Iran’s Quds chief visited Iraq and asked allied militias to halt attacks on US: Report
Chief of Iran’s elite Quds Force Esmail Qaani
The chief of Iran’s elite Quds Force made an urgent visit to Iraq in late January and forced allied militant groups to halt attacks on US troops, Reuters reported Sunday (Feb 18). The move came after Washington DC blamed the groups for killing three US soldiers in an attack on a military outpost in Jordan.
Esmail Qaani is believed to have warned the allied groups that directly attacking US risked a tougher response from US. He mentioned potential US retaliation, including targeting of key leaders, infrastructure and even a direct strike on Iran.
It was only after this visit that the elite Iran-backed group Kataib Hezbollah announced it was halting attacks on the US. "Without Qaani's direct intervention it would have been impossible to convince Kataib Hezbollah to halt its military operations to deescalate the tension,"a senior commander in one of the Iran-aligned Iraqi armed groups was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Qaani didn’t leave Baghdad airport
Qaani made the quick visit and held the meeting at Baghdad Airport only "for strict security reasons and fearing for his safety," an Iraqi security source was quoted as saying by Reuters.
The 2020 strike by the US that killed Qaani’s predecessor, Qassem Soleimani, also took place near the Baghdad airport.
"The Iranians learned their lesson from the liquidation of Soleimani and did not want this to be repeated," the source said.
Stance of Iraqi government
The Iraqi government is considered a close ally of both the US and Iran and is believed to have pressed Tehran to rein in attacks on US to prevent the country from becoming a battleground of foreign powers.
Watch:Iran foreign minister visits Syria meets Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani "has worked with all relevant parties both inside and outside Iraq, warning them," that escalation "will destabilise Iraq and the region," Sudani's foreign affairs advisor Farhad Alaadin told Reuters.
US military presence in Iraq
The US has nearly 2,500 troops stationed in Iraq and another 900 in Syria on the so-called ‘advise and assist mission.’
They are part of an international coalition deployed in 2014 to fight Islamic State, mainly in the west of the country and eastern Syria.
(With inputs from agencies)