Arab Media: In Closed Meetings In Iraq And Syria, Senior Officials In Iran-Backed Iraqi Militias Decide To Fight Alongside Hizbullah If Israel Invades Lebanon, And To Operate Against 'Countries That Support The Zionist Entity'

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On September 23 and 24, 2024, two Arab media sources reported on two closed meetings that were held recently in Iraq and in Syria, attended by senior members of Iran-backed Iraqi militias. The meetings were convened to discuss recent developments in Lebanon and ways to assist Hizbullah in its war against Israel. According to the sources, it was agreed at the meetings that, among other things, military assistance would be extended to Hizbullah in the form of weapons and personnel, in the event of an Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon. It was also decided that the scope of the confrontation would be extended to include "countries that support the Zionist entity." Also discussed were other measures that could be taken by the Iraqi and Iranian militias, including attacking bases of the International Coalition led by the U.S. in northern and eastern Syria. One of the sources reported that additional arms shipments, including Iranian Shahed 129 drones, were recently delivered to Syria from Iraq.

The following is a review of the reports published by Arab media on September 23 and 24:

On September 23, 2024, the London-based Qatari daily Al-Arabi Al-Jadid, reported that on the same day a meeting was held in Baghdad by several senior members of the Iraqi armed militias to discuss recent developments in Lebanon. According to one of the senior members of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (an Iran-backed group of Iraqi militias), those present at the meeting were representatives from the Iran-backed Iraqi Hizbullah Brigades, the Al-Nujaba Movement, Ansar Allah Al-Awfiya, the Al-Imam Ali Brigades, and the Sayyid Al-Shuhada Brigades. Noticeable for their absence were representatives from the Asa'ib Ahl Al-Haq militia, which is led by Qais Al-Khazali.

The same source revealed that the following decisions were made at the meeting: the militias would join the battle directly, alongside Hizbullah and the resistance in Lebanon, to oppose any ground invasion of Lebanon by "the Zionist enemy." They would participate in the battle using rockets, drones, and artillery, alongside the continuation of the launching of rockets and drones at Israel from Iraqi and Syrian territory. The source further stated that there is ongoing contact between senior members of the Hizbullah Brigades and the Iraqi militias to coordinate and consolidate agreements regarding developments "in the coming hours." It was also agreed at the meeting that the scope of the confrontation would be extended to include "countries that support the Zionist entity in its aggression against Lebanon." According to the Qatari daily, this appears to be an allusion to the bases in Iraq and Syria where American forces are stationed that have been attacked in the past by these factions.[1]

On September 24, 2024, the Syrian opposition-affiliated website, Euphrates Post, reported that according to "special sources" in the city of Al-Bukamal in northeastern Syria, a military delegation comprising Iraqi advisers and senior officials from the Iran-backed Iraqi militias the Sayyid Al-Shuhada Brigades, the Hizbullah Brigades, the Al-Nujaba Movement, and Asa'ib Ahl Al-Haq, had recently travelled to the city of Deir Al-Zour in Syria from Iraq, via the Al-Bukamal-Al-Qa'im border crossing. In Deir Al-Zour in northeastern Syria, the delegation met with an Iranian named Hajj Kamil who is "responsible for security" in eastern Syria, and also with additional senior officials in the local militias to discuss current security developments in Syria and in Lebanon, and the recent assassination of Abu Haydar Al-Khafaji, who was security adviser to the Hizbullah Brigades in Damascus.

Also discussed at the meeting were possible operations by Iranian and Iraqi militias to relieve the pressure on Hizbullah. These included attacks on bases where members of the International Coalition are stationed in Al-Hasakah, Deir Al-Zour, and Al-Rukban in Syria. In this context, the Euphrates Post website noted that in "recent hours" the Iranian militias had delivered weapons shipments from Iraq to Syria that included Shahed 129 drones. The weapons were reportedly transferred to militia bases in the city of Al-Bukamal and the areas of Mazari' Al-Mayadin and Palmyra after being transported from Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps weapons facilities in Iraq via refrigerator trucks which entered Syria at the Iranian-controlled Al-Sikak border crossing in the village of Al-Hari in the area of Al-Bukamal.[2]

It is notable that these Iraqi militias are members of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq group that since October 7, 2023, has claimed responsibility for hundreds of attacks against Israeli and American forces. Moreover, against the backdrop of the military escalation between Hizbullah and Israel, these militias have increased the frequency of their attacks against targets in Israel.[3] Senior members of the militias have also threatened to take revenge on Israel for its operations in Lebanon, and have expressed readiness to dispatch thousands of operatives to help Hizbullah in the fighting against Israel.[4]