Iraq says ‘no contact’ with US after latest attack

Courtesy: The Cradle Co

BAGHDAD: Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said on 7 February that Baghdad has had no contact with Washington since a violent US air attack targeted Iraq and Syria at the start of this month.

“We do not have any contact with America after the recent attack,” Sudani said in comments to Al-Arabiya and Shafaq.

The prime minister added that a “formula” has been reached to de-escalate tensions.

“A formula has been reached for the factions to stop their attacks in exchange for stopping the American response,” he said.

Several Iraqi resistance factions banded together after the start of the Hamas–Israel war in October, forming the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI) coalition. In solidarity with Gaza and rejection of US support for Israel, the IRI began near-daily operations against US bases in Iraq and Syria, as well as Israeli targets.

The attacks on US bases in Iraq also served to hasten the withdrawal of US troops from the country.

One of the Iraqi resistance attacks killed three US soldiers near the Syrian–Jordanian border last month, prompting a deadly response from Washington on 3 February. The US has vowed further responses.

The escalation came as the Iraqi government was continuing efforts to diplomatically facilitate a withdrawal of US combat forces from Iraq and a transition of the US presence there to an “advisory role.” Last month, talks on the matter took place between Baghdad and Washington.

However, the US has pushed back and publicly said the talks are not aimed at bringing about a US withdrawal.

“Ending the mission of the [US-led] international coalition to fight ISIS aims to remove all justifications for attacks on its advisors … Any military attack on the territory of Iraq must be rejected by all parties,” Sudani said on Wednesday.

Sudani has repeatedly condemned the presence of both armed factions and US troops in Iraq.

The US coalition in Iraq “began with an Iraqi request and will also end with an Iraqi request,” he said.

The prime minister also claimed that the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR) is involved in the talks to secure a US withdrawal. The IKR is known to serve as a hub for foreign intelligence agencies, including the CIA and Mossad.

Iraq issued a formal request for US military assistance against ISIS in 2014.

In 2020, following the assassination of Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani, Iraq’s parliament voted in favor of expelling the US from Iraq, with the resolution specifically demanding the cancellation of Iraq’s formal request for US assistance.

Washington rejected the resolution and threatened to impose sanctions on Baghdad.