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By Wassim Bassem for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Qasim al-Rubaie, a teacher from Babil province, told Al-Monitor in front of a grocery store, “You will not find any Iraqi grown vegetables and fruits. Instead you'll find imported goods from Jordan, Turkey, Iran and the Gulf countries.”

In fact, Iraqi agricultural products are not found in many local grocery stores, as if Iraq is no longer producing food products. The same applies to locally manufactured products, such as tissues, luxury items and drinks, which cannot be found in the markets. Yet, markets are overflowing with all sorts of imported goods.

This phenomenon is not new, according to Alaa Najm, a merchant. He told Al-Monitor, “The presence of domestic goods in the markets began to decline in the late 1980s. The reason for that was the former regime’s military expenditures. Then agricultural and industrial production decreased, and the government’s support for these sectors vanished, factories became obsolete and agricultural land reclamation projects no longer exist.”

Najm began traveling to China in 2003, along with hundreds of Iraqi retail and wholesale traders, to import goods at a cheap price. Because of the traders’ import activities, foreign products have become abundant on the Iraqi market, in the absence of mechanisms to protect local production, obsolete production techniques and an unimplemented customs tariff law on imported goods.

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Maytham Elaibi, an economist and academic researcher at the University of Baghdad, said that the major collapse in the domestic production of goods is attributed to “the economic policies that have failed to support factories and farm owners in making their products profitable.”

Elaibi said, “The low salaries have prompted workers to move from the private to the public sector, which increased disguised unemployment, which is unproductive.”

By Ali Mamouri for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

In the book "The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future," Vali Nasr, an Iranian-American researcher on the crises in the Middle East, came to the conclusion in 2006 that the religious struggle resulting from the rise of the Shiite identity in the region would reshape the Middle East. Developments in recent years have proved that this view seems accurate.

Today, Shiite forces are strongly present in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. They are united and firmly associated with the Iranian axis. This new situation did not happen by chance or overnight. Rather, it was preceded by many arrangements that Iran has been making for decades.

The sectarian rivalry in the region began with the Iranian Revolution in 1979, when Saudi Arabia and Iran raced to find and endorse revolutionary groups that fought different governments based on Islamic ideology and inspired by the Quranic terms of jihad in the Middle East. These groups include al-Qaeda for the Sunnis and Hezbollah and the Houthi movement for the Shiites.

While Saudi Arabia has invested in jihadist organizations in Afghanistan — such as the Afghan Arabs, or the Arab mujahedeen, during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan — Iran has invested in the Shiite opposition forces in the Arab countries, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hezbollah al-Hejaz in Bahrain and the Badr Brigade in Iraq.

The Saudi investment has lost, as it has turned against Saudi Arabia. It has evolved into al-Qaeda, the Islamic State (IS) and other Salafist organizations that have placed Saudi Arabia at the top of their enemy list. The Iranian investment has, however, greatly succeeded and was gradually expanded toward non-Shiite majority areas such as Syria and Yemen. Today, 30% of Yemen’s population is Shiite, and the most influential group there is the Houthi movement, which is close to Iran. In Syria, Iran has succeeded in protecting the Bashar al-Assad regime, which is under the control of the Alawite minority close to the Shiites.

Report first published in nina-iraq.com, the magazine for Iraqi women everywhere.

By Dr. Basil Al-Fakhri, formerly of the Electricity Power Commission-IRAQ [1988-1989], consultant in Western power Utility, KBR consultant and SMEC consultant-Australia[2004-2012].

It is my belief that the Ministry of Electricity [ME] needs to engage with international consulting firms (this is what happens with oil contracts).

These consultation periods should last no less than 10 years and should explore planning, studies, production, transmission, and distribution.

It is suggested that countries such as Britain, Sweden, Germany, France and Japan. should take the lead in this as they have accumulated expertise for systems which can be implemented in Iraq.

In addition, these consulting utilities firm possess advanced training in power generation and supply, and hence this will put Iraq on the right track also. Indeed, if we plan wisely we can leapfrog other nations in the region – overtaking Libya and Jordan, Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia as market leaders.

