ERBIL — Commander of Iran’s Quds Force, Ismail Qaani, has visited Baghdad twice in the past week, according to media reports.
Qaani’s first visit took place on Wednesday, 9 June, and he traveled back to Baghdad once again on Saturday, 12 June.
During both his visits, the Quds Force commander reportedly met with Iraqi officials and commanders of the Shia militias of Hashd al-Shaabi.
This came after tensions broke out between Hashd al-Shaabi and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, who had ordered the arrest of a senior Shia militia commander last month and released him under Hashd al-Shaabi’s pressure.
Qasim Muslihi, the commander of Hashd al-Shaabi militias in the western province of Anbar, was arrested on charges of involvement in attacks against the US forces, as well as the assassination of civil activists in Iraq.