Is an increasingly powerful Iran trying to make northern Iraq part of its ‘Shi’a crescent’?
With each round of fighting, Iran seems to grow stronger, as it has in Syria and Lebanon, with its proxies or affiliates becoming part of the government.
POSTERS ACROSS northern Iraq celebrate Shia religious figures; many see them as symbols of Iranian influence stretching across the region(photo credit: SETH J. FRANTZMAN)BySETH J. FRANTZMANUpdated: