Tehran's new terror escalation meant to extend, solidify gains in Iraq
Fox News, February 14, 2008
Last week I made public
new information about another escalation in the terrorist
meddling of the ayatollahs' regime in Iraq. I obtained the
information from my sources inside the Iranian regime. These
intelligence sources are associated with a network of Iran's
main opposition, the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran
(also known as the MEK), based in Ashraf City, Iraq.
The ayatollahs' surge is primarily being carried out through
the notorious Qods Force and its Iraqi terror networks. On
the one hand, this is alarming news: Tehran's new terror
escalation is meant to strategically extend and solidify its
gains in Iraq. On the other, however, this is good news:
clearly, the ayatollahs are worried about the spread and
consolidation of an Iraqi counter force.
What is this dual-pronged escalation about and what does it
mean? The facts on the ground indicate that Tehran has been
consistently losing ground, politically and militarily, over
the past few months to the awakening forces of independence
in Iraq. These forces, in tandem with a more robust campaign
by the U.S.-led Multi-National Forces, have had significant
success in pushing back the Al Qaeda and Tehran-backed
terrorists. This is particularly true in the central
provinces bordering Iran, such as Diyala Province.
According to the new intelligence, Tehran is attempting to
counter with a comprehensive plan to expand its terrorist
network in Iraq. To this end, the Qods Force has created a
new command headquarters in the western Iranian city of
Kermanshah, from where it directs three operational axes —
northern, central and southern. Each operational sector has
been assigned its own border-crossings and arms smuggling
networks. Each is in charge of managing those terror
networks in Iraq located within its sector.
The HQ's commander is a high-ranking veteran Qods Force
officer named Haj Amiri. Many of the top commanders in this
new HQ are Iraqi nationals who worked with the Badr Corps
before serving in the Qods Force, such as Ali Al-Hosseini
and Ali Haydari.
The Northern Axis, responsible for Baghdad, Diyala and
Kurdistan provinces, is perhaps the most vital to the
ayatollahs' new terror build-up. So much so that Amiri, the
HQ's commander is also in charge of this axis. The Northern
Axis is connected in Baghdad to Abu-Jafar Al-Boka,
previously with the Badr Corps and its naval unit. He
currently leads several terrorist networks in Baghdad.
The Central Axis is commanded by a Qods Force officer named
Andami. The border cities of Mehran and Ali-Gharbi are the
main access points for weapons smuggling in this axis.
Qods Force Commander Jafar Ansari commands the Southern
Axis. He funnels weapons into Iraq via the Hoor-Abdullah and
Faw passageways. An Iraqi national named Khalil Arab is on
the Qods Force's payroll as a network commander affiliated
with the Southern Axis. His forces were very active against
American and British troops in Iraq's southern provinces.
To effectively train would-be Iraqi terrorists, the new
command HQ in Kermanshah utilizes several fully equipped and
staffed training bases. Two bases in Kermanshah's Kenesht
valley, the Jalil-Abad Hizbollah Base in Varamin near
Tehran, and the Isfahan Training Base in central Iran are
presently the primary sites.
Less than a day after I revealed this new intelligence about
the Qods Force new terror campaign, the Northern sector
command struck at a pumping plant in Diyala Province. Using
nearly 600-lbs of T.N.T., terrorists completely destroyed
the plant and cut off the water supply.
The plant supplied water to Ashraf City — the residence of
the Iranian Mojahedin's members, recognized as "Protected
Persons" under the Fourth Geneva Convention — and nearly
20,000 Iraqis living in neighboring areas.
This heinous act came just a few days after the
assassination of an Iraqi tribal leader whose forces were in
charge of providing security for the water plant. According
to experts in international law, the Qods Force attack
constitutes a war crime against "Protected Persons" and
civilians.
Rather than shaking the resolve of local Iraqis, this
despicable act was harshly denounced. These nationalist
Iraqis work with U.S.-led coalition forces as protectors of
Ashraf City. As independent Iraqis, they are strongly
against the ayatollahs and their Qods Force.
Ashraf City's support crosses religious and ethnic lines.
The anti-fundamentalist ideas emanating from Ashraf and the
MEK's practical contribution bringing about a partnership
among Iraqis of all backgrounds have been key elements in
the creation of a united front among Iraqis. This front has
both in words and deeds targeted Tehran as the main
strategic threat to Iraq.
As I emphasized in my new book, The Iran Threat: President
Ahmadinejad and the Coming Nuclear Crisis (Palgrave:
February 2008), the evidence confirms there is only one
viable way to bring about and solidify security and
stability in Iraq: stop Tehran's ideological, political, and
intelligence onslaught. There is still time to achieve this
imperative if the following steps are taken:
1 — The formation of a national unity government, consisting
of a wide spectrum of Iraq's people, which is free of
Iranian operatives;
2 — Full and immediate disarmament and disbanding of
militias, including the Badr Corps and the Mahdi Army, and a
purge of Iran-backed individuals from the security forces
and military;
3 — Empowerment of the more moderate voices of Iraq. The
Iranian opposition members based in Ashraf City are a
strategic partner in the fight against Islamic
fundamentalism and a counter weight to the Iranian regime's
influence in Iraq; clearly, they would be a catalyst to
accomplishing just that.
Alireza Jafarzadeh is a FOX News Channel Foreign Affairs
Analyst and the author of "The
Iran Threat: President Ahmadinejad and the Coming Nuclear
Crisis" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007).
Jafarzadeh has revealed Iran's terrorist network in Iraq and
its terror training camps since 2003. He first disclosed the
existence of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility and the
Arak heavy water facility in August 2002.
