Iraq’s New Regime Change: How Tehran-Backed Terrorist Organizations and Militias Captured the Iraqi State

Dec 2023

Also published in CTC Sentinel
An Iraqi member of a Shia PMF militia
About the Authors
Michael Knights
Michael Knights

Michael Knights is the Jill and Jay Bernstein Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute and cofounder of the Militia Spotlight platform, which offers in-depth analysis of developments related to Iran-backed militias.

Hamdi Malik
Hamdi Malik

Hamdi Malik is an associate fellow with The Washington Institute and cofounder of its Militia Spotlight platform.

Crispin Smith
Crispin Smith

Crispin Smith is an associate at a Washington-based national security law group, focusing on Iraqi security, human rights, and law of armed conflict issues. He is a cofounder of the Militia Spotlight platform.

Articles & Testimony

A comprehensive study of the various institutional, financial, and military levers that have enabled Iran’s “resistance” camp to take over another country even under the international community’s watchful eye.

Despite losing Iraq’s 2021 elections, Iran-backed groups ended up picking the prime minister anyway and taking charge of the world’s fifth-largest oil producer. This remarkable reversal of fortunes was not delivered via the barrel of a gun but rather through a series of cool-headed and coordinated moves by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Iranian-groomed and militia-controlled judges, and militia politicians. The country’s oil economy, freedoms, and intelligence services are being gutted by militias to ensure their rule is permanent. Yet unprecedented control has not moderated these armed factions: the Gaza war shows that they are still addicted to militant “resistance” to the United States. The result is the emergence of a terrorist-run state with greater resources than any of Iran’s other proxy networks, hiding behind the facade of a sovereign country...

To read the full article, download the PDF on this page or visit the CTC website.

To top

Recommended