Religious minorities of Iraq in a detrimental position amid foreign influence
Iran is doing whatever it takes to exert influence on Iraq's political and internal decision making. If needed, Iran campaigns with the slogan of "supporting all religious minorities".
Iranian propaganda is hard at work promoting the appointment of Iraq’s latest Prime Minister Mustafa al-Khadimi, including putting religious minorities in the middle of the disagreements surrounding his designation, International Christian Concern reported.
While the politically fragmented country is in constant internal crisis, Iran is making every effort to shape Iraq’s future according to its own purpose, campaigning with pleasant-sounding statements, using them as a tool in political communication.
According to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, the election of al-Khadimi is the “right decision.”
The Iranian ambassador to Iraq said that “our policy is not providing support for just one political group in Iraq. We respect all ethnicities and religious groups.” The ambassador also said that Iran supports Iraq’s parliament because it represents the whole of Iraqi society, including Christians, ICC noted.
What Iran is doing proves otherwise. While the country is one of the worst places to be a Christian, Iranian backed militias often use intimidation and harassment in Iraq, which local Christians repeatedly complain about.
Thus Iran’s credibility that it supports all religious minority is not substantiated enough, given the fact that Christians are reportedly harassed for their faith.
Iran ranks as the ninth-worst country in the world to live as Christian on the ‘Open Doors’ World Watch List’ of 2020.
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