How Qassem Soleimani Expanded, Managed Iran's Proxies in the Middle East

“Hezbollah has always been used as an interlocutor when it comes to (pro-Iranian) groups, particularly in Iraq and Bahrain,” Smyth said. “It was (Hezbollah chief) Hassan Nasrallah who fleshed out a possible Iranian response to the killing of Soleimani. He also set other new narratives that are being used by the group almost immediately.”

In a speech Sunday, Nasrallah threatened to target U.S. military personnel in the Middle East in retaliation.

PMF
As the war on IS intensified, Iran, together with its loyal allies, including Shi’ite religious authorities in Iraq, began to form new Shi’ite militias that eventually came together under the umbrella of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), also known as Hashd Shaabi.

While dozens of Shi’ite Iraqi armed groups operate under PMF’s command, several have been prominent in their direct links to Tehran.  

Kataeb Hezbollah, a Shi’ite group led by Abu Mehdi al-Muhandis who was killed with Soleimani in the airstrike, has received direct support from Iran and considers Khamenei its spiritual leader.

Members of Kataeb Hezbollah were among hundreds of people who attacked the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad in response to airstrikes in Iraq and Syria. The U.S. State Department designated the group a terrorist organization in 2009.

Asaib Ahl al-Haq
Asaib Ahl al-Haq (AHH) is another Iranian-backed Shi’ite militia that is largely active in Iraq, with some of its units fighting under the IRGC command in Syria.

Founded in 2006, the group has waged many attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq. Hours after Soleimani was killed, the State Department listed the AHH as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

The Badr Organization, founded in 1983, is considered Iran’s oldest proxy in Iraq, and perhaps the most powerful Shi’ite armed group in Iraq.

Reports say that since the onset of the war on IS in 2014, the Badr Organization has recruited more than 7,000 new fighters.

Afghan and Pakistani militias
To further strengthen Iran’s grip on the region, some experts charge that the country also had to expand its ties with traditional allies. IRGC through Soleimani established Shi’ite brigades comprised of Afghan refugees and Pakistani Shi’ite to help tilt the ongoing Syrian civil war in favor of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

“As head of the IRGC’s Quds Force, (Soleimani) was in charge of recruitment among Shi’ite populations of Afghanistan and Pakistan,” said Farzin Nadimi, a Washington-based analyst specializing in Iran’s security and defense.

Since 2011, Iran has sent thousands of Shi’ite Afghan refugees to Syria to fight alongside Syrian government forces, as well as other Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias.

The Afghan fighters are part of the Fatemiyoun Brigade, the second-largest group of foreigners fighting for Assad’s regime in Syria. At the peak of the war, media reports estimated they numbered between 10,000 and 12,000 fighters.

Additionally, Iran has deployed thousands of Shi’ite Pakistani fighters to Syria. The Zeinabiyoun Brigade entered the Syrian conflict with the pretext of defending the Zainab bint Ali shrine.

It is unclear how many Pakistani fighters have joined the group, but experts say the group includes hundreds of Pakistani Shi’ites based in Iran.

In January 2019, the U.S. Treasury Department designated both groups terrorist organizations.

Experts say the presence of Iranian-backed Afghan and Pakistani militias in Syria exemplifies the core mission of the IRGC for dominance in the Middle East.

“With the Fatemiyoun and Zeinabiyoun in Afghanistan and Pakistan, (Iran) was largely successful as the numbers are truly (in the) thousands,” said Alex Vatakna, an Iran expert at the Middle East Institute in Washington.

In both cases, he told VOA, the playbook was simple: “Bring onboard people that you can ideologically indoctrinate.”

Shi’ites groups in Syria
With the Syrian military largely depleted, it sought more support from its Iranian and Russian allies. Iran’s IRGC was quick to respond by forming dozens of small Shi’ite militias made up largely of Iraqi and Syrian nationals. 

Some of these groups include the Imam al-Baqir Brigade, which mostly operates in central and eastern Syria; Liwa Abu Fadl al-Abbas, which has been operating in Damascus; and the Syrian Hezbollah, which is primarily made up of Shi’ite Syrians active in northwestern Syria, including Aleppo and Idlib. 

Experts say these groups are paid by Iran and managed directly through its Quds Force.

Syrian government forces have relied on these fighters to maintain control over areas recently recaptured from Syrian rebel groups and IS militants.

Houthis in Yemen
Before the civil war in Yemen erupted in 2015, Iran was providing financial and military support to Houthi rebels who have been fighting forces loyal to Yemen President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government.

Iranian support has reportedly helped Houthis capture large territories in Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa. Despite an ongoing Saudi-led military coalition in the war-torn country, Houthis have maintained their control of strategic parts of Yemen.

This is largely due to continued Iranian support, which would not be hindered by Soleimani’s death, experts say.  

“The support for Houthis will not be decreased significantly, even though Soleimani had his touch on each specific proxy group,” said Matthew Levitt, director on counterterrorism and intelligence at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

“The network is in place, and certain people are in charge. The point person who provides financial and military (aid) for Houthis is the senior IRGC commander, Reza Shahlai, who (has been) listed recently in Rewards for Justice by the United States government,” he told VOA.

This article is published courtesy of the Voice of America (VOA)