The Islamic State (IS), also known as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) or ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), is a jihadist extremist group that emerged in the early 2000s. The organization gained global attention for its rapid territorial expansion, brutal tactics, and efforts to establish a self-proclaimed Islamic caliphate.

Key Characteristics and Ideology

• Jihadist Salafism: IS adheres to an extreme interpretation of Sunni Islam, specifically following a jihadist Salafist ideology. It seeks to establish a caliphate governed by its interpretation of Islamic law, with a vision of uniting all Muslims under its leadership.
• Caliphate Declaration: In 2014, IS declared the establishment of a caliphate, designating its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as the caliph. This move aimed to assert its authority over Muslims worldwide.

Territorial Expansion

• Iraq and Syria: IS gained significant ground in Iraq and Syria in 2014, capturing major cities like Mosul. Its swift territorial expansion alarmed the international community.
• Loss of Territories: A coalition of international forces, including the Iraqi military, Kurdish forces, and the U.S.-led coalition, conducted military operations to push IS out of its strongholds. By 2019, IS had lost most of its territorial control in Iraq and Syria.

Tactics and Atrocities

• Violence and Brutality: IS is infamous for its brutal tactics, including mass executions, beheadings, and public displays of violence. Its propaganda videos showcasing these acts aimed to instil fear and attract recruits.
• Persecution of Minorities: IS targeted religious and ethnic minorities, particularly Yazidis, Christians, and Shia Muslims. Mass killings, kidnappings, and sexual violence were perpetrated against these communities.

Global Threat

• International Recruitment: IS attracted fighters from various countries, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. The group's sophisticated online propaganda played a significant role in recruitment efforts.
• Terrorist Attacks: IS claimed responsibility for numerous terrorist attacks globally, including those in Paris, Brussels, and several attacks in the Middle East. These attacks demonstrated the group's global reach and the threat it posed beyond its territorial base.
• Current Status: While IS has lost much of its territorial control, it continues to pose a threat as an insurgency and through its affiliates in various regions. The group remains a security concern, with ongoing efforts by international coalitions to counter its activities.

4. Motivations Behind ISIS Targeting Iran

The Islamic State (IS) has strategically targeted Iran for multifaceted reasons, rooted in ideological rivalry and geopolitical considerations.

• Ideological Rivalry: The IS, a Sunni Salafi-Jihadist group, perceives Iran, a Shia theocracy, as both an ideological adversary and a battlefield enemy. The group is infamous for its sectarian violence against Shias, whom they derogatorily term as "Rafidha" or rejectionists. According to Sunni extremists, Shias have purportedly rejected the first three Caliphs of Islam, leading the IS to view them as apostates practising idolatry.
• Sectarian Violence: The IS's hostility towards Shias extends beyond ideological differences. In territories under IS control, such as Iraq and Syria from 2014 to 2018, Shias faced systemic persecution and violence. Even after losing control of these areas, the IS continued its attacks on Shia minorities, notably the Hazara Shia community in eastern Afghanistan.
• Battlefield Competition: Iran-backed militias played a pivotal role in the defeat of the IS in various regions, particularly in Syria and Iraq. This military setback intensified the IS's perception of Iran as a formidable adversary on the battlefield. In a propaganda video released in March 2017, the IS's Iraq-based unit, Wilayat Diyala, called for Iranian Sunnis to declare allegiance to the so-called "Caliphate" and rise against the Iranian regime.
• Geopolitical Ambitions: The IS aims to expand its sphere of influence beyond Afghanistan to neighbouring territories, particularly Iran. This ambition is evident in the group's propaganda efforts targeting Persian speakers. In three months following the release of a Farsi propaganda video, the IS carried out a coordinated attack on Iran's Parliament and the mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini, symbolically declaring war on the Islamic Republic.

5. Iran's Perspective on the Islamic State (IS)

Iran perceives the Islamic State (IS) as a significant threat with both ideological and immediate security implications.

