Shiite crescent

Some 800 supporters of Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), an umbrella group of mainly Shi'ite militia, departed from Baghdad last week in buses for the Iraqi-Jordanian border.

Sunday's election was held several months early, in response to mass protests in 2019 that toppled a government and showed widespread anger against political leaders.

The area is emerging as potentially of concern to Iran, Russia and the Syrian regime, as well as to the US and Israel.

At the heart of the problem is Iran’s desire to eject US forces from Iraq and the lack of a clear mission for the US-led Coalition.

Iranian proxies in Iraq are training for war against the US and will continue to fire rockets at US forces in Iraq until the US leaves, a new report says.

Arab press discusses important events in the past week in the Middle East.

A US official claims Israel struck Iranian-backed Iraqi militia in Syria, and now Tehran must think twice about moving fighters across the porous border.

The Shi’ite axis features an underlying dimension that makes it a more challenging foe than Israel’s Sunni rivals.

Social Media in Farsi and Arabic reported that the protesters are shouting the slogan not Gaza, Not Lebanon, my soul for Iran.'

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has repeatedly warned of Iranian entrenchment in the war-torn country.

Tehran is investing ever-great amounts of blood and treasure in realizing its aspirations for a Shi’ite corridor from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea.