Iran remains on high alert even as Kataib Hezbollah suspends military operations

The tensions in West Asia continue to run high after three US troops were killed in Jordan, marking the first American fatalities since the region went into turmoil following the October 7 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas and the consequent Israeli bombardment of Gaza.

But now, in a bid to tone down the tensions, the Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group Kataib Hezbollah announced the suspension of all its military operationson Tuesday (Jan 30).

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"As we announce the suspension of military and security operations against the occupation forces - in order to prevent embarrassment of the Iraqi government - we will continue to defend our people in Gaza in other ways," Kataib Hezbollah Secretary-General Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi said in a statement.

The Pentagon claimed that the attack on the US base near the Jordan-Syria border bore the "footprints" of Kataib Hezbollah despite the absence of a final assessment.

The US has vowed to attack the entities responsible for the attack on its base.

Founded in 2007, Kataib Hezbollah seeks to establish an Iran-aligned government in Iraq, expel US and coalition forces from the country, and advance Iranian interests throughout West Asia. The US State Department designated the group as a foreign terrorist organisation in July 2009.

Kataib Hezbollah’s overall leader, Ahmad al-Hamidawi, was named a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in February 2020.

The group hasclaimed dozens of attacks on the US forces in Iraq and Syria since the beginning of the war in Gaza.

But Iran says it will strike the US if attacked

Meanwhile, Iran has reportedly told the US via intermediaries that if it strikes Iranian soil directly, Tehran will itself hit back at American assets in West Asia, The Guardian reported. Iran is currently on high alert in the wake of Washington's avowal of a purported retaliationfollowing the Jan 28 attack on the US airbase in Jordan.

Tehran has repeated that the strike was the work of independent "resistance groups".

What is the bottom line?

The threat of a direct military confrontation between Iran and the United States persists amid Washington's avowal to retaliate in the wake of the Jan 28 attack on its airbase in Jordan.

(With inputs from agencies)