Iraqi protesters are demanding government overthrow & Iran’s proxies out

Reporting by PMOI/MEK

Iran, June 5, 2020—Demonstrators in the city of Nasiriyah of southern Iraq held a demonstration calling for the overthrow of corrupt rulers and proxy groups, along with politicians who enjoy very close ties to the regime ruling Iran. In the cities of Babylon and Basra, demonstrators held a rally outside a police station, forcing them to release wrongfully arrested demonstrators.

The Iraq October Revolution Demonstration Committee issued a statement describing a recent attack by oppressive government forces against demonstrators in Babylon’s main protest square as an act of terrorism.

“The government has carried out dangerous measures against the demonstrators in Babylon province, including military units and proxy criminals resorting to terrorism against demonstrators. The military units raided the protest square of Babylon and ran over the demonstrators with their military vehicles. However, the brave youth showed resistance in the face of this cowardly terrorist attack. Through their perseverance these brave youths were able to defeat the measures carried out by the government and proxy forces in their initiative aiming to impose severe crackdown against the protest square,” the statement read in part.

In other news from Iraq, Al-Hadath TV reported on June 3 that the Iranian regime’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Quds Force chief Esmail Ghaani has traveled to Iraq. “Ghaani led a large Iranian delegation entering Iraq. This time, however, is a first that an Iranian official and his delegation entered Iraq after officially obtaining visas. It is worth noting that they received these visas from the Iraqi Foreign Ministry. We remember that during Qasem Soleimani’s era and the tenure of former Iraqi prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, Soleimani or any other Iranian official entered Iraq without official visas. Furthermore, during that period the Iranian ambassador in Iran, Iraj Masjedi, never abided by political protocols. In fact, he would be in violation of such protocols with his measures that went beyond the diplomatic framework. It appears now that circumstances are changing. The Iraqi Prime Minister has issued an order indicating any military or civilian official, or foreign delegation, to Iraq is forbidden without obtaining an official visa,” the report says.

Al-Hurra published a report on June 3 citing British media describing this latest development as “Ghaani’s defeat.”

“Appointing Kazemi as the Iraqi Prime Minister reflects a reality that IRGC Quds Force chief Esmail Ghaani has failed to fill Soleimani’s shoes and have the same influence. Ghaani entered Baghdad in March of this year with the aim of influencing the appointment of Iraq’s new prime minister. However, since he was not speaking Arabic and lacked Soleimani’s power or his personal relationships, there was no grand welcoming of his visit and some Shiite leaders refused to meet him,” the Al-Hurra report highlights.