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was quoted as saying.
The Quds force coordinates Tehran-backed militias in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Soleimani’s direct intervention might be seen as the latest sign of Iran’s growing influence in Iraq and across the region.
It appears that various militia leaders in Iraq do not want to see an ousting of Abdul Mahdi that could weaken the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an umbrella group for mostly Shi’ite paramilitary groups backed by Iran who are influential in Iraq’s parliament and have allies in government. They formally report to the prime minister but have their own command structure outside the military.
The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs this week warned Iranians not to travel to Iraq amid the anti-government protests.
Separately, also on October 31, US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV that Iran has spent $16bn on its “militias” in Iraq and Syria.
2.4 ​Japan, France offer revised loan to Iran of $18.4bn to stay in JCPOA
Japan and France have proposed a plan to provide Iran with a loan of 2tn Japanese yen ($18.4bn) if Tehran returns to full compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan (JCPOA), Japan’s ​Mainichi ​reported on October 20.
As part of the revised offer initially proposed by France with US agreement, loan guarantees will be provided in exchange for Iranian oil exports of a value equivalent to the allocated amount used to purchase food and medicine.
France previously proposed a similar plan of assistance to Iran for the amount of $15bn, but the Iranian side demanded an increase in the size of the letter of credit in order to compensate for the losses from tougher sanctions, the newspaper said.
As a result, Japan decided to support the initiative of the French government and allocate the necessary additional funds.
Tokyo said it believed that such a position could contribute to the start of negotiations between Iran and Washington on the issue of a nuclear deal.
In addition, Japan may soon send two ships of the country's self-defence forces to the Strait of Hormuz to escort vessels.
The financial support, in this case, is designed to smooth out the possible adverse reaction of Iran to these actions.
On May 8, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced that Tehran was suspending part of the obligations of the nuclear deal and giving other participants 60 days to return to its implementation.
On July 7, Tehran proceeded to the second stage of the suspension
10​ IRAN Country Report​ November 2019 www.intellinews.com