The Revolutionary Guards announced last Wednesday once again a target attack in Arbil which is in the Iraqi Kurdistan region.
While the previous rocket barrage was given the pretext of a "strategic Israeli center", an Iranian claim initiated by the authorities' investigation, now the pretext was "terrorist headquarters".
One assessment is that this is a threat regarding talks to form a coalition.
A new and more independent regime will make it difficult for Iran to operate, treating its neighbor to the west as a kind of backyard.
Against this background, a new Iranian ambassador to Baghdad, Muhammad Kashem al-Sadek, was recently appointed to stir up Iraqi politics.
Dramatic Documentation: Iranian Missile Attack on Arbil (Archive)
Iran is interested in expanding the Shiite bloc in parliament to include the elements identified with it, or at least prevent the formation of an overly independent coalition.
Half a year has passed since the results of the election became known, in which the pro-Iranian militias suffered a defeat for the Shiite movement of Muqtada al-Sadr, and there is still no new government on the horizon.
Although al-Sadr currently enjoys 73 seats out of 329, it is still unable to reach agreements with the Sunni and Kurdish parties.
One of the reasons for this is the structure of Iraqi politics that allows for independent running and creates difficulty in forming a coalition.
A direct message to the government?
Another assessment is that the attacks in Arbil are a direct message to the government of the autonomous Kurdish region.
Reuters reported that the villa attacked in Arbil hosted two meetings of Israeli and American officials who discussed the construction of a gas pipeline to Turkey.
Arab sources claim that the plan threatens Iran's status as the main gas exporter to Iraq and Turkey, while its economy is collapsing under sanctions, and the nuclear talks in Vienna have not yet made significant progress.
Iranian laws seem to have an impact on the corridors of power in Baghdad.
A sign of this can be seen in the "Danger of Normalization" law, which is being written these days and is expected to be put to a vote in the Iraqi parliament.
According to reports in the Arab media, the committee entrusted with drafting the law has finished writing the bill that incriminates any person who "normalizes ties with the Zionist entity."
The law is expected to incriminate any type of political or security cooperation, as well as joint activities in the fields of sports, economics, art, culture and science.
The proposal enjoys broad support, and it is estimated that in less than two months the law will be put to the vote and passed easily.
A-Seder, in 2016.
Against normalization, Photo: EP
One of the main factors behind the initiative is the leader of the Seder a-Seder stream, who is considered an opponent of Iran.
Last month he announced his coalition’s intention to raise the bill.
On Twitter, a-Seder clarified that one of the reasons that pushed him to run in the election is "the issue of normalization and Israel's aspirations for hegemony in our beloved Iraq."
The bill comes amid an incident that rocked Iraq in September 2021. Authorities in the country have issued arrest warrants against three people, including a former MP, who attended a conference calling for normalization with Israel and Iraq joining the Abrahamic Accords.
From all over the world, the conference was held in the city of Arbil.
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