Many Iraqis are waiting for the other shoe to drop after The Intercept and The New York Times published "The Iran Cables," a report on more than 700 pages of anonymously leaked documents from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security revealing the extent of Iranian intervention in Iraq.

The documents, which both publications authenticated, mainly address the period of 2014-2015 and mention that that many prominent Iraqi figures have close ties to Iran. The report's publication Nov. 18 fanned the flames of mass protests ongoing in Iraq since Oct. 1. One of the protesters' major complaints is Iran's undue influence on Iraq's government.

Abbas Abboud, an academic and editor-in-chief of the Iraqi newspaper Al-Sabah, told Al-Monitor the leak isn't surprising "at a time of protests and escalation between the US and Iran in the Middle East.”

He added, “The Iraqi government has not succeeded in distancing Iraq from the US-Iranian conflict" despite its huge efforts. "The Iraqi government doesn't have many options to address this issue, especially since Iranian intervention happened through international anti-terrorism efforts, which was the same reason the US intervened.” He was speaking of the 2014 rise of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria.