Threat from Iran to US forces in Iraq remain ‘significant’: Senior US official

Threat from Iran to US forces in Iraq remain ‘significant’: Senior US official
April 10, 2020, 7:48 am

Kataib Hezbollah Iraqi militia gather ahead of the funeral of the Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, who was killed in an air strike in Baghdad, January 4, 2020. (Reuters)

The threat from Iranian-backed militia to US forces continues to be “significant,” the US State Department’s senior diplomat for the Middle East said on Thursday, adding that Washington was taking “with a pinch of salt” a ceasefire declaration by Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah.

Speaking to reporters in a teleconference, David Schenker, Assistant Secretary of Near Eastern Affairs at the US State Department also praised the previous work of Mustafa al-Kadhemi, Iraq’s intelligence chief who was named as prime-minister designate on Thursday.

Iranian-backed militias pose a continuing and “significant” threat to US forces in Iraq, the State Department’s top diplomat for the Middle East said on Thursday, about a week after US President Donald Trump warned of an attack by Iran or its proxies.

Iran-backed paramilitary groups have regularly been shelling bases in Iraq that host US forces, as well as the area around the US embassy in Baghdad.

David Schenker, Assistant Secretary of Near Eastern Affairs at the US State Department, speaks to Al Arabiya during a previous interview.

On Monday, three Katyusha rockets landed near a district in southern Iraq that houses workers for foreign oil companies, including US oil service company Halliburton. No casualties or damage were reported.

Last week, Trump said Iran or its proxies planned a sneak attack on US targets in Iraq and warned they would pay a “very heavy price” but gave no details.

US-Iranian relations have been bitter since the Islamic Revolution toppled the US-backed Shah of Iran in 1979 and ushered in an era of theocratic rule.

While there was a detente with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, relations have deteriorated with Trump’s decision nearly two years ago to abandon that multilateral agreement and reimpose US sanctions that have crippled the Iranian economy.

A member of Hashd al-Shaabi holds a flag of Kataib Hezbollah militia group during a protest to condemn air strikes on their bases, in Baghdad. (File photo: Reuters)

A member of Hashd al-Shaabi holds a flag of the Kataib Hezbollah militia group during a protest to condemn airstrikes on their bases, in Baghdad. (File photo: Reuters)

Worsening tensions, a Jan. 3 US drone strike in Iraq killed Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, as well as Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, who founded Iraq’s Shia Kataib Hezbollah militia after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.

Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States proposed a ‘Strategic Dialogue’ with Iraq to be held in June, a bid to restore strained bilateral ties.

Schenker, who in March said Washington was “enormously disappointed” by Iraq’s performance in protecting US-led coalition forces in the country, reiterated that Baghdad needed to take steps if it valued Washington’s partnership.

“It is on the Iraqis - if they value that relationship - to take certain steps and that includes protecting the coalition forces who are in Iraq if they want those forces to remain,” he said.

source: Reuters

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