Implementation of the right kind of technology at every stage will of course play a crucial part.

Please click here to view the full article.

Iran's increasing influence on Iraq is very obvious, commercially, politically and militarily, but did the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister go too far in claiming that "Iran is Taking Over Iraq"?

The claim has been rejected by Iraq's Foreign Minister, who also pointed to his country's improving relations with Saudi Arabia.

But what do, our readers, think? Please let us know your thoughts in this poll, and in the comments section below:

[poll id="5"]

(Iran/Iraq image via Shutterstock)

By John Lee.

The Saudi Foreign Minister, Saud al-Faisal (pictured), has told reporters in Riyadh that “Iran is taking over Iraq.”

The comments were made during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry, in which Kerry said the United States was keeping an eye on Iran's 'destabilizing' acts, adding that his country was aware of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani’s presence and activity in Iraq.

Soleimani is reportedly overseeing Shiite militias in the major offensive to expel Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants from the city of Tikrit, according to Al Arabiya News.

Responding to the claim, Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari told Reuters:

"Iran has supported Iraq but did not send armies to Iraq and did not interfere in Iraq's sovereignty.

"We want relations with Saudi Arabia and with Iran ... Our openness to Saudi Arabia does not mean our relations with other countries will flag ... and this does not mean Iraq is becoming Persian."

(Source: Al Arabiya News, Reuters)

National Overview

As total nationwide fatalities hit their highest point since October 2014, the Iraqi Government launched the largest anti-ISIS offensive to date, in an attempt to retake one of the Islamic State group’s mains strongholds; Tikrit. The operation will be an important test case for Iraq’s Shiite-led government as it tries to reassert authority over the divided country. After three days of heavy fighting, security forces are yet to enter the city, indicating that a long battle may lie ahead. Following last week’s announcement that the United States has committed to training a joint Arab-Kurdish force, including divisions of former Mosul residents, which will be deployed to liberate Iraq’s second city, US officials have stated that no timeline should be imposed on Iraqi forces planning an offensive to retake Mosul, as the operation will require elaborate preparations. It was previously announced that an eventual counter-offensive against ISIS in Mosul would likely come in April or May, prompting an angry response from the Iraqi Government.  Nationwide, heavy fighting continued in al-Baghdadi, as the Iraqi army, backed by international airstrikes, stepped up operations to retake the town and to clear the area of Juba, to the north. ISF sweeps also continued in Hit, Fallujah and Ramadi. A wave of bombings in central Baghdad and neighbouring districts contributed to an unstable security situation around the capital, with the number of reported incidents more than doubling from the previous week.

North

The battle for control of Tikrit intensified this week with the 27 February announcement of a new Iraqi offensive to retake the city. Iranian commanders are helping to co-ordinate the operation, including issuing directives from the village of Albu Rayash, 55km east of Tikrit, which was recaptured from the militants on 28 February. A force of about 30,000 troops and militia are understood to be attacking from multiple directions along number of different fronts, supported by air offensives from Iraqi fighter jets. Fierce clashes are now reported around Tikrit as soldiers attack ISIS positions in the centre of the town, with battles taking place in the suburb of al-Dour, the western al-Zuhur district, and in the northern area of Qadisiyah, where 8 Popular Mobilization members are reported to have died so far, with a further 42 injured. Iraqi security forces have yet to enter Tikrit and have been slowed by roadside bombs planted by ISIS, however they are believed to be amassing at Camp Speicher, west of Tikrit, awaiting orders to advance on the city. On 28 February ISF forces came under attack in Samarra, where they had gathered in preparation for the Tikrit operation, with the detonation of three VBIED’s and coordinated ISIS attacks from the west, which killed at least 14 people. Further east in Diyala province, 11 people were killed in a twin car bombing in the town of Balad Roz. ISF and Shiite militias have driven ISIS out of nearly all of Diyala province, however Saturday’s blasts showed that the militants are still capable of launching attacks in the area. Elsewhere in the region, Peshmerga forces repelled an attack by ISIS militants near the Dubz front lines, west of Kirkuk, on 28 February. ISIS intensified attacks in the Kirkuk region in late January but still seem unable to push back Peshmerga forces in the area, thanks to coordinated support from coalition airstrikes. Over 50 militants are also reported to have been killed in Shingal on 2 March as Peshmerga forces repelled a four-pronged attack on Kurdish positions in the city.

