Iraj Masjedi, a senior advisor to Quds commander Qasem Soleimani, landed in Baghdad Tuesday evening. He was greeted at the airport by Iraqi officials and described the two countries as “friends and brothers.”
Masjedi met with Iraq’s Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari on Wednesday. The two discussed cooperation in the fight against terrorism.
“Iran’s standing beside the Iraqi nation and government in hard times has further expanded the relations between the two countries,” Iran’s Fars News reported Jaafari saying.
Masjedi said that his country wants a strong Iraq. “Iran wants an advanced, powerful, secure, and integrated Iraq and given this policy, Iran will stand by Iraq under any condition.”
Iran has been a stalwart ally of Baghdad in the war against ISIS and a supporter of the Shiite armed grouped Hashd al-Shaabi, which has been brought under the control of the central government.
Hashd al-Shaabi has secured large areas west of Mosul and cut off ISIS routes between Mosul and Syria. Many in Sunni Mosul feared the force’s involvement in the campaign for the city because of sectarian tensions and reports of gross abuses of the Sunni population in Fallujah at the hands of the Shiite force.
US Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, commanding general of the anti-ISIS global coalition, said in December, when Iraq’s parliament ruled to legitimize the Hashd al-Shaabi, that the Shiite force could help make Iraq more secure as long as they are not influenced by Iran.
Baghdad has praised Iran’s military assistance, which has “had an influential role in our victories in the war against Daesh,” Iraqi President Fuad Masum said in February, highlighting the role Quds commander Qasem Soleimani has played as a foreign military advisor.
Reacting to news of Masjedi’s appointment in January, Kurdish officials were cautiously optimistic.
“He is seen as a more moderate figure within the Quds force and could have a positive impact on ties between Erbil and Tehran,” said Abdulla Akrayi, who is in charge of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) relations with neighboring Iran.
“He has been in touch with the Kurdish people for the past 30 years,” Akrayi added.
“Masjedi was a successful mediator between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in the 1990s,” said Bilal Sulaiman, a Kurdish party official who has previously served in Tehran and hopes for better ties after Masjedi’s appointment.
The Iranian Kurdish party PDKI is not so optimistic. "Iran's new ambassador to Iraq, Iraj Masjedi, is responsible for assassinating more than 300 Kurdish activist in KRG," the party tweeted on Wednesday.
