BAGHDAD (AP) \u2014 The day after anti-government protests erupted in Iraq, Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani flew into Baghdad late at night and took a helicopter to the heavily fortified Green Zone, where he surprised a group of top security officials by chairing a meeting in place of the prime minister.<\/p>\n
The arrival of Soleimani, the head of Iran\u2019s elite Quds Force and the architect of its regional security apparatus, signaled Tehran\u2019s concern over the protests, which had erupted across the capital and in Iraq\u2019s Shiite heartland, and included calls for Iran to stop meddling in the country.The protests in Iraq and Lebanon are fueled by local grievances and mainly directed at political elites, but they also pose a challenge to Iran, which closely backs both governments as well as powerful armed groups in each country. An increasingly violent crackdown<\/a> in Iraq and an attack by Hezbollah supporters<\/a> on the main protest camp in Beirut have raised fears of a backlash by Iran and its allies.<\/p>\n \u201cWe in Iran know how to deal with protests,\u201d Soleimani told the Iraqi officials, according to two senior officials familiar with the meeting who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the secret gathering. \u201cThis happened in Iran and we got it under control.\u201d<\/p>\n But nearly a month later, the protests in Iraq have resumed and demonstrations continue in Lebanon, both directed at governments and factions allied with Tehran. The protests threaten Iran\u2019s regional influence at a time when it is struggling under crippling U.S. sanctions.<\/p>\n The day after Soleimani\u2019s visit, the clashes between the protesters and security forces in Iraq became far more violent, with the death toll soaring past 100 as unidentified snipers shot demonstrators in the head and chest. Nearly 150 protesters were killed in less than a week.<\/p>\n During renewed protests this week, men in black plainclothes and masks stood in front of Iraqi soldiers, facing off with protesters and firing tear gas. Residents said they did not know who they were, with some speculating they were Iranians.<\/p>\n \u201cIran is afraid of these demonstrations because it has made the most gains in the government and parliament through parties close to it\u201d since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, said Hisham al-Hashimi, an Iraqi security analyst. \u201cIran does not want to lose these gains. So it has tried to work through its parties to contain the protests in a very Iranian way.\u201d<\/p>\n It hasn\u2019t worked.<\/p>\n The protests in Iraq resumed Friday after a brief hiatus, with protesters massing in Baghdad\u2019s Tahrir Square and clashing with security forces as they tried to breach barricades on a bridge leading to the Green Zone, the seat of the government and home to several embassies. In southern Iraq, protesters have attacked and torched the offices of political parties and government-backed militias allied with Iran.<\/p>\n In a country that is OPEC\u2019s second-largest oil producer, impoverished residents complain that powerful Shiite militias tied to Iran have built economic empires, taking control of state reconstruction projects and branching into illicit business activities.<\/p>\n \u201cAll the parties and factions are corrupt, and this is connected to Iran, because it\u2019s using them to try and export its system of clerical rule to Iraq,\u201d said Ali al-Araqi, a 35-year-old protester from the southern town of Nasiriyah, which has seen especially violent clashes between protesters and security forces.<\/p>\n \u201cThe people are against this, and that is why you are seeing an uprising against Iran,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Overnight Tuesday, masked men who appeared to be linked to Iraq\u2019s security forces opened fire on protesters in Karbala, a holy city associated with the martyrdom of one of the most revered figures in Shiite Islam. At least 18 protesters were killed and hundreds were wounded in bloodshed that could mark an ominous turning point in the demonstrations. In Baghdad, protesters burned an Iranian flag. Days earlier, protesters had gathered outside the Iranian Consulate in Karbala, chanting \u201cIran, out, out!\u201d<\/p>\n In Lebanon, hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets, demanding the resignation of a government dominated by pro-Iran factions. As in Iraq, the protests are focused on local grievances<\/a> .<\/p>\n \u201cThe protests in both Iraq and Lebanon are primarily about local politics and a corrupt political class that has failed to deliver,\u201d said Ayham Kamel, the Middle East and North Africa practice head at Eurasia Group.<\/p>\n The protests \u201cshowcase the failure of the proxy model where Iran is able to expand influence but its allies are unable to effectively govern,\u201d Kamel said.<\/p>\n Lebanese protesters have only rarely called out Iran and its main local ally, the militant Hezbollah group, but they have focused much of their rage on Lebanon\u2019s president and foreign minister, who come from a Christian party closely allied with Hezbollah.<\/p>\n A common chant, \u201cAll means all,\u201d implies that none of Lebanon\u2019s factions, including Hezbollah and its allies, are beyond reproach.<\/p>\n Last week, fistfights broke out at a main rally when protesters chanted against Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who announced at around the same time that he was withdrawing his supporters from the protests. He said unspecified foreign powers were exploiting the protests to undermine his group, warning that such actions could plunge the country back into civil war.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/afs-prod\/media\/1a994b36ccfe46e99d3870d3694fff85\/800.jpeg\")
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