• Reviving Historical Conflicts: Iran views the IS as attempting to reignite the historical Sunni-Shia conflict from the early years of Islam. The group's anti-Shia propaganda and violence aim to fuel sectarian tensions among hardline Sunnis, potentially triggering a broader war that targets Shia communities in Sunni-majority countries and Iran itself.
• Immediate Security Threat: Recognizing the IS as an immediate security hazard, Iran took swift action when the group began gaining territories. Iran was the first country to provide aid to Baghdad, dispatching Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) units to protect key areas, including Baghdad, Najaf, and Karbala, in response to the IS's capture of Mosul in June 2014.
• Early Military Response: Even before the Western-backed counter-attack, Iran initiated air strikes on IS-held areas in Iraq by December 2014. Iran's state organs consistently labelled the IS as a "terrorist organization" or "Taqfiris," emphasizing the group's excommunication of fellow Muslims and its reliance on violence against them.
• Medium-Term Strategy: In the medium term, Iran developed a strategy to combat the IS through Shia mobilization units. These militias were recruited, trained, and deployed to Syria, supporting Bashar al-Assad's regime in its civil war against various rebel and jihadist groups, including al-Qaeda and the IS. In Iraq, Shia militias collaborated with the Iraqi army and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, backed by American air cover, playing a crucial role in liberating Iraqi cities from IS control.
• Role of Qassem Soleimani: Major General Qassem Soleimani played a pivotal role in orchestrating and leading anti-IS operations, contributing significantly to the defeat of the IS's physical structures and the liberation of Iraqi territories from jihadist control.

6. About Qassem Soleimani

• Qassem Soleimani, a veteran of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, ascended to the role of commander of the Quds Force, the foreign operational wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in 1998.
• Throughout his career, Soleimani staunchly defended the Islamic Revolution and played a pivotal role in shaping Iran's forward defence doctrine. This doctrine aimed to bolster regional strength by fostering alliances with Shia militia groups across West Asia.
• Soleimani was instrumental in the creation of Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shia movement, in the 1980s, and maintained strong ties with Iraqi Shia organizations during Saddam Hussein's regime.
• In recent years, Iran expanded its connections to include Yemen's Shia rebels, the Houthis, as well as Palestinian Sunni militant groups like Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, which resist Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories.
• Heading the IRGC's foreign operations, Soleimani cultivated deep relationships with these groups, facilitating the formation of an anti-Islamic State (IS) coalition when Iraq and Syria plunged into chaos in the 2010s.
• Despite U.S. support for this Shia coalition against the IS in Iraq, Soleimani faced accusations of supporting terrorism due to his close ties with foreign Shia militias.
• Within Iran, Soleimani attained a cult status, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader and armed forces commander, referred to him as "the living martyr of revolution."
• However, on January 3, 2020, President Donald Trump ordered a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad, assassinating Soleimani, the primary adversary of the IS.
• On the fourth anniversary of his assassination, the IS targeted a memorial event near his qabar (grave) in Kerman.

7. Implications of the Kerman Bombings for Iran

• The Kerman bombings, marking the most severe terrorist attack in the history of the Islamic Republic, reveal significant security vulnerabilities within Iran. This incident underscores the expanding capabilities of the Islamic State (IS) and highlights Iran's growing internal security challenges. Historically seen as a fortress against external threats, Iran now faces a dual challenge of addressing traditional external security concerns and countering a rising internal security threat.
• The timing of the attack coincides with heightened regional pressure on Iran, especially amid the Israel-Gaza war extending beyond Gaza's borders. While Arab countries opted for diplomatic measures in response to Israel's actions, Iran-backed groups, such as Hezbollah, engaged Israeli troops on Lebanon's southern border, and Shia militias in Iraq targeted U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria. Additionally, Yemen's Houthis attacked commercial vessels in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, turning the Red Sea into a conflict zone.
• Amid this regional crisis, with escalating tensions and retaliatory actions from Israel and the U.S., the IS seized the opportunity to strike Iran, its long-standing adversary. Iran now faces the dual challenge of managing traditional external security threats and confronting a relatively new yet expanding internal security menace.

8. The Way Forward

The relationship between IS and Iran is complex, involving ideological, sectarian, and geopolitical dimensions. Iran sees IS as a direct threat to its security, while IS perceives Iran as a barrier to its expansionist ambitions. The dynamics between these two entities continue to shape the broader security landscape in the Middle East.

Source: The Hindu