Iraq Crisis Brief: Iran's Continued Escalation in Iraq by Institute for the Study of War (ISW) published on 2020-03-16T18:44:43Z ISW Middle East Portfolio Manager Nicholas Heras joins Iraq Team Analysts Katherine Lawlor and Brandon Wallace to discuss the ongoing escalation of violence by Iranian proxy groups. Even after the assassinations of Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, these proxy groups have maintained pressure on US forces in Iraq by cooperating and coordinating with each other.