Iran to build universities in Iraq as concerns over influence in region grows

Iran's Islamic Azad University (IAU) is planning on opening branches in Iraq and Syria as the Islamic Republic continues to assert its influence across the Middle East.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Iran’s Islamic Azad University (IAU) is planning on opening branches in Iraq and Syria as the Islamic Republic continues to assert its influence across the Middle East.

According to the head of IAU’s board of founders, Ali Akbar Velayati, Iraq’s Supreme Council head Human Hamoudi “has expressed interest in establishing Azad University branches in all cities of Iraq.”

Velayati added that memorandums of understanding signed with Ammar Hakim, the previous chief of the Islamic Supreme Council, approved the setup of IAU branches in the Iraqi cities of Karbala, Najaf, Basra, and Baghdad, as well as Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region.

In August 2017, IAU began the construction of the first branch of the university under the name “Al-Mustafa Al-Amin” in the Kadhimiya district of northern Baghdad.

“The university will be built in an area of 22,500 square meters and is expected to host 3,000 students initially,” Velayati told Iranian media.

The construction and expansion of Iranian universities in neighboring Iraq and Syria should be of notable concern as the Islamic Republic continues to impose its influence across the region.

Iran already has a substantial impact in Iraq as Iranian-backed Shia militias have been welcomed into the security fold by the current Iraqi administration under the pretext of aiding in the war against the Islamic State (IS).

The same Shia militias are now forming political factions to run in the upcoming Iraqi elections, despite calls from US officials and other international leaders on Baghdad to prevent this.

Tehran, who has been involved in the conflict in Syria and the war against IS in Iraq, has often been criticized for trying to build a “Shia Crescent” in the Middle East to further assert its ideology on the region.