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NCRI Staff<\/p>\n
NCRI –\u00a0CIA Director Mike Pompeo confirmed Thursday that a senior commander from the elite Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps was present in Kirkuk as it was taken over by Iraqi troops, further indicating that Iran may have had some involvement in the seizure. Daily Caller reported on October 19, 2017. The following is an excerpt of this report.<\/p>\n
In an interview at a Foundation for the Defense of Democracies event on Thursday, Pompeo interjected to point out that he was aware of Qasem Soleimani\u2019s presence in Kirkuk.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we talk about pushing back, what does that mean from your perspective, because I reflect on Qasem Soleimani, the head of the IRGC, the revolutionary guard corps, sort of showing up in all of the wrong places at all of the wrong times from a U.S. perspective,\u201d said Juan C. Zarate, chairman of FDD\u2019s center on sanctions and illicit finance. \u201cHe was just in Kirkuk in the middle of this conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m aware of that,\u201d Pompeo noted.<\/p>\n
Pompeo added that the best response to IRGC\u2019s activities in the Middle East is \u201call the tools available of U.S. power, so I\u2019ll begin with a handful\u2026It has been far too inexpensive for the Iranians to conduct this adventurism. We should raise the cost of that. The agency has an incredibly important role there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pompeo\u2019s statement is in tension with claims earlier this week from the U.S.-led coalition to defeat the Islamic State. Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman Army Col. Ryan Dillon said Tuesday that there was no evidence of any Iranian involvement in the Iraqi seizure of the city of Kirkuk over the weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are Iraqi Security Force elements, like the counterterrorism service, the federal police,\u201d Dillon said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have any reporting or any indications that there are units in and around Kirkuk of the elements [from the PMU or Iran].\u201d<\/p>\n
A National Security Council spokesperson did admit, however, that the IRGC and the Islamic State would be the main beneficiaries of any kind of prolonged conflict between Iraqi forces and the Kurds, as both have been instrumental in taking the fight to ISIS with U.S. support.<\/p>\n