IRGC commander set to become ambassador to Iraq
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Abdolreza Maskarian will become Iran's ambassador to Iraq, replacing current ambassador Mohammad Kazem Al Sadeq, who took up the post in Baghdad in May 2022 after succeeding Iraj Masjedi, an informed source told Shafaq News on Monday.
Maskarian would assume his duties as Iran's ambassador to Iraq at the beginning of the new year under his full name, Abdolreza Nobakht, making him one of the prominent Iranian security officials to move into diplomatic service in Baghdad.
Maskarian is associated with the IRGC's Quds Force and previously commanded the Ramadan Headquarters, a military formation established in 1984 during the Iran-Iraq War. The formation was involved in Iranian operations inside Iraq and in coordination with Iraqi and Kurdish opposition groups against the regime of Saddam Hussein at the time.
Maskarian, an Iranian Kurd from Kermanshah province, has emerged in recent years as one of the Iranian officials responsible for Iraq-related security affairs, particularly relations with the Kurdistan Region (KRI) and the activities of Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based in Iraq.
He has also headed Iranian delegations involved in negotiations with Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq Government (KRG) over implementing a joint security agreement. The agreement includes securing the border, preventing Iraqi territory from being used to launch attacks against Iran, and addressing the presence of armed Iranian Kurdish opposition groups.
According to the source, Maskarian oversees the KRI file within the IRGC, including security coordination with Iraqi and Kurdish authorities and monitoring understandings concerning the activities of groups opposed to Tehran.
On Sunday, KRI President Nechirvan Barzani received an Iranian delegation headed by Maskarian. The meeting addressed security cooperation and relations between Iraq, the KRI, and Iran.
Maskarian's expected appointment follows a pattern of Iranian ambassadors to Baghdad having security and military backgrounds. Previous ambassadors Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Hassan Danaeifar, and Iraj Masjedi also had links to the IRGC and its Quds Force.
