By Anas al-Bar | 2024-10-13

With the support and encouragement of the Iranian regime, Hamas and Yemen's Houthis now have a permanent "political" presence in the Iraqi capital.

The two groups have opened "representation offices" to coordinate their operations and exchange information with their regional counterparts.

After months in the works, a Hamas representation office recently opened in al-Radwaniyah area near Baghdad International Airport, according to some reports.

Imam Ali Brigades announced that some of its members would attend the opening ceremony, along with representatives of other Iran-aligned Iraqi militias.

In mid-September, however, the New York Times reported that the Hamas office is located on al-Arsat Street in Baghdad's central Karrada district, where Kataib Hizbullah holds sway.

The newspaper tried to speak with the Hamas representative in Baghdad, Mohammed al-Hafi, but he refused to comment.

A few miles away, in al-Jadriya district, the Houthis have opened an office, which reportedly enjoys the attention and sponsorship of the Iraqi militias, who invite the group's representative Abu Idris al-Sharafi to their events.

The Iranian axis

Hamas and the Houthis are on international terrorist lists, said political analyst Tariq al-Shammari.

These "are not peaceful movements that follow a political path, but rather operate based on ideology that espouses violence and bearing of arms in the service of destructive goals," he told Al-Fassel.

They are an integral part of the axis that Iranian leader Ali Khamenei uses to achieve the regime's expansionist agenda by "sowing chaos and fueling conflicts" across the region, al-Shammari said.

With the opening of the "representation offices," the Iranian regime seeks to "create headquarters and operations rooms to direct its proxies and coordinate between them in directing and implementing terrorist activities," he said.

The Houthi and Hamas offices "do not serve the interests or security of Iraqis, and they harm the reputation of the state and its foreign relations at the regional and international levels," he said.

Hamas and the Houthis are "not welcome" in Baghdad, a 41-year-old al-Shurta district resident told Al-Fassel, on condition that his name not be used.

Their presence poses "a serious threat to the country, just as the Iraqi militias do," he said.

"We do not want our country to become a safe haven for these proxies and be dragged into the disasters that Iran is trying to drown the region with," he said.