iran; members of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an umbrella group of mostly Shia paramilitaries integrated into Iraq’s security forces; and Iran’s ambassador to Iraq, the IRGC linked Mohammad Kazem Al-Sadegh.