Hadi al-Amiri explained

Hadi al-Amiri
Office:Member of Parliament
Term Start:1 July 2014
Office2:Minister for Transport
Term Start2:21 December 2010
Term End2:8 September 2014
Primeminister2:Nour al-Maliki
Predecessor2:Amer Abdoljalil
Successor2:Baqir Jabr al-Zubeidi
Office3:President of the Badr Organization
Term Start3:16 July 2009
Predecessor3:Baqir Jabr al-Zubeidi
Birth Place:Diyala, Kingdom of Iraq
Birth Date:1 July 1954
Alma Mater:University of Baghdad
Party:Badr Organization
Otherparty:Fatah Alliance
Branch:Popular Mobilization Forces
Serviceyears:1982–present
Rank:Commander
Unit:Badr Brigade
Battles:

Hadi al-Amiri (Arabic: هادي العامري|Hādī al-'Āmirī; born 1 July 1954) is an Iraqi politician who is the head and secretary general of the Badr Organization, a Shiite political party and paramilitary organization based in Iraq.

Biography

As a young man, Hadi al-Ameri was part of the (armed) struggle against the Saddam Hussein regime. During the Iran-Iraq war, he took refuge in Iran and stayed there until the fall of Saddam Hussein. There he participated in the founding of the Badr Organization|Badr Brigade, an armed wing of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, a Shiite political party which fought the Iraqi regime during the Iran–Iraq War of 1980–1988.[1]

Amiri has denied claims that he has overseen flights passing through Iraqi airspace from Iran to Syria containing shipments of weapons to help the Syrian Government in the Syrian Civil War. However, he has proclaimed his affection for Qassem Suleimani, the late commander of Quds Force, a division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who was believed to have been playing an instrumental part in supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the conflict.

He was the commander of Iraqi forces in the operation to liberate Jurf Al Sakhar during 2014 Iraqi conflict.[2] As a commander in Popular Mobilization Forces, he has been active in the operations against ISIL. He has been described as "perhaps the most powerful and pro-Iranian" leader in the Popular Mobilization Forces and often met Brett H. McGurk, President Donald J. Trump's US Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL.[3] He is fluent in Persian.[4]

In 2011, he accompanied the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on a visit to the White House during Barack Obama's presidency, in his capacity as Secretary of Transportation and also as a foe of (former Iraqi president) Saddam Hussein.[5] [6]

On 31 December 2019, along with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Qais Khazali, and Falih Al-Fayyadh, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed him to be a leader of the attack on the United States embassy in Baghdad.[6] In the aftermath of the 2020 Baghdad International Airport airstrike which resulted in the deaths of Qasem Soleimani and Muhandis, Amiri was seen as a candidate to replace Muhandis as a leader of the Popular Mobilization Forces,[7] an Iraqi coalition of militias which fought against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorist group.

2021 Iraqi elections

Amiri rejected the 2021 Iraqi parliamentary election as fabricated.[8]

Notes and References

  1. News: The Shadow Commander. Dexter Filkins. Dexter. 30 September 2013. The New Yorker. 27 September 2013.
  2. News: Iraqi forces press to secure Shiite south before religious observances believed to be target of Islamic State . Morris . Loveday . Salim . Mustafa . 25 October 2014. The Washington Post. 2016-11-04.
  3. News: As Islamic State withers, the alliance against it is fraying. 3 September 2017. The Economist. 31 August 2017.
  4. News: America and Iran are jostling for influence over Iraq. 21 April 2017. The Economist. 12 April 2017.
  5. Web site: Leader of U.S. Embassy siege in Iraq was guest of Obama at White House. The Washington Times. 2 January 2020.
  6. Web site: US embassy siege leader was guest at White House during Obama presidency. Al Arabiya English. 2020-01-03. 2020-01-03. 2020-01-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20200104125555/http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/01/03/US-embassy-siege-leader-was-guest-at-White-House-during-Obama-presidency.html. dead.
  7. Web site: Large crowds mourn Iranian general, others killed in U.S. air strike . Reuters . 2020-01-03 . 2020-01-04 . Ahmed . Aboulenein . Maha . El Dahan . https://web.archive.org/web/20200104181251/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-security-airstrike/tens-of-thousands-march-in-baghdad-to-mourn-soleimani-others-killed-in-us-air-strike-idUSKBN1Z3065 . live . 2020-01-04.
  8. News: Iraqi pro-Iranian politician Amiri rejects election results as fabricated - TV. Reuters . October 12, 2021. www.reuters.com.