Nujaba Projects Paranoia Over Domestic Security

As members of Iran's so-called "axis of resistance" are expelled from Syria amid the fall of the Assad regime, Iraq’s self-styled muqawama (resistance) militias have grown increasingly paranoid about the potential for a domestic uprising that could threaten their own hold on power (see Nujaba section below). 

Nujaba Projects Paranoia Over Domestic Security

Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba (HaN), one of the most aggressive of these militias, has vocally accused foreign powers of conspiring to destabilize Iraq. On December 10, HaN’s political bureau released a statement alleging an Anglo-American plot to bring chaos to the country, with supposed help from regional actors like Israel and Turkey. HaN's statement criticizes Iraq's security forces for prioritizing the wrong threats and supposedly missing the real culprit behind Assad's fall: “What happened in Syria was not spontaneous. It occurred during the axis’s preoccupation with supporting Gaza. An operations room based in Turkey orchestrated the destruction, with British planning and intelligence contributions from NATO and the Zionist entity. This included providing support, planning, and the use of satellites and drones to monitor Syrian forces' movements and positions.”

Open image

According to HaN, this supposed cabal of foreign actors is now targeting Iraq: “The same operations room is currently working to sabotage Iraq under British leadership, but this time from Baghdad, not from outside the borders.” The statement then critiques the Iraqi government and military for prioritizing border security while supposedly neglecting internal threats: “It is strange to give the Iraqi borders such great attention while ignoring the internal danger! Yes, preserving our borders is important, but we must not be deceived and overlook the real threat centered in the capital. The conspiracy is distributed across the center, south, and our western and northern regions, each playing their role in the plan. The true danger comes from within, not outside the borders” (Figure 1).

Today, the actions and rhetoric of Iraqi muqawama militias project a deepening sense of insecurity as they perceive threats (both foreign and domestic) to their influence and even survival. This threat inflation can also help them justify a greater role and budget for the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and wider restrictions on civil rights. The Nujaba statement highlights a pan-CF strategy to dominate the narrative under the pretext of safeguarding national security and stability. This may reflect their desire to preempt any new movement resembling the Tishreen protests.