US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pressed Iraq to crack down on Iranian-backed militias, seeing a gap after the downfall of Syrian chief Bashar al-Assad put Tehran on the again foot, a US official mentioned.
Blinken met Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in Baghdad on Friday as a part of a last-minute regional tour after Islamist-led Syrian rebels ended a half-century of rule by the Assad clan, a serious ally of Iran.
A US official mentioned Blinken advised Sudani that Iran was at its weakest in a while and that Iraq had a chance to scale back Tehran’s affect.
Particularly, Blinken requested Sudani to clamp down on Iranian-backed Iraqi Shiite armed teams, who for years have periodically attacked US forces in Iraq, the official mentioned on situation of anonymity.
Blinken additionally requested Sudani to assist forestall the switch of Iranian weapons throughout Iraqi territory to any affiliated teams in Syria, the official mentioned.
Blinken was extra circumspect in his public remarks, saying after their assembly in Baghdad that the US was dedicated to “working for Iraq’s sovereignty to guarantee that that’s strengthened and preserved”.
“I believe it is a second as nicely for Iraq to bolster its personal sovereignty in addition to its stability, safety and success going ahead,” he mentioned, with out naming Iran.
Iran’s clout rose sharply in its fellow Shiite-majority neighbour after the 2003 US-led invasion toppled Tehran’s foe Saddam Hussein.
Assad’s authorities in Syria had lengthy been propped up with assist from Iran and its highly effective ally Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Tehran-backed group, nevertheless, suffered heavy losses in its current warfare with Israel, which has additionally struck Iran-linked targets inside Syria.
Assad’s different key backer Russia, in the meantime, has been tied up by its invasion of Ukraine.
The US official declined to say how Sudani responded to Blinken’s request, apart from to say the prime minister expressed hope Iraq may keep away from changing into embroiled in a battle.
Blinken additionally promised to work with Iraq to forestall a resurgence of the ultra-violent Islamic State group, which established a self-styled caliphate throughout huge swathes of Iraq and Syria a decade in the past earlier than counter-offensives backed each by the US and Iran.
The Iraqi authorities has shut ties to Iran, and US President Joe Biden’s administration has agreed with Baghdad to scale back the remaining US troop presence within the nation — a long-standing demand of Iran-aligned militias there.
The incoming administration of Donald Trump is predicted to harden US actions towards Iran, despite the fact that the president-elect has additionally voiced a willingness for deal-making.
The Biden administration final month prolonged once more a waiver permitting Iraq to purchase electrical energy from Iran regardless of sanctions.
Lawmakers from Trump’s Republican Occasion lashed out on the transfer, saying that Biden was allowing a serious money circulation to Iran that labored towards worldwide efforts to isolate it.
