Iran’s popularity in Iraq plummeted to near zero after its violent treatment of protesters, a new academic report has said.
Despite being seen as the “winner” after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, Iran’s continued interference has led to increasingly hard feelings towards Tehran.
In particular the violence meted out by Iran-backed militias, including assassinations, has seen trust evaporate, the report by the London School of Economics' Middle East Centre said.
“Anti-Iranian sentiment has effectively undermined Iran’s claim that its activities in Iraq are at the behest of the people,” it stated.
Approval ratings for Iran reached a high of 86 per cent in 2015 during the fight against ISIS.
But the latest polling among pro-reform protesters in Iraq showed only 1 per cent trusted Iran, compared with 7 per cent who trusted the US, and 30 per cent who trusted the UN.
But Iran’s influence still extends over the political elite, militias and at a grass-roots level, the report written by Dr Jessica Watkins said.
The Tehran regime relied on “patronage networks” that would not be “easily dislodged” by military operations.
“Over the past 17 years, the Islamic Republic has gained extensive leverage over Iraq’s national security and political decision-making at local and national levels,” the paper said.
But within Iraq, Iran’s public image had suffered enormously since mass public protests against its influence broke out across the country in October 2019.
The violence of Iran-backed militias had led to the groups being regarded as “predators rather than liberators”, the report said.
Iran’s influence, including the allocation of public-sector jobs, was “a core source of grievance motivating the Iraqi youth protest movement”, the report said.
The young protesters wanted an “end to cronyism and corruption within public office”, and for the government to address unemployment and poor public services.
“In this respect, they favour the same type of transparency and accountability within government that western states seek to promote," the report said.
"However, the US and its allies are also widely distrusted.”
America appears to have concluded that, aside from military action against Iran or its proxies, “it can do little to confront Iranian smart power and has significantly downgraded its diplomatic relations with the government of Iraq”.
Relations with the US plunged after President Donald Trump ordered the assassination of the Iranian commander Qassem Suleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis.
But the appointment of Mustafa Al Kadhimi as Iraq’s Prime Minister in May, after six months of paralysis, showed that the American conduct “has not negated US influence over domestic affairs”.
The US assassinations had also produced a “charisma deficit” in the paramilitary leadership, where the ability of their replacements to command equal loyalty was “doubtful”.
While Iranian allies in Iraq have publicly deferred to the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani, some have capitalised on his name to raise funds and popularity.
The paper cautioned that when Mr Al Sistani, 88, passed away, his death would create a vacuum in religious authority, which Tehran would probably seek to exploit.
At home, Iran is increasingly coming under public pressure to cease its funding of causes abroad at a time of severe domestic economic hardship.
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ELIO
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Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Four tips to secure IoT networks
Mohammed Abukhater, vice president at FireEye in the Middle East, said:
- Keep device software up-to-date. Most come with basic operating system, so users should ensure that they always have the latest version
- Besides a strong password, use two-step authentication. There should be a second log-in step like adding a code sent to your mobile number
- Usually smart devices come with many unnecessary features. Users should lock those features that are not required or used frequently
- Always create a different guest network for visitors
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Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
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Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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