The US must act after Iran opened a new front in its regional war, exploiting American weakness in Iraq to use the country as a base to target the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and threaten US interests in the region.

US government officials have concluded that the May 14 drone attack on the east-west Saudi pipeline was launched from southern Iraq, having previously identified Yemen as the launch site.

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Despite calls from the Iraqi government to disband, several Iranian-backed militias are active in southern Iraq. Iran has equipped these militias with the same weaponized UAV strike capability as its Houthi allies in Yemen.

According to the US government, the May 14 drone attack was likely launched by Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iraqi militia and designated terrorist group created, funded, and directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards – Quds Force (IRGC-QF). The attack therefore means that Iranian proxies have attacked Saudi Arabia, a key US ally, from two different fronts. . . .

[T]he Iraqi government has been compromised by Iranian influence and allows senior Iranian figures to freely operate in Iraqi territory. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the IRGC-QF, has repeatedly violated UNSCR 2231 by travelling to Iraq despite being designated for Proliferation Activities and Support for Terrorism by the US Treasury in 2007. Soleimani is sending a message: The Iranian presence in Iraq is long-term, in contrast to the American and Saudi temporary visits.

Soleimani’s lieutenant, Jamal Jaafar al-Ibrahimi, known by his nom de guerre Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, epitomizes malign Iranian influence. As deputy commander for the Popular Mobilization Units (PMUs), Mohandes holds an official Iraqi government position.

Mohandes is also the leader of Kata’ib Hezbollah, the group accused of carrying out the May 14 drone attack. Both Mohandes and Kata’ib Hezbollah were designated as terrorist by the US Treasury in 2009 for having committed, directed, supported, or posed a significant risk of committing acts of violence against Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces. . . .

It remains to be seen whether Mohandes and the militias will respond to Prime Minister Mahdi’s call for the closure of IRGC-QF militia offices across Iraq and the integration of IRGC-QF militias, including Kata’ib Hezbollah, Harakat Nujaba, and Asaib Ahl al-Haqq, into the Iraqi military as whole units. The result will be Soleimani’s militias wearing Iraqi uniforms.

The militias have always bragged about being able to wear any uniform in the Iraqi military – this order allows them to access US funds, US equipment, and US intelligence. This move will make the IRGC-QF militias a legitimate part of the Iraqi Security Forces, giving them more influence than ever.

They will be the ones flying US F-16s, they will be the ones driving US M1A1 Abrahams tanks and the newly delivered Russian T-80 tanks. They will still answer to Soleimani directly and will be commanded by Hadi al-Ameri of Badr Corps and by his deputy Mohandes. This is a win for Soleimani . . . . (Excerpt from Alarabiya.net)