An Iranian general traveled to Iraq to stop Tehran-backed militias in the country escalating attacks against U.S. forces the day after a drone strike on an American military facility killed three personnel and injured dozens, it has been reported.
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force commander Brigadier General Esmail Qaani visited Baghdad on Monday to meet leaders of the Iraqi groups, to "stop [the Iranian-backed Iraqi militias'] military escalation" against U.S. forces, according to Iraqi media, cited by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Washington has blamed Sunday's drone strike on Tower 22 in northeastern Jordan on Tehran, whose allied militant groups have carried out repeated attacks on American targets since the start of Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.
Western media had reported that the Iranian backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah had launched the drone from western Iraq towards Tower 22 in northeastern Jordan and the group announced on Tuesday it was pausing operations to "prevent embarrassment" to the Iraqi government.
With tensions in the region already roiled by Israel's war against Hamas and strikes on Red Sea Shipping by Tehran-backed Houthis, President Joe Biden said on Tuesday a decision had been made on retaliation without revealing how. This prompted Iranian Revolutionary Guards' chief Hossein Salami to warn that "no threat will be left unanswered."
But Iraqi media reported that Qaani had visited Baghdad a day earlier to talk with militia leaders from the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iranian-backed Iraqi militias which includes Kataib Hezbollah to urge them to "calm the security situation," according to the ISW.
Kata'ib Hezbollah's announcement on Tuesday that it had suspended its "military and security operations" against U.S. forces "notably came after Qaani's reported visit," the Washington, D.C. think tank said. Newsweek has contacted the Iranian foreign ministry for comment.
"While a retaliatory attack against proxy groups such as Kata'ib Hezbollah would not necessarily constitute a major inflection point, a decision to strike actual Iranian targets could do so," retired U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Robert Murrett, professor of practice at Syracuse University's Maxwell School, told Newsweek.
The ISW said on Wednesday that another Iraqi militia linked to Iran, Faylaq al Waad al Sadiq, had vowed to continue targeting American and "Israeli forces" in Iraq, even though other groups had suspended their attacks.
Iran is on high alert as the U.S. considers how to respond to Sunday's deadly strike, which follows more than 160 strikes on U.S. bases in Syria and Iraq of varying seriousness since the war in Gaza started.
"The larger issue here is a policy of strong deterrence without causing escalation," said Murrett. "The White House has made it clear that there will be retaliation for the attack, and it is likely that response options are already available to the President for execution at any time."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. His focus is Russia and Ukraine, in particular ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
