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Iranian-led intervention in Iraq
ISIS territorial control in Iraq and Syria
Date June 2014 - Present Location Iraq Result Ongoing Iranian airstrikes on Islamic State positions in Iraq Ground contact between Iranian-affiliated Iraqi militias and Islamic State troops
Belligerents
Iran Partners in Iraq Iraqi Army Iraqi Air Force  Iraqi Kurdistan File:Asaib-ahl-alhaq logo.jpg Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq File:Badr Organisation Military flag.svg Badr Brigades File:Kata'ib Hezbollah flag.svg Kata'ib Hezbollah	Islamic State
Commanders and leaders
Ali Khamenei Qasem Soleimani	Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Abu Mohammad al-Adnani
Units involved
Qods Force
Strength
Iran: - 500 troops - Su-25 aircraft	unknown
Casualties and losses
1 Iranian soldier killed	unknown

Following the advance of the Islamic State in northern Iraq in the summer of 2014, Iran began to provide military aid to counter the militant advance. Iran launched airstrikes against Islamic State positions and provided combat troops and technical advisers to the Iraqi government.

Intervention

Strategy and tactics

Tehran's strategic objectives in its intervention in Iraq include keeping Iraq's friendly Shia-led government in power and stabilizing its own border.

Iran has attempted to limit its overt military involvement in Iraq as a strategy geared toward avoiding the polarization of Iraq's Sunni minority, creating popular backlash against Iran among Iraqis, or deepening sectarian tensions. Most Iranian aid has thus far come in the form of technical assistance, the commitment of special forces troops, and air support. Iranian Brigadier-General Massoud Jazayeri has said Iran could best help Iraq by providing it direction on its "successful experiments in popular all-around defense" that included "mobilizing masses of all ethnic groups." Iran believes cooperation and unity among Iraq's fractious militias is essential in its battle against ISIS. Ali Khamenei, in remarks delivered on September 15, 2014, credited "the people of Iraq, the Iraqi Armed Forces and the popular forces" for halting the ISIS advance of the previous summer.

Timeline

June 2014

In June, Iran deployed approximately 500 soldiers of the Revolutionary Guard's Qods Force to Iraq. Qods Force personnel were deployed to Samarra, Baghdad, Karbala, and the former U.S. military post known as Camp Speicher. In early summer, Iran also began shipping small arms and ammunition to Kurdish pershmerga at the request of the Kurdistan government.

On June 13, Iraqi troops backed by Qods Force units operating out of Samarra claimed to have regained control of Dhuluiyah in Saladin Province, Meanwhile, former Qods Force commander Qassem Suleimani arrived in Baghdad where he reportedly assumed the role of Iraq's "chief tactician" in dealing with ISIS.

On June 19, ISIS troops attacked Iranian border guards near Iran’s border city of Qasre Shirin.

On June 25, it was reported that Iran had established a special control center at Al-Rasheed Air Base in Baghdad and was flying a "small fleet" of Ababil drones over Iraq. According to the reports, an Iranian signals intelligence unit had also been deployed at the airfield to intercept electronic communications between ISIS fighters and commanders. That same day, Qods Force soldier Shojaat Alamdari was killed in Samarra.

July 2014

Between June 30 and July 1, seven Su-25 aircraft were sent by Iran to al-Rashid and, later, to al-Muthanna air base. The aircraft were supported by binational Iranian/Iraqi ground crews who had been trained in Iran. (During the 1991 Gulf War, seven Su-25s had been flown by the Iraqi air force to Iran as a temporary safe haven; Iran later kept the aircraft. It has been suggested these may be the same Su-25s.) Later that month, Hezbollah sent an undisclosed number of technical advisers and intelligence analysts to Baghdad in support of the Iranian deployment in Iraq. Shortly thereafter, Hezbollah commander Ibrahim al-Hajj was reported killed in action near Mosul.

August 2014

On August 21, Kurdish activists claimed to have spotted elements of Iran's 81st Armored Division entering southern Kurdistan near Jalawla. The reports have not been confirmed.

