Between May 31 and June 1, 2022, multiple Telegram channels affiliated with Iran-backed militias in Iraq launched a campaign against the newly appointed U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Alina Romanowski; the U.S. embassy; attempts to reopen the U.S. consulate in Basra; and a visit by the British ambassador to Iraq, Mark Bryson-Richardson, to a tribal area in the country. The posts, which blamed U.S. and British influence in Iraq for causing internal unrest, came just days before Ambassador Romanowski submitted her diplomatic credentials to Iraqi President Barham Salih on June 2.
Attempting To Undermine U.S. Ambassador
On June 1, a Telegram channel that supports Iran-backed militias in Iraq, published information about Ambassador Romanowski meant to undermine her ability to serve as ambassador to Iraq. It stated that she previously worked for the CIA and the Pentagon, served as U.S. ambassador to Kuwait, belonged to a "team that encouraged the Arab Spring revolts," and is a graduate of Tel Aviv University. It also called her "an expert in incitement and domestic conflict."
According to the channel, "Her military and intelligence backgrounds are obvious, as she worked for the CIA and Pentagon, in addition to her military surroundings, which include her father, husband, and younger son working for the U.S. Army, which raises doubts about the nature of her duties in Iraq."
The channel added: "She revealed her priorities towards Iran long ago when she was appointed to run the embassy in Kuwait. Her message to the [U.S.] House Foreign Affairs Committee [was clear] when she claimed that she will steadfastly and seriously work against what she called Iranian infiltration and influence in the region, [while also] claiming that Tehran is destabilizing the security of the region by providing support to Ansar Allah [the Houthis] in Yemen, President Bashar Al-Assad in Syria, and Hizbullah in Lebanon."
The channel concluded that the points mentioned in its post indicate that "one of her most important goals is to stir up strife and trouble and divide the [people of] Iraq."
U.S. Embassy in Baghdad
Another Telegram channel affiliated with Iran-backed militias in Iraq shared a screenshot of a Facebook post by the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad dated June 1, 2011, which promoted an agreement signed between the local government of Baghdad province and the American company Alstom to build a 25-kilometer train track with 16 metro stops to help ease traffic problems in Baghdad.
Suggesting that such a project is unlikely to happen, the channel mocked the news by creating an imaginary narrative which read: "Baghdadis will use the elevated train implemented by the American company following the Iraq-Brazil match that took place in the stadium that was built by Saudi Arabia as a gift to the Iraqi people."
Preventing The Reopening Of U.S. Consulate in Basra
On May 31, the secretary-general of the Iran-backed Sayyid Al-Shuhada Brigades warned that the U.S. is planning to reopen its consulate in Basra. He tweeted that in the past, the Basra consulate had employed "cheap tools [operatives]" who participated in creating chaos in southern Iraq and warned that this may repeat itself. He called on "everybody" to work to prevent the consulate from reopening.
Accusing British Ambassador Of "Crossing All Boundaries"
Following the meeting on May 30 between British Ambassador to Iraq Mark Bryson-Richardson and tribal leaders from Al-Anbar province, a member of the Al-Nujaba Movement's Political Council warned about the "dangerous" role the United Kingdom was playing in Iraq. In a May 31 tweet, he also said that the ambassador's intervention in Iraq's domestic affairs, which he said is mobilizing one side against another, crosses all boundaries. He asserted that the UK has made similar moves before with the Iraqi Kurds, stating that "London's subversive actions to divide Iraq" can be witnessed one more time "in Iraq's modern history."
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