Exclusive - ‘Limited’ American-Iranian Confrontation Looms in Iraq

Arab World

April 5th, 7:01am

London – Ibrahim Hamidi

US soldiers at the K1 air base northwest of Kirkuk on March 29. (AFP)

A “limited” American-Iranian confrontation in Iraq appears imminent as the rival powers continue to stoke tensions. American troops have pulled out of the Qayyara air base, south of the city of Mosul, the former presidential palace, north of the city, the K1 base near Kirkuk and Qaem on the border with Syria. They also withdrew from the Habbaniya base west of Baghdad on Saturday. The forces have been pulling out from smaller bases to larger ones where the Patriot system is deployed. The system was recently deployed at the Ain al-Asad base in al-Anbar in western Iraq and two other systems are expected to arrive from Kuwait within days. The Americans plan on deploying them at the Harir base near Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region. Western diplomatic sources said the American troop redeployment took place after Washington received information that its based in Iraq will come under more rocket attacks. Officials at the Defense Department have proposed counterattacks against the pro-Iran Kataib Hezbollah militia that has been behind the systematic rocket fire against US bases. The group is planning a wider assault and sources have confirmed that Washington has shortlisted ten Iraq targets that include other factions loyal to Tehran. US President Donald Trump had on Wednesday said Iran or its proxies planned a sneak attack on US targets in Iraq, and warned they would pay a “very heavy price” but gave no details. On the other side, Iran has delivered a series of warnings to the US. Iran's armed forces chief of staff Major General Mohammad Baqeri said the recent attacks against American bases were the “natural” retaliation to the killing of Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani by Washington near Baghdad in January. Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, founder of the Kataib Hezbollah militia, was also killed in the drone strike, which prompted the series of rocket attacks against the American bases. Iran has also sought to wield its political influence in Iraq by dispatching Soleimani’s successor, Esmail Ghaani, to Baghdad as Iraqi political parties continue to bicker over the formation of a new government. Tehran has also felt threatened by President Barham Salih’s appointment of Adnan al-Zurfi as prime minister-designate, whom it believes is close to the US, similar to his predecessor Mohammed Allawi. The American-Iranian tensions appear unlikely to develop into an all-out confrontation primarily because Trump is willing to strike Iran’s proxies, but avoid becoming embroiled in a direct confrontation with the country. Any escalation will remain within the limits of the regional and American tensions and the fight against the coronavirus. Washington is also keen on ensuring that Zurfi’s efforts to form a new government are a success as any setback will have a detrimental affect on Iraq that is grappling with an economic crisis and the virus outbreak.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2217416/exclusive-%E2%80%98limited%E2%80%99-american-iranian-confrontation-looms-iraq