Between August 31 and September 1 the Iranian-equipped and Hezbollah-trained Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq and the Iranian-backed Kata'ib Hezbollah joined an Iraqi army assault to break the Islamic State siege of Amerli. The attack was supported by the U.S. Air Force at the request of the Iraqi army, according to a statement by the U.S. Central Command.(As of early 2014, reports characterized Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq as "controlled by Iran" and operating under the patronage of Qasem Soleimani.)

September 2014

In late September, Iranian general Ahmad Reza Pourdastan threatened to "attack deep into Iraqi territory" should ISIS forces approach the Iranian border. Earlier in the month, the Iranian government announced it had arrested Afghan and Pakistani nationals attempting to "cross Iran" to join ISIS.

There have been some reports of ISIS troops in Iranian Kurdistan.

Political dimension

International reaction to Iranian-led intervention

• Canada foreign minister John Baird said Iran was "involved in a negative way in every single country in the region" and stated that Canada considers Iran a state sponsor of terrorism.
• China China has said it wants Iran to be part of an "anti-ISIS alliance."
• France In September, French officials suggested inviting Iran to an international conference of nations involved in the American-led intervention in Iraq, however, objections by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates prevented such an invitation from being extended.
• Italy Italian foreign minister Federica Mogherini has said Iran can play a "positive role" in operations against ISIS and added that she hoped agreement could be reached by which Iran would join "the countries that are working to combat ISIS and support the Iraqi government," an apparent euphemism for the American-led intervention.
• Israel During a September speech to the United Nations General Assembly, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "to defeat ISIS and leave Iran as a threshold nuclear power is to win the battle and lose the war" and accused Iran of mounting a "charm offensive."
• Russia Russia has said it wants Iran to be part of an "anti-ISIS alliance."
• United States Following the introduction of Iranian troops into Iraq in June, President Barack Obama said that "Iran can play a constructive role if it is helping to send the same message to the Iraqi government that we're sending." The following month, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel offered further explanation, noting that "we are aware of the Iranian and Russian efforts to help the Iraqis, but we are not involved in coordinating any missions." In September, Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. "does not have any intention" of cooperating with Iran. Nevertheless, later that month, Kerry met with Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in New York where the two discussed ISIS.

Iran, Hezbollah Reaction to American-led intervention in Iraq

At the same time as the Iranian-led intervention into Iraq, a parallel American-led intervention was occurring. Neither nation is known to have cooperated with the other in combating ISIS. Iranian president Hassan Rouhani has dismissed U.S. involvement, noting that "Iran, from the very first moment, did not hesitate in fighting against terrorism. Other countries apparently had their doubts for quite some time ... they acted quite late in the game.” Rouhani went on to question the level of American commitment, noting that the U.S. had not committed ground troops, as Iran had.

On September 29, in response to a statement by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that the United States wanted "to find out if they will come on board" the American-led intervention, Ali Khamenei declared the U.S. position on ISIS as "absurd, hollow and biased.” Nonetheless, Khamenei also noted that some Iranian government officials were "not against" cooperation with the United States, explaining that he had personally quashed the suggestion of joint action against ISIS. In follow-up remarks, the Iranian-affiliated Kataib Hezbollah declared it would "not fight alongside the American troops under any kind of conditions whatsoever," adding that its only contact with the United States military would be “if we fight each other.”

At least one Hezbollah official has indicated the party will continue to operate independently, or in concert with Iraqi and Iranian forces, against ISIS and will not cooperate with the U.S.-led coalition concurrently operating against ISIS. Mohammad Raad dismissed the NATO-centered coalition as neither serious nor sufficient to counter ISIS and noted that Hezbollah had initiated military operations against the Islamic State prior to United States involvement.

Despite the cool reception given by Iran and its allies to the United States intervention, some observers believe the U.S. coalition will eventually be forced into brokering an alliance with Tehran. Eyal Zisser of Tel Aviv University has explained that “the West is helpless and does not know what to do against the Islamic State" and that it will ultimately conclude it has no choice but to ally with Iran.

See also

• 2014 American-led intervention in Iraq - parallel, not coordinated with Iran, intervention
• Opération Chammal - French operation against ISIS

References

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• 2014 in Iraq
• Battles involving Iraq
• Conflicts in 2014
• Battles involving the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
• Syrian Civil War spillover in Iraq
• 2014 Iraq conflict
• War on Terror
• Responsibility to protect