First on Fox – a group of young Iraqis launched an initiative called “Iraq only” with the aim of having and eliminating better relationships with the US Iranian Hold Iraq.
The campaign, in which stickers were printed with the Iraqi flag and images of militia leaders were placed in Iraq, was a Grassroots initiative that was started by young people to empower the rule of law and build a democratic and civilian state in Iraq, free of Iranian influence.
Fox News Digital spoke exclusively with one of the activists who led the recent effort, Muqtada al-Tamimi, about his experience with social activism, their goals for the future of Iraq and abducted for his activity to sound an alarm on Iranian influence.
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A delivery person drives a motorcycle along a road in Baghdad on October 7, 2024, past Billboards with the leaders of Iran and Hezbollah. (Ahmad al-Rubaye / AFP via Getty images)
“We as activists suffer the most from the Iranian influence on Iraq. Many of us have been abducted and taken in illegal detention centers by Iranian-supported militias. And some were killed,” al-Tamimi, who is a businessman and in his late 20s, Fox News Digital told through his interpreter.
Al-Tamimi and some of his fellow activists were abducted by Iranian-out-of-the-owned armed groups and were tortured for five days. They were chained, abused, tortured and had seized their telephones and personal information without a legal document or the signature of the judge, which showed that they had the right to gain access to these documents.
“We as activists are being prosecuted because we just try to increase our own flag, the Iraqi Flag, “Al-Tamimi complained.
Al-Tamimi said that the Iranian militias act with impunity and not respect the Iraqi constitution or the rights of Iraqis as citizens.
A poster entitled “Iraq and only for Iraq” was published by a new movement that wants to free the land from Iranian influence.
“The people who are most damaged by the Iranian militias are people like us who call for peace and side by side in Iraq and with our neighboring countries,” he said.
Al-Tamimi and his fellow activists want a strong Iraq with a stable and integrated economy with the West.
“We believe that an Iraqi alliance with the West would make Iraq stronger, stable and more prosperous.”
Al-Tamimi and the desire of his employees to remove the Iranian influence and Iraq closer to the Us and the West is which leaders fear the most in Tehran.
The basis for activism was first laid in 2021 when 312 Iraqis of the Shi’a and Sunni communities met in Erbil in a conference facilitated by the Center for Peace Communications (CPC) and called for peace and standardization with Israël. As soon as the word of the conference spread over international media, the militias supported by Iran issued death threats and gave the Iraqi government arresting faiths for conference organizers. CPC has taken measures to protect or be damaged all participants.
“The only Iraq movement speaks to pent-up Iraqi demand for peace, development and an end to Iranian domination. We wish these young men and women God speed in stimulating change, and hope that the US will do everything to them Helping, “CPC’s founder and President Joseph Braude told Fox News Digital.
More than 300 Iraqis attend a conference to discuss the standardization of relations between Baghdad and Israel, in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous region of Kurdistan in Noord -Iraq, on 24 September 2021. (Safin Hamid/AFP via Getty images)
Iraq has become a central battlefield for regional dominance between us and coalition groups and Iran. Tehran uses allies in Iraq exert its regional influence And also undermine the Iraqi sovereignty by various proxy troops.
The Islamic resistance of Iraq is a group of armed Islamic resistance facts under the umbrella of the “axis of resistance” supported by Iran. These groups are the most difficult for the Iraqi government to manage and were responsible for the attack in which three American service members in Jordan were killed in January 2024.
The Iri has armed against Israel and the American coalition forces since October 7, 7 October.
Iraq also supports American troops on Iraqi soil, even if the status of the 2500 troops in the country remains uncertain.
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A photo of Iranian leaders is stopped by a member of the Islamic movement of Iraq, a faction of the popular mobilization forces during a rally in Baghdad on April 5, 2024. (Murtaja lateef/AFP via Getty images)
“The American presence in Iraq is not at all in contradiction with a strong Iraq, but the opposite. A good relationship with the United States means a strong Iraq.”
Al-Tamimi said he understands the heavy price and appreciates it paid by American troops to maintain the stability and safety of Iraq since the 2003 invasion.
An aspect of their platform that can lift eyebrows is their recognition of the place of Israel in the Midden -East And their desire for closer ties with Israel.
“Israel is a great country and has a great culture. We share a lot of geography and while we look at a strong Iraq, we have to look for a strong partnership with a country like Israel if necessary.”
Al-Tamimi also notes that the daily Iraqis have suffered a high price and have paid because of the alliance between Iraq and Iran. Physical infrastructure was destroyed and Iranian interference undermined state institutions. The eradication of Iranian influence will help Iraq, in their opinion, eventually become safer and more prosperous.
“We think that once we have a strong relationship with Israel and the United States, we will have a strong Iraq.”
Al-Tamimi also sees positive signs for Iraq and the Middle East after the fall of old dictator Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
“We believe that the removal of the Assad regime is a very good step for undermining the Iranian influence in the region and gives us as Iraqis hope for a better change in the region.”
