November 12, 2026
Relations between Baghdad and Tehran are subject to a sensitive diplomatic test against the backdrop of an American objection to the nomination of Brigadier General Abdul Reza Maskarian, a prominent leader in the “Quds Force” of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, to serve as the new Iranian ambassador to Iraq, succeeding the current ambassador, Muhammad Kazem Al Sadiq, who has been in office since May 2022. In light of the pressure exerted by Washington to prevent the use of the diplomatic position to strengthen Tehran’s relations with armed factions, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi is studying the possibility of rejecting the nomination, amid complex internal political calculations that go beyond Limits of bilateral relations.
An Iraqi political source revealed to the “Erem News” website, on Thursday, November 12, 2026, that the Iraqi government is facing American pressure not to approve Maskaryan, given his military and security background. The source explained that Al-Zaidi has not yet taken an announced decision, while the Iraqi and Iranian governments have not officially confirmed the completion of the nomination procedures.
The sensitivity of this nomination is due to the military and security role of Lamsan, also known as Abdul Reza Nobakht, who comes from the Iranian province of Kermanshah and speaks Arabic. He assumed command of the “Ramadan Headquarters” of the Quds Force, a formation established in 1984 during the Iran-Iraq war and carrying out tasks inside Iraqi territory and coordinating with opposition groups. According to the American organization “United Against Nuclear Iran,” his responsibilities included coordination with Iraqi factions linked to Tehran and following up on security files, in addition to his work with the former Quds Force commander, Qassem Soleimani, and his later participation in political and security meetings alongside his successor, Ismail Qaani, which gave him a wide network of relationships with the leaders of the factions and Shiite, Sunni, and Kurdish political forces.
Meskirian’s movements were not limited to that, as during the past months he led Iranian delegations to follow up on the implementation of the security agreement signed between Baghdad and Tehran in 2023. On November 8, he headed a delegation that met with the President of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, to discuss security cooperation, border understandings, and Iranian Kurdish opposition groups, as well as making contacts with officials in the federal government and the region to prevent the use of Iraqi lands to carry out operations against Iran.
On the other hand, American objections focused on Maskaryan’s association with the Revolutionary Guard, in light of Washington’s efforts to limit the influence of the armed factions and push Baghdad towards the exclusivity of weapons in the hands of the state. The political source indicated that the Prime Minister is balancing these pressures with the positions of the political forces included in the “coordination framework” and linked to the Iranian security establishment. Although diplomatic norms give Baghdad the right to refrain from granting prior approval without public justification, this option may open the door to dispute with Tehran, which makes postponing the decision on the nomination an option to avoid a direct confrontation with both parties. These developments coincide with border tensions, which included the closure of the Al-Shayb crossing in Maysan Governorate last October as part of border and trade control measures.
The nomination of a Quds Force military figure as ambassador to Baghdad is not a precedent, as he was preceded by Iraj Masjedi, one of the Quds Force’s senior officers close to Soleimani, who was imposed by the US Treasury Department in 2020 on charges of exploiting his position to support the Corps’ activities and facilitate financial transfers. This policy has also previously raised criticism within Iran, including the positions of former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who criticized the dominance of the security approach over diplomacy.
In reading the dimensions of the nomination, Iraqi researcher and political analyst Ali Al-Maamouri considered that the selection of Maskarian reflects Iran’s continued reliance on its security establishment in managing its relations with Iraq despite the pressures. He pointed out that the candidate has extensive knowledge of Iraqi affairs and a wide network of relationships, stressing that changing people does not mean a change in Tehran’s strategic goals to maintain its influence. Al-Mamouri believed that the Al-Zaidi government faces a real dilemma between American objection and internal political sensitivities, which makes postponing approval a real possibility to avoid escalation, and keeps the new ambassador’s file open to all possibilities.
