Yet, after equipping its militia allies with drones and know-how, Tehran appears to be losing its grip over how the aircraft are used, some officials and analysts say. Current and former U.S. and Iraqi officials said military discipline within Iran’s network of Shiite militias in Iraq has deteriorated since the death of Soleimani, who was revered by the groups and tightly controlled militant operations. The spread of drone technology has coincided with the militias’ plummeting popularity within Iraq, a change in fortune that spurred open feuding with Iraq’s government as well as a quiet chafing against restraints imposed by their Iranian backers, officials and experts say.
