Iraq’s future is crucial to Iran: it is a natural Shia ally, a neighbour, and the site of many Shia landmarks.

Source: blogs.aljazeera.com

“As one western diplomat told me: ‘They don’t trust us, so why would they back us publicly? They, like us, have a domestic audience that they need to manage and with relations so fragile, why shout?  It’s better for them to keep things quiet and work in the background. If things go wrong, they have plausible deniability.’

Denial or not, Iran is a key player in this conflict and it alongside Turkey and Saudi Arabia will be competing for its own interest.”