After an attack on US troops
Insider: Iran urges militia in Iraq to moderate
January 31, 2024, 6:04 p.m
The drone attack on a US military base with three deaths puts US President Biden under pressure. According to experts, the attack goes too far even for Iran. Tehran is therefore putting pressure on an allied Iraqi group to prevent an escalation.
According to experts, Iran has urged an Iraqi militia to refrain from attacks against US troops in the region. Sunday’s drone strike that left three dead US soldiers in Jordan was a step too far, four insiders said. The pro-Iranian militia announced yesterday that it would suspend all attacks on American troops. The Kataib Hezbollah group said they did not want to embarrass the government in Baghdad. This was the result of “internal pressure and also the will of our neighbor” Iran to de-escalate, said a Shiite politician familiar with the matter.
Experts see the about-face as the clearest sign yet that the government in Tehran and influential Iraqi groups want to avoid a regional conflict in connection with the Gaza war. “The groups in the Baghdad government are concerned about Iraq becoming a playground in the larger regional conflict and have domestic political reasons for not wanting to jeopardize the status quo,” said Renad Mansour of the London think tank Chatham House.
USA: More attacks since Sunday
A spokesman for the US Department of Defense did not directly address the announcement, but noted that there have been three more since Sunday’s attack. “The Iranian proxy groups” were asked to stop their attacks. “They have not done that and so we will respond at a time and in a manner of our choosing.”
According to the Iraqi government, Kataib Hezbollah’s announcement was preceded by negotiations by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani aimed at preventing escalation. More than 40 US soldiers were also injured in the drone attack on Sunday. The USA had declared that the act bore the hallmarks of Kataib Hezbollah. Iran has denied any involvement. US President Joe Biden has come under domestic political pressure as a result of the attack in an election year: Republicans have accused him of inaction.