As the dusts settles in Basra, more information about Iran’s involvement in the conflict comes to light. The Times reported yesterday that military and intelligence officials believe Iran’s covert military command assigned to direct operations in Iraq “were operating at a tactical command level with the Shi’ite militias fighting Iraqi security forces” during the recent fighting in Basra, and “some were directing operations on the ground.” This should come as no surprise to anyone following Iranian activities inside Iraq. Iran is fighting a thinly veiled, undeclared war against both the Iraqi people and the United States. To streamline operations in Iraq, Iran’s Qods Force established a unified command, called the Ramazan Corps, and split Iraq into three roughly geographical regions. Last fall I obtained a detailed description of the Ramazan Corps’ command and control network, storage and distribution facilities, training camps, and supply lines into Iraq. The Ramazan Corps is a military command with senior Qods Force generals in charge. They direct the flow of weapons, cash, rockets, mortars, and explosively formed projectiles into the hands of the Special Groups working in Iraq. The Ramazan Corps also brings Iraqi fighters into Iran to train them, and runs training camps inside Iraq as well. This news is doubly interesting as it was the commander of Qods Force that pressured Muqtada al Sadr to call his forces off the streets of Iraq.
