Has the Iranian Air Force now (quasi-officially) intervened in Iraq?

Has the Iranian Air Force now (quasi-officially) intervened in Iraq? HT: Khalijisec

The video above,  show that Iraq has received Su-25 ground attack jets, purportedly from Russia and Belarus. For those who are not in the know, the Su-25 is a close support aircraft which is designed to primarily engage targets on the ground. More info on the Su-25 can be found here. 

It has not received the Su-24, as reported previously by news agencies, including Russia Today. The last time the Iraqis had the Su-25 in their inventory was in 2003. 

If there are any Iraqi pilots who still fly, or ground-crews that still work, then they will have almost certainly completely forgotten their trade. Pilots need to refresh their skills and fly many hours per year, pilots in the US fly around 120 hours per year, while French pilots fly 180 hours per year. 

De facto, the Iraqis have no combat-ready pilots. One Iraqi military officer has said that any former Iraqi pilots are now too old to fly them.

So the Iraqis don’t have any pilots. So, where do they get pilots from? Ideally, from a country that flies the Su-25 of course. Which countries fly the Su-25? Lets go through a list:

Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Chad, D.R Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Georgia, Gambia, >> Iran <<, Ivory coast, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, North Korea, Peru, Russia, Slovakia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan

Hey, what do you know? Iran just happens to have the Su-25 in its inventory. The Iranians have also been kind enough to offer the Iraqis back the 130 planes that Saddam scattered into Iran to avoid American targeting in 1990-91. 

The Su-25 has also been very active, which mean.. Bingo ! Iranian pilots are getting enough hours with the Su-25, meaning they can fly them in combat operations.

Back in 2012, two Iranian Su-25s fired on a US Predator Drone. There’s been enough confidence with the Su-25 that the Iranians have also fielded them during air shows. But what makes the Su-25s special is that they’re the elite aircraft of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Air Corps, which is part of the IRGC. Yes, that IRGC which is fighting in Syria. So effectively now, it seems that the IRGC has prepared itself to intervene on the ground in Iraq, as it has done in Syria, with no doubt major consequences for the stability of Iraq.

Below, in Iranian service: IRGC-AF Sukhoi Su-25UBK "Frogfoot" close air support aircraft

Related: 

"Yes We Can" - First batch of Russian jets arrives in Iraq.

Iraq has purchased six Russian Su-30K, which are being repaired in Belarus.

Statement of Iran returning aircraft to Iraq, rumors of IRIAF ground attack training.