Who is violating Iraqi sovereignty?

The issue of Iraqi sovereignty has been hotly debated as hundreds of Iranian-backed militiamen and their supporters launched a siege on the US Embassy on Tuesday.

American and Iranian officials have accused each other of undermining the sovereignty of Iraq as the country reels from three devastating years of war with Islamic state (ISIS) and a political system that is incapable of meeting the basic needs of its citizens. Many blame Iran, the US and to a lesser extent Turkey for wielding too much influence in Iraqi affairs and pulling strings behind the scene when it comes to making major political decisions.

Protesters camped in Tahrir square say the country’s political system is dysfunctional and have called for an end to foreign interference in Iraqi political affairs, particularly from Iran and the US, since demonstrations began in early October.

However the existence of large swathes of ungoverned spaces, several Kurdish opposition groups from Iran and Turkey, and the emergence of Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) with powerful factions loyal to Iran has made it difficult for Iraqi and Kurdish authorities to wield power over their territory.

Washington has raised concerns about the actions of the Iran-backed militia groups since the war with ISIS came to an end in late 2017. But with tension rising between Iran and the US over Washington’s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal, Iranian hardliners and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRCG) commanders did not hide the fact that if Iran were to come under a US attack, the ‘Axis of Resistance’, which includes pro-Iran groups in Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq and Yemen would be mobilised to retaliate.

Iraqi officials have repeatedly called on Iran and the US to avoid turning Iraq into an arena to settle scores. But lack of government control over some PMF groups, which were officially incorporated into the Iraqi Armed Forces in 2016, have led to an increasing number of attacks on bases housing US personnel.

Last Friday, around 30 rockets fell on K-1 base near Kirkuk killing a US contractor and wounding four American military personnel. The US retaliated on Sunday by killing 29 members of Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militia group in Syria and Iraq.

“This was a defensive action designed to protect American forces and American citizens in Iraq, and it was aimed also at deterring Iran.  This was an Iranian-backed rogue militia acting to deny the Iraqi people their basic sovereignty,” Pompeo told Fox News on December 29 moments after US launched the strikes.

The following day, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Abbas Mousavi railed against the US action. “With these attacks … the US shows its disregard for the independence and sovereignty of countries and must bear responsibility for the consequences of this illegal action,” Mousavi said.

The funeral procession of the 29 fighters on Tuesday, attended by thousands of militiamen and their supporters, turned into a violent storming of the US Embassy in the Green Zone.

The Americans once again cried out for the violation of the Iraqi sovereignty and how Iran used its proxy forces to cause mayhem in Baghdad. But is anyone really respecting Iraqi sovereignty?

Iran’s disregard

In the early hours of September 8, 2018, the IRGC fired seven ballistic missiles into northern Iraq, killing at least 15 members of a Kurdish opposition group based just outside the town of Koya, Erbil governorate.

The IRGC, which is responsible for Iranian policy in Kurdistan Region and the rest of Iraq, has repeatedly violated Iraqi airspace and territory to attack opposition groups.

The IRGC and agents of the Ministry of Intelligence have been also been accused of carrying out a stream of assassinations and bombing against Kurdish opposition groups in the Kurdistan region.   

Turkish attacks

In the evening of October 15, a Turkish airstrike on a hill overlooking the city of Sulaimania killed two senior members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought Turkey for Kurdish rights since the early 1980s. The hilltop is popular with the locals from the city, hundreds of whom were present when the strike occurred.

The war between Turkey and the PKK has been fought mainly in the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq. Turkey, a strong member of NATO, has paid little attention to the issue of Iraqi sovereignty despite repeated protests by the Iraqi and the Kurdish authorities in the north. 

Hundreds of airstrikes are carried out every year by the Turkish drones and F-16 against the PKK locations in northern Iraq. Dozens of Iraqi civilians of Kurdish origin have been killed by Turkish drones.

In one single Turkish airstrike in June last year, two children, their father and a fourth civilian were killed in the mountains of Sulaimania. 

Four others were killed in Choman area in Erbil province in 2018

US strikes

US forces have backed Iraqi and Kurdish security forces as part of the international coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS), which has carried out thousands of airstrikes against ISIS positions.

However the recent attack on Kataib Hezbollah, a faction within the PMF which is officially recognized by the Iraqi parliament as part of the Iraqi defense apparatus was a step too far. The strikes, which killed 29 fighters, were condemned by Iraqi leadership and the country’s religious authorities, including Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani.

The PMF lost thousands of men during the war with ISIS and were credited with pushing back the terror group, thus enjoying widespread support. A series of mysterious air attacks last year believed to have been carried out by the Israelis were another issue that rallied the public and political class behind the PMF.

However the reported involvement of Iran-backed militia groups in cracking down on Iraqi protesters tainted their reputation and shifted public sympathy.

Despite the recent violence between the US and the PMF, the United States continues to publicly state its support for Iraqi sovereignty, even if this is not practiced on the ground.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi on Tuesday, following the withdrawal of militia supporters from the embassy in Baghdad, stating that the US “wants an Iraq that is free, independent and sovereign.” 

Currently, Turkey continues its airstrikes in Iraq, Iran has no qualms in targeting “counter-revolutionaries”, a euphemism for Kurdish opposition groups based in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, and the US has maintained it reserves the right to target Iran-backed Shiite militias if the Iraqi authorities are unable to prevent further attacks against American personnel in the country. 

As 2020 begins, Iraqi sovereignty remains elusive.