ISW says Iran war activity includes militia pressure and tanker attacks

The Institute for the Study of War said Iraqi sources have described recent planning by Prime Minister Ali al Zaydi for a possible operation to retake a Kataib Hezbollah stronghold as part of a broader crackdown on Iranian-backed Iraqi militias.

The report said Iraqi sources also suggested the planning may be intended to pressure militias to accept federal government authority and voluntarily disarm by September 30. ISW said an operation on the scale described would require significant planning, mobilization and coordination among Iraqi security forces.

ISW also said Iran continues to use force against commercial shipping, citing the United Arab Emirates’ accusation that Iran attacked two Abu Dhabi oil tankers with drones in the Strait of Hormuz on August 13. United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported August 14 that two vessels sustained minor damage from drone strikes in the strait.

The report said likely Iranian-backed Iraqi militias fired drones toward unspecified targets in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, on August 14, and that some Iranian clerics close to the supreme leader’s office appeared to be trying to contain internal polarization over negotiations with the United States.

Read the full story at understandingwar.org.