Iraq
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia' al-Sudani in Baghdad on November 5, 2023. Photo: PM Sudani's office
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a quick, unannounced visit to Baghdad on Sunday evening and met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani to discuss the recent spate of attacks on US forces by Iran-backed militias.
Blinken told reporters that during his meeting with Sudani he emphasized that the attacks on US forces were “unacceptable,” and that Washington will do whatever is necessary to protect American interests and personnel.
US troops in western Iraq, the Kurdistan Region, and Syria, have been the target of a series of rocket and drone attacks by pro-Iran militias since mid-October, in response to Washington supporting Israel in its war against Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
“This is a matter of Iraqi sovereignty. No country wants to have militia groups engaged in violent activity. That is clearly against the interests of Iraq and its own sovereignty, as well as against our interests. So I think we have a shared purpose and commitment in trying to make sure that these attacks do not happen,” Blinken said.
On October 23, Sudani condemned the repeated strikes on bases hosting US troops, noting that the Americans are in the country on an official invitation to support and train Iraqi security forces.
Preventing the Israel-Gaza conflict from spreading into the rest of the region and the need to coordinate and work on delivering humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip were also discussed during their meeting.
Sudani “renewed Iraq's clear and principled position of rejecting the Zionist aggression against Gaza, and the necessity of an immediate ceasefire and the opening of the crossings to avoid the worsening humanitarian catastrophe, which has claimed the lives of civilians, women, and children,” according to a statement from his office.
Minutes after Blinken boarded his helicopter out of the Iraqi capital, Iraq's influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on his supporters to "immediately" go to Baghdad's Tahrir Square for "peaceful denunciation" of the secretary’s unannounced visit. Hundreds of Sadr supporters quickly answered his call.
Protesters fill Baghdad's Tahrir Square following a call from popular Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr for 'peaceful denunciation' of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's surprise visit.
— Rudaw English (@RudawEnglish) November 5, 2023
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In late October, Sadr called on the Iraqi government and parliament to close down the US embassy in Baghdad, vowing to take “another stance” if the government and the legislature fail to respond to his demands.
Kataib Hezbollah, a hardline pro-Iran Iraqi militia, on Saturday warned against a possible Blinken visit, saying it was “unwelcome” and would be met with an “unprecedented escalation” by the group.
The militia also said it was working on shutting down US interests and diplomatic missions in Iraq as well as prohibiting American citizens from entering the country, adding that they will achieve their goals in “non-peaceful” ways.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a network of shadow Iraqi militia groups backed by Iran and affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks on US troops in Iraq and Syria. The Pentagon in late October blamed Iranian proxies for 27 attacks on its forces in Iraq and Syria. There have been more assaults since then.
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