The United Nations’ special representative of the secretary-general in Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, recently spent two days in Tehran, the capital of Iran, where she met with Ali Akbar Velayati, the senior adviser to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Was the UN finally warning Iran about its interference in Iraq?
No. The purpose of the visit was, in fact, precisely to discuss regional and political stability in Iraq, and, most importantly, Iraq's early elections, which were brought forward following protests, but delayed by four months from June to October 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. It seemed as if the UN was officially recognising Iran's guardianship of Iraq.
Iran's interference in Iraq is not news to Iraqis. The Islamic Republic has long been indirectly interfering in the country through its network of militant, political and religious proxies.
