Iran general Esmail Ghaani visits Baghdad, attempts to ‘unify political parties’

A top Iranian general arrived in Baghdad this week to try and unify Iraq’s fractured political leaders, Iraqi officials said on Wednesday, as stiff opposition by one major bloc thwarts the chances the country’s latest prime minister-designate can form a government.

Esmail Ghaani, head of Iran’s expeditionary Quds Force, arrived in Baghdad late Monday, Iraqi officials said, in his first public visit to Iraq since succeeding slain Iranian general Qassim Soleimani. His arrival at Baghdad airport came amid a days-long curfew to stem the spread of the coronavirus that has halted inbound and outbound flights.

The four officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Read more: Iran’s Qassem Soleimani: Global mass killer

Soleimani, along with Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, was killed January 3 in a Washington-directed airstrike outside Baghdad airport. The attack led to deteriorating US-Iraq relations and prompted Iraqi lawmakers to call for the withdrawal of U.S. troops in a non-binding resolution.

In this photo released by the official website of the Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader, Gen. Esmail Ghaani, newly appointed commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, weeps while praying over the coffin of the force's previous head Gen. Qassem Soleimani at the Tehran University Campus in Tehran, Iran. (AP)

After arriving, Ghaani left the airport under tight security in a three-vehicle convoy.

Known for his ability to make even the staunchest Iraqi rivals see eye-to-eye, Soleimani was known to make frequent trips to the Iraqi capital to forge unity during times of political paralysis.

But many officials are doubtful Ghaani can establish consensus in Iraq’s deeply fractured political scene, given his poor command of Arabic and lack of personal relationships with key figures.

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“This is his first test to see if he can succeed in uniting the Shiite position, as Soleimani was doing,” said a senior Shiite political official, speaking on condition of anonymity to comment freely about the visit, which has not been publicly announced.

Ghaani’s trip coincides with a burgeoning crisis in Iraq as Prime Minister-designate Adnan al-Zurfi faces resistance from certain powerful political elites amid a deepening fragmentation across the political spectrum. Meanwhile, plummeting oil prices and the financial toll of the coronavirus pandemic have badly damaged the country’s economy.