The Iranian chief of staff for the armed forces, Mohammad p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Calibri; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} Bagheri, triggered outrage on the April 23 anniversary of the founding of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps with his comment, “The Revolutionary Guard along with the Islamic resistance [Shiite factions] in Syria and Iraq have become a shield protecting the Iranian people.”

Iran has a growing military presence across the region, from Iraq and Syria to Lebanon and Yemen, via local militias that are proxies of the Iranian regime. This has divided local societies over whether that presence protects their interests or simply the national interests of Iran itself.

Official Iranian propaganda claims that Iranian efforts in the region serve the interest of the region's peoples and that Tehran has no ambition to spread its clout beyond its own borders. But from time to time, Iranian officials reveal other intentions.

In a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on April 24, the new Iranian ambassador to Baghdad, Iraj Masjedi, spoke of his country’s “support for the Iraqi government and for the strength of the Iraqi state,” implying that Iran’s role is simply one of support without any intentions linked to Iranian national interests.