Iraq

Amid the recent escalation between Iran and Israel, the Iranian president warned that if Israel attacked Iran again, “nothing will remain of the Zionist regime.” Iran welcomed the pro-Palestinian student demonstrations at universities across the United States and Europe and condemned the suppression of protests by the authorities in Western countries. Iran had reduced its military presence in southern Syria following the Israeli attacks against senior IRGC officers. The report was denied by a source in the resistance front. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq continued to claim responsibility for UAV attacks against what they referred to as “vital targets” in Israeli territory. In practice, none of the incidents have been detected. The Houthis in Yemen have resumed their attacks against vessels they regard as Israeli or linked to Israel. Most of the attacks were thwarted by American and European forces in the Red Sea. Read more...

On the night of April 14, 2024, the IRGC launched hundreds of UAVs and missiles, including ballistic missiles, at Israel in response to the attack near the Iranian embassy in Damascus on April 1, 2024, in which Hassan Mahdavi, the senior IRGC commander in Syria and Lebanon, was killed. After the attack, senior Iranian officials stressed that Iran was not interested in further escalation and threatened an even harsher and wider response in the event of an Israeli response against Iran. The Iranian president and foreign minister held a series of telephone consultations to prevent an Israeli response. Rahim Safavi, the senior military advisor to the Supreme Leader of Iran, announced at a memorial ceremony for Hassan Mahdavi that a new Middle East, centered on Iran and the “resistance front,” would be created in the region against the plans and wishes of the United States and Israel. In Syria, precautionary measures were reportedly taken by the IRGC in eastern Syria for fear of airstrikes.On the eve of the Iranian attack on Israel, the Shiite militias in Iraq and Syria raised their alert. After the attack, Iraqi cities witnessed demonstrations of joy. This past week, the Houthis carried out four attacks against vessels in the Red Sea area. Read more...

World Jerusalem Day rallies were held across Iran on April 5, 2024, like every year on the last Friday of Ramadan. This year’s rallies were marked by the war in the Gaza Strip and the attack attributed to Israel in Damascus on April 1, 2024. The New York Times reported that Iran operated clandestine weapons smuggling routes through Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan to Judea and Samaria. According to the report, Iran uses organized crime gangs, activists in extremist organizations, soldiers, intelligence agents, and Bedouin smugglers. The Iranian foreign minister made a round of visits to Oman and Syria. The Iranian president spoke with Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas’ political bureau, to offer his condolences over the death of his three sons in an IDF attack in the Gaza Strip. A Syrian news channel reported that the IRGC had transferred a shipment of suicide UAVs from Albukamal in eastern Syria to the south of the country. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for attacking numerous military and strategic targets in Israeli territory. The Houthis in Yemen carried out several attacks against vessels in the Red Sea. Read more...

The commander of the IRGC’s Qods Force in Syria and Lebanon, Mohammad Reza Zahedi (Hassan Mahdavi), along with his deputy and five other Iranians, were killed in an airstrike on a building adjacent to the Iranian embassy in Damascus. Following the attack, senior Iranian officials threatened a harsh response against Israel. The head of Hamas’ political bureau and the secretary-general of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) held meetings with senior Iranian government officials. Senior Iranian government officials continued political contacts regarding the war in Gaza. The IRGC continues to transfer weapons to pro-Iranian militias in eastern Syria. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for several attacks against targets in Israel in response to Israel’s continued activity in the Gaza Strip. The main incident involved the launching of a UAV at the Gulf of Aqaba, which struck an IDF base in Eilat. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein stressed that any decision to attack from Iraqi soil required the Read more...

In recent months, the smuggling of advanced weapons from Iran to Judea and Samaria was thwarted by the Israeli security forces. The Special Operations Directorate of the IRGC’s intelligence organization and the Qods Force Special Operations Unit in Syria were responsible for those smuggling attempts. Those attempts provide further evidence of the increasing efforts by Iran, led by the IRGC, to expand its activity and support for terrorism in Judea and Samaria. Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas’ political bureau, arrived in Tehran and met with the Iranian supreme leader, the Iranian president, and the foreign minister. This is Haniyeh’s second visit to Tehran since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip. Concurrently with his visit, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) secretary-general Ziad al-Nakhalah arrived in Iran as well. The spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry referred to the Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as “a positive but insufficient step.” He called for practical and effective steps to implement the resolution and stop the Israeli attacks. The IRGC announced the death of an IRGC’s Qods Force “military advisor” in an Israeli airstrike in the Deir ez-Zor area in eastern Syria on the night of March 26, 2024. Reports of unusual activity by the IRGC and pro-Iranian militias in the Albukamal area in eastern Syria. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for carrying out several attacks against strategic sites in Israel. In practice, no such attacks were detected. The Houthis in Yemen continued to carry out daily attacks against vessels in the Red Sea area using missiles and UAVs. Read more...