The attack was among the deadliest since Oct. 1, when thousands of Iraqis took to the streets calling for sweeping political reforms and the end of Iran’s influence in Iraqi affairs. Security forces regularly use live rounds and tear gas to disperse the demonstrations, leading to heavy casualties.
This news was the latest about the destructive influence of the Iranian regime in Iraq.
What should the people focus on?
The Iraqi people’s uprising continues, and with the resignation of the Iraqi prime minister, more Iraqi people, including Iraqi students and teachers, have closed schools and universities in many southern Iraqi cities and joined the uprising.
The cities and provinces of Baghdad, Najaf, Karbala, Dhi Qar, al-Samawa, al-Kut, Hilla, al-Amara, Diwaniyah, al-Shatra and some other cities were the scene of the uprising.
The Iranian regime’s consulate was set on fire in Najaf and some other centers belonging to it and its Iraqi agents were burnt. In addition, the workers of the Majnoon oilfield joined the protests with strikes and the protesters are seeking to increase the scope of their protests.
Although the protesters, who are generally young people, protest unemployment, lack of public services, political and economic corruption of the ruling class, but their main demand is to expel the Iranian regime from their country and all its Iraqis agents.
That is why the reforms announced by the ousted Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi have not solved anything, and the various scenarios of the regime have failed to restore the status quo or even maintain the recent quo.
What is the reason for the uprising and its prospects?
The key to this lock must certainly be sought in the hands of Iraqi people. The first reason for the uprising and its continuation is the bad situation of the livelihood of many Iraqis, especially the youth.
But the main reason as the Iraqi peoples underlined it many times is their awareness of the destructive role of the Iranian regime in their country.
Now, except for the agents of the Iranian regime, no Iraqi can be found who regards the Iranian regime as a friend, a solution and a cure for the problems of his country. The anger and resentment of the protesters against the Iranian regime, and against its Supreme leader Ali Khamenei and Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force affiliated with the Iraqi Revolutionary Guards Corps, illustrate this fact.
Many of the uprising youths, who were born in the final years of the former regime or after the US invasion of Iraq, are now completing their high school and university education and are waiting for a job.
The successive governments since 2003, each due to the hegemony and influence of the Iranian regime, which has shown itself through the killing and suppressing of the oppositions and economic corruption, have failed to solve the political and economic problems of Iraq and its people.
According to media reports, more than $400 billion of Iraq’s revenue is missing, most of which have been in the Iranian regime’s pocket.
And it is unfortunate that the end of corruption and the looting process has not come, and the Iranian regime continues to steal Iraq’s wealth.
According to undeniable signs, expert circles in Iraq believe that Iraqi government officials are surprised by the depth and extent of the uprising.
If we take this seriously, there will be no need to emphasize the fact that Iraqi officials are loyal to the Iranian regime and not the Iraqi people, to whom they only show hostility.
This is because these politicians before considering the views and opinions of the Iraqi people are counting on support from the Iranian regime, a regime that itself is at the end of the road. In recent weeks we have witnessed another cycle of Iranian people’s uprising against the regime.
In Iraq, the removal of Adel Abdul Mahdi was a pressing demand by the Iraqi people that Tehran had prevented during the two-month uprising. His ouster, apparently one of the seemingly mild cohorts of the religious fascism ruling Iran, was Khamenei’s red line because it would be a major blow to the influence of the Iranian regime. To prevent this dismissal, Khamenei sent Qasem Soleimani to Iraq and forced his supporters and affiliated parties to support the Prime Minister.
What will be crucial from now on, is a road map that Iraqi protesters will draw for their country. And what is most needed is vigilance and resistance in front of the scenarios that will eventually lead to Iranian influence and hegemony over Iraq again.
It is therefore vital that protesters do not depart from focusing on the Iranian regime and its influence in Iraq. That will certainly be the key to success and victory.