Central

Several successive bomb attacks killed at least 7 and wounded 33 others across Baghdad yesterday. They included an explosion in al-Husayniyah, northern Baghdad, a bomb attack near a market place in al-Dawra district, and further explosions in al-Mashtal, central Baghdad and Abu Ghraib. On Saturday night a bomb also killed four people in western Baghdad, while another in the neighbourhood of Abu Dashir killed three people and wounded eight. Four mortar shells additionally hit homes in Sabaa al-Bour, just north of Baghdad, killing three people and wounding six. Heavy fighting continued in the Anbar town of al-Baghdadi over the reporting period, as the Iraqi army stepped up efforts to retake areas of the town from ISIS militants. International airstrikes and on the ground fighting are understood to have broken the prolonged ISIS siege on the strategically important area, which is just 7km away from the Ain al-Assad airbase where the US military is training thousands of Iraqi fighters. A further joint operation was launched on 2 March to clear the Juba area, north of al-Baghdadi. ISIS militants are reported to have executed dozens of youths in Juba before fleeing to Hit. ISF operations also continued in Fallujah, Hit and Ramadi, with over 120 militants reported to have been killed and numerous IED’s cleared in security sweeps. Further west, Iraqi border guards are reported to have repelled an attack by ISIS militants on the Iraqi-Saudi border on 28 February, killing several militants.

South

As before, activity by ISIS and other extremist Sunni organizations remains limited in Iraq’s southern governorates at present, most likely as a consequence of a diversion of resources to the central and northern battlefields. This has in turn limited the potential for major VBIED or other high profile bombings in Shia religious spaces, although with large quantities of small arms still proliferating among the region’s criminal and paramilitary entities, an underlying threat exists for international organizations. Although outbreaks of tribal violence have lessened since the launch of ISF disarmament operations in areas north of Basra at the start of February, there were a number of reported tribal clashes this week, including fighting in Qarmat Ali and south of Qurna town, indicating that underlying tribal differences remain unresolved. Small scale demonstrations also continued during the reporting period, in Nasiriya and Kit al-Hajaj on 28 February and 1 March respectively, but remained peaceful and contained. Additionally, there were three reports of kidnappings and shootings of non-Baswari Iraqi nationals, driving concerns of potential sectarian motivation among the local Basra population.

By Ali Mamouri for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Helping Shiite groups in their military operations against Israel or the United States has always been a source of discord among Salafists.

Radical Salafists consider both Shiites and Jews the enemies of Islam. But anti-Shiite enmity is often stronger than that against Jews among Salafists, who consider the Shiites a fifth column and thus see "damage" by Shiites as more serious than that caused by others.

In the latest chapter of this contentious relationship, a number of Salafist clerics praised the deaths of Shiite leaders in an Israeli airstrike on the Syrian Golan Heights on Jan. 18. Among the most prominent of these Salafist clerics is Mohammed al-Barrak, a professor at Umm al-Qura and a member of the Muslim Scholars Association in Saudi Arabia.

He tweeted: “When the [Shiites] die at the hands of the Jews we thank God that he answered our prayers,” and “The damage inflicted by the [Shiites] on the Muslims is more than that inflicted by the Jews.” He also criticized Hamas for issuing a statement of condolence to the leadership of Hezbollah after the event. Barrak said that the statement “shows a theological deficiency within [Hamas], which is not fighting the Jews according to doctrine.”

