While global attention remains focused on the war inside Iran, a fierce intelligence war is unfolding in Iraq, where Iranian operatives, US intelligence, and Israeli agents are engaged in a high-stakes shadow conflict.
Since the war began over 20 days ago, and following heavy damage to Iran’s military infrastructure by US and Israeli airstrikes, Iran’s leadership reportedly shifted strategy. It established independent command-and-control centers inside Iraq to ensure operations against US bases in the region and targets in Israel could continue even if infrastructure inside Iran is destroyed.
However, US CIA and Israeli Mossad intelligence have successfully identified many of these alternative command hubs. Several airstrikes have already targeted and destroyed such facilities.
Sources confirm that an early March 2026 strike on the town of Jurf al-Sakhar, south of Baghdad, believed to be carried out by the US, marked the first direct American attack on Iranian Revolutionary Guard activity in Iraq following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader. The area has long served as a strategic stronghold for Iran-backed groups, housing bases, prisons, weapons depots, and missile and drone production sites.
