The Biden administration has warned the Iraqi government that if it allows Iran to attack from its territory it risks an Israeli counter-strike.
Israeli and U.S. intelligence show Iran is planning a major attack against Israel from Iraq in retaliation for Israel’s Oct. 26 retaliatory strike against the Islamic State, U.S. and Israeli officials told Axios.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has moved drones and ballistic missiles to Shi’ite militias in Iraq as part of a planned joint strike against Israel, the officials said.
As the Iranians haven’t shown readiness to de-escalate despite U.S. warnings, the United States has tried to influence Iraq. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Sunday, a U.S. official told Axios. Secretary of State Antony Blinken then spoke to al-Sudani on Monday.
Sullivan and Blinken reportedly pressed the Iraqi prime minister to stop Shi’ite militia attacks against U.S. forces and Israel, which have escalated in recent weeks.
The Biden administration’s message to the Iraqi prime minister: “If you don’t, we won’t be able to stop Israel from striking Iraq.”
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that Blinken told al-Sudani that Iraq must “fulfill its commitments to protect U.S. personnel and to pursue those responsible for attacks from Iraq on U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria, including from attacks by Iran-aligned militias.”
Blinken “emphasized it is important that Iraq not be drawn into regional conflict and underscored the need for Iraq to exert control over armed groups launching unauthorized attacks from its territory,” Miller said.
While the Iraqi prime minister has made public statements that he does not want to see Iraq dragged into the Israel-Iran conflict, he has not persuaded the Shi’ite militias to stand down, according to Lebanon’s Hezbollah-affiliated al-Akhbar newspaper.
“Al-Sudani has increased his efforts to press Israel not to implement its threats to strike Iraq, in return for not allowing Iran to use Iraqi soil to retaliate against Israel. The Iraqi government’s efforts are facing significant challenges, because there are factions that still say they will attack Israeli and U.S. interests,” al-Akhbar reported, quoting a militia official.