He asked Hamas’ leaders not to be courteous at the expense of doctrine and the community, adding, “No matter what the [Shiites] gave to Hamas, it does not justify appeasing them or supporting them.”

Comparing Shiites to Jews, Barrak said over Twitter: “Shiites are more harmful [to the Muslims] than the Jews because the [Shiites'] crimes in four years have exceeded all the Jews’ crimes in 60 years,” adding, “Shiites are the Muslims’ worst enemy because they are polytheists in terms of belief and religion and because their religion is creation of the Jews, making [the Shiites] worse enemies than the Western infidels or the Jews loyal to the State of Israel.”

By Mushreq Abbas for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Just like any Middle Eastern leader, Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (Ibrahim al-Badri) relies upon his relatives to guarantee his own security.

However, ever since his spectacular appearance in the Mosul mosque in July, he has been missing a great deal of freedom of movement, which has prompted him to resort to traditional ways to camouflage his whereabouts. Meanwhile, the new generation of leaders in contact with him remains anonymous after leaders close to him were killed during recent months.

A researcher in the field of armed groups, Hashem al-Hashemi, spoke to Al-Monitor about leaders currently surrounding Baghdadi. Chief among these is Abu Bakr al-Khatuna, who hails from Zammar in Mosul, and Hashemi — who published a few weeks ago a book titled “The IS World” — knows that he is one of the most prominent leaders that Baghdadi counts on, being his personal friend. Noman al-Zaidi, according to Hashemi, is another friend of Baghdadi who was killed in Anbar in 2011.

“Baghdadi’s council was made up of 18 leaders, most of whom were killed in 2014, most notably Abu Abdul Rahman Albiloa, Abu Ahmed al-Alwani, Abu Muhannad al-Suedawi, Abu Muslim al-Turkmani and his security minister Abu Musa Al-Shawakh,” Hashemi said.

Hashemi confirmed that Baghdadi’s remaining associates, or those who know his place now, are Badr al-Shaalan (Saudi), Turki al-Benali (Bahraini), Abu Ali al-Anbari (Iraqi) and Osman al-Nazeh (Iraqi).

According to information obtained by Al-Monitor from sources in Mosul, Baghdadi’s movements are surrounded by a great deal of vagueness. After his appearance in Mosul, he never made any other public appearance, and IS associates did not mention any meetings held in his presence, nor have they informed of any visit he made to a certain place.

By John Lee.

An Iranian company has struck a $40-million deal with Iraq for the supply of high voltage cables.

Alireza Kolahi, the Managing Director of Abhar Cable & Wire Co., said the contract was won despite competition from Malaysia, South Korea, Turkey, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, UAE and Saudi Arabia.

He said the Iraqi electricity industry has $400 million potential by 2030.

(Source: IRNA)

A high ranking delegation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, headed by Mr. Abdul-Rahman al-Shahri, visited Kurdistan Region to prepare the opening of the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Erbil in a near future.

In a meeting held yesterday with the Kurdistan Region Prime Minister, Nechirvan Barzani, Mr. al-Shahri stated that the decision of opening the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Erbil was taken personally by His Majesty King Abdulla bin Abdul-Aziz.

He expressed his hope that it would help developing and strengthening the relations between Erbil and Riyadh in various fields, including providing assistance to those who wish to accomplish their duty of Hajj or Umrah pilgrimage.

He pointed out that opening of the Consulate in Erbil will take place shortly after the Saudi Arabian Embassy begins its mission in Baghdad, which is expected to be soon.

Prime Minister Barzani welcomed the decision of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to open an Embassy in Baghdad and a Consulate in Erbil. He said that opening the Embassy in Baghdad would help the normalisation and development of ties between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

He added that whilst relations between Saudi Arabia and the Kurdistan Region have always been friendly, it is hoped that they would further develop in the future, helping to encourage Saudi Arabian investment in the Kurdistan Region.

The Prime Minister also reiterated that the Kurdistan Regional Government is ready to provide all the assistance and cooperation necessary for the opening of the Saudi Arabian Consulate.

(Source: KRG)