The governments of Russia, Syria and Iran have entered a formal intelligence-sharing agreement with Iraq, in an effort to defeat the Islamic State, it has been announced. Intelligence-sharing has been practiced for a while between Russia, Syria and Iran; but this is the first time that Iraq, an American ally, has entered the alliance. According to the Baghdad-based Iraqi Joint Forces Command, the agreement entails the establishment of a new intelligence-sharing center in the Iraqi capital. It will be staffed with intelligence analysts from all four participating countries, who will be passing on shared information to their respective countries’ militaries.
Iraqi officials said
on Sunday that the intelligence-sharing agreement had been forged by
Moscow, which was “increasingly concerned about the presence of
thousands of terrorists from Russia undertaking criminal acts” as
members of the Islamic State. The announcement of the agreement comes as
Russia has been reinforcing its military presence in Syria, by
deploying troops in Latakia. Security observers have interpreted the
move as a strong message by the government of Russian President Vladimir
Putin that it is prepared to safeguard the regime of Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad. The latter also enjoys strong support from Iran, which
has poured billions of dollars in aid to support the regime in Damascus,
and has deployed hundreds of Hezbollah advisers and militia members in
defense of Assad.
Speaking from Baghdad, Colonel Steve
Warren, the American spokesman for the Western-led military campaign
against the Islamic State, said that Washington was respectful of Iraq’s
need to enter into security agreements with other regional governments.
But he added that the US objected to the Syrian government’s role in
the intelligence-sharing agreement, because it was “brutalizing its own
citizens”. The US government has also protested against the Russian
government’s expansion of its base in Tartus and its increased military
presence in Latakia. But, according to Foreign Policy,
US officials have privately expressed support for the move, saying that
“it could, in the short term, help rein in the Islamic state”.
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