Defense Secretary Jim Mattis today accused Iran of funnelling money into Iraq to sway the outcome of its elections, calling it part of a broader pattern of destabilizing Iranian actions across the Middle East.
Mattis declined to say what outcome Iran is aiming for by allegedly interfering in Iraq, but he said Tehran is sending "not an insignificant amount of money" there to sway votes. He mentioned no dollar amounts.
Iran is widely seen as gaining more influence in Iraq during its period of instability following the takeover of much of northern and western Iraq by Islamic State militants in 2014. The IS militants have since been largely defeated, but Iraqi political stability still hangs in the balance.
"We have worrisome evidence that Iran is trying to influence -- using money -- the Iraqi elections," Mattis told reporters flying with him to Washington from the Persian Gulf island state of Bahrain, where he discussed Iran and other issues with senior government officials.
"That money is being used," he said, "to sway candidates, to sway votes -- not an insignificant amount of money, we believe, and it's highly unhelpful." "We know that they are doing what they can to impact the elections, and we don't like it."
"It seems like they've absolutely made a conscious decision to give us more space," Urban said. "That is definitely a change in their behavior."
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