Baghdad:
A visit to Baghdad by the commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force has put a pause on attacks on U.S. forces by Iranian-backed groups in Iraq, multiple Iranian and Iraqi sources told Reuters, as Iran seeks to prevent a wider conflict. He said it was a sign he wanted to do so.
Less than 48 hours after Washington accused the group of killing three US soldiers at Jordan’s Tower 22 outpost, Esmail Qaani was arrested at the Baghdad airport by several armed groups, sources said. I met with the representative.
Qani, whose predecessor was killed by a U.S. military drone near the same airport four years ago, told factions that taking American blood risked a violent reaction from the U.S., sources said. people revealed.
He said the militias should remain low-profile to avoid U.S. attacks on senior commanders, destruction of key infrastructure or direct retaliation against Iran, the official said.
Although one faction initially did not agree to Mr. Khani’s request, most of the others did. The next day, the Iranian-backed elite group Kataib Hezbollah announced it was suspending its attacks.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani speaks to Reuters in Baghdad, Iraq, on January 9, 2024.Photo: Reuters
There have been no attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria since February 4, but there were more than 20 in the two weeks before Qaani’s visit, the latest in violence by groups opposed to Israel’s war in Gaza. This is part of a rapid increase in
“Without Mr. Qaani’s direct intervention, it would have been impossible to convince Kataib Hezbollah to halt military operations to de-escalate tensions,” said a senior commander of one of the Iranian-aligned Iraqi militias. said.
Qaani and the Quds Force, a unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards that works with allied armed groups from Lebanon to Yemen, did not immediately respond to requests for comment for this article. Kataib Hezbollah and one other group could not be reached for comment. The US White House and Pentagon also did not immediately respond.
Qani’s visit has been mentioned in Iraqi media, but the details of his message and its impact on reducing attacks have not been previously reported.
For this report, Reuters spoke with three Iranian officials, one senior Iraqi security official, three Iraqi Shiite politicians, four officials from Iranian-backed Iraqi militias, and four diplomats specializing in Iraq. heard. Ten
Iraq-US talks resume
The apparent success of the visit comes as Iran continues to exert influence over Iraq’s armed groups, which have alternately increased pressure and de-escalated tensions to further its goal of expelling U.S. forces from Iraq. It highlights that there is.
The government in Baghdad, a rare ally of Iran and the United States, seeks to prevent the country from becoming a battleground for foreign powers again and has asked Iran to help rein in the group after the Jordan attack, five people said. revealed.
Confirming Qaani’s visit, Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani said he would “work with all parties inside and outside Iraq, warning that escalation will destabilize Iraq and the region.” Sudani foreign affairs advisor Farhad Aladdin told Reuters. Request for assistance in suppressing armed groups.
The attack “played into the hands of the Iraqi government.” said a Shiite politician from the ruling coalition. As hostilities subsequently subsided, talks with the United States resumed on February 6 regarding the suspension of the U.S. presence in Iraq.
Several Iranian-allied political parties and armed groups in Iraq also prefer dialogue to aggression to end the US military presence. The U.S. government has been reluctant to negotiate changes in military posture under attack for fear of emboldening Iran.
The United States currently has approximately 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 troops in Syria, engaged in advisory and support missions. They are part of an international coalition deployed in 2014 to fight Islamic State, mainly in the west of the country and eastern Syria.
Photo: Reuters
A U.S. State Department spokeswoman declined to comment on Qani’s visit to Baghdad, but said the U.S. presence in Iraq would transition to a “permanent bilateral security relationship.”
The United States claims that Iran has a high degree of control over what it calls its “proxies” in the region. Tehran says it funds, advises and trains its allies, but decides on operations independently.
Another U.S. official acknowledged Iran’s role in reducing attacks but said it was unclear whether the lull would last.
Another senior U.S. official noted that only a few people were arrested after December’s mortar attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, saying Iraq needed to “do more on the ground” to control militias. “There is,” he said.
airport security
Qani rushed the visit and did not leave the airport “due to strict security reasons and concerns for his own safety,” as Iran prepares for a U.S. response to the attack on Jordan, a senior Iraqi security official said.
The airstrike that killed former Quds Force leader Qasem Soleimani outside the airport in 2020 followed a Kataib Hezbollah attack that killed a US contractor and raised fears of a regional war at the time. Along with Soleimani, the drone also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the former leader of Kataib Hezbollah.
Nine people familiar with the matter said both Iran and Baghdad wanted to avoid a similar escalation this time.
“The Iranians learned their lessons from the Soleimani purge and did not want something like this to happen again,” said a senior Iraqi security official.
“General Qaani’s visit was successful, although not completely, as not all Iraqi organizations agreed to de-escalate tensions,” said a senior Iranian security official. Nujaba, one of the smaller but very active groups, said it would continue its offensive, insisting that U.S. forces would only withdraw by force.
It remains to be seen how long the hiatus will last. An umbrella group representing hard-line groups vowed to resume operations following the US killing of Kataib Hezbollah leader Abu Baqir al-Saadi in Baghdad on February 7.
Saadi is also a member of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a national security agency that started out as a Shiite militia close to Iran that fought the Islamic State group, highlighting how the Iranian-backed militant group is tied to Iraq. I made it. state.
US-led forces invaded Iraq, overthrew former leader Saddam Hussein in 2003, and withdrew in 2011.
Also read: US launches attacks in Iraq, Syria, nearly 40 dead reported
Although not a direct partner, the Shiite armed groups that have attacked U.S. forces for years following the 2003 invasion stood on the same side as U.S. soldiers and fought against Islamic State until they were defeated in their territory. I kept fighting.
Over the next few years, a tit-for-tat battle with the remaining U.S. forces escalated, with the U.S. killing Soleimani and Muhandis.
Following these killings, Iraq’s parliament voted in favor of the withdrawal of foreign troops. Prime Minister Sudani’s government took office in October 2022 on a promise to implement the decision, but it was not considered a priority, officials said.
The situation changed again with the outbreak of the Gaza War.
Following dozens of attacks and several U.S. responses, including the January 5 killing of Nujaba’s top official in Baghdad, Sudan has declared the coalition a magnet for instability and is seeking to end it. Negotiations have begun.
He has left the door open to a different form of continued U.S. presence through bilateral agreements.
Iraqi officials said they hope the current lull will hold and that talks, which are expected to take months, if not longer, will reach a conclusion.
At Saadi’s funeral, Abdul Aziz al-Mohamedawi, a senior Kataib Hezbollah official and PMF military commander, vowed to respond to the killing, but stopped short of announcing a return to violence. Ta. He said the response would be based on an agreement with the government.
“Revenge for the martyr Abu Baqir al-Saadi means the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Iraq. We will not accept anything less.”
