U.S. intercepts Iranian order for attack on U.S. interests in Iraq - report

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has intercepted an order from an Iranian official instructing militants in [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] to attack U.S. interests in Baghdad in the event the Obama administration launches a military strike in Syria, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

The American embassy in Baghdad was a likely target, according to unnamed U.S. officials quoted by the newspaper.

The Journal said the officials did not describe the range of potential targets indicated by the intelligence.

In addition, the State Department issued a warning on Thursday telling U.S. citizens to avoid all but "essential" travel to Iraq.

President Barack Obama has asked the U.S. Congress to back his plan for limited strikes in response to a chemical weapons attack on civilians that the United States blames on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

The Journal reported that the Iranian message was intercepted in recent days and came from the head of the Revolutionary Guards' Qods Force. The newspaper said the message went to Iranian-supported Shi'ite militia groups in Iraq.

The Journal reported that the message informed Shi'ite groups to be prepared to respond with force after any U.S. military strike on Syria.

"Travel within Iraq remains dangerous given the security situation," according to the State Department's warning, which replaced an earlier one "to update information on security incidents and to remind U.S. citizens of ongoing security concerns in Iraq, including kidnapping and terrorist violence."

The department said that numerous insurgent groups, including al Qaeda's Iraq affiliate, remain active and "terrorist activity and sectarian violence persist in many areas of the country at levels unseen since 2008."

It added: "The ability of the embassy to respond to situations in which U.S. citizens face difficulty, including arrests, is extremely limited."

The State Department declined immediate comment. The CIA declined comment.

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PanARMENIAN.Net - The U.S. has intercepted an order from Iran to militants in Iraq to attack the U.S. Embassy and other American interests in Baghdad in the event of a strike on Syria, the Wall Street Journal reported citing some officials.

Military officials have been trying to predict the range of possible responses from Syria, Iran and their allies. U.S. officials said they are on alert for Iran's fleet of small, fast boats in the Persian Gulf, where American warships are positioned. U.S. officials also fear Hezbollah could attack the U.S. Embassy in Beirut.

While the U.S. has moved military resources in the region for a possible strike, it has other assets in the area that would be ready to respond to any reprisals by Syria, Iran or its allies.

Those deployments include a strike group of the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier and three destroyers in the Red Sea, and an amphibious ship, the USS San Antonio, in the Eastern Mediterranean, which would help with any evacuations.

The U.S. military has also readied Marines and other assets to aid evacuation of diplomatic compounds if needed, and the State Department began making preparations last week for potential retaliation against U.S. embassies and other interests in the Middle East and North Africa.

U.S. officials began planning for a possible strike on Syrian regime assets after the Aug. 21 attack outside Damascus in which the U.S. says Syrian government forces killed over 1,400 people using chemical weapons.

Israel has so far been the focus of concerns about retaliation from Iran and its Lebanese militant ally Hezbollah. The commander-in-chief of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps said last week that an attack on Syria would lead to the "destruction of Israel.
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The State Department issued a new alert on Thursday, Sept 5, warning against nonessential travel to Iraq and citing terrorist activity "at levels unseen since 2008." Earlier this year, an alert said that violence against Americans had decreased. That reassurance was dropped from the most recent alert.

According to the Journal, the Iranian message, intercepted in recent days, came from Qasem Soleimani, the head of Revolutionary Guards' Qods Force, and went to Iranian-supported Shiite militia groups in Iraq, according to U.S. officials.

In it, Soleimani said Shiite groups must be prepared to respond with force after a U.S. strike on Syria.

U.S. officials said the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad was one likely target. The officials didn't describe the range of potential targets indicated by the intelligence.

Attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad have fallen since American forces left Iraq. In the past, Iranian-trained Shiite groups have fired rockets and mortars at the embassy, at the urging of the Qods Force, a paramilitary arm of the IRGC.

Militants also have used suicide bombers and IEDs to attack Americans leaving the embassy compound, one of the largest American diplomatic facilities in the world, located in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone.

Syrians could also respond with "a vicious offensive" against the opposition inside Syria, said Aaron David Miller, a former top Middle East negotiator in the State Department who now is a vice president at the Woodrow Wilson Center. Such a move, he said, would be a way "to demonstrate defiance" without running the risk of hitting American targets.

Some officials believe a direct response from the Syrian or Iranian governments is less likely than reprisals from allied militant groups, such as Hezbollah.

TIran's most powerful authority, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the United States was using a chemical attack in Syria as a pretext to interfere in the country and warned it would suffer loss from its intervention.

"In the case of Syria, the chemical attack is a pretext and they say they want to get involved because of humanitarian issues. America has made a mistake in Syria and will certainly suffer loss," Khamenei told a meeting of the Assembly of Experts, a state body, according to Reuters.

Earlier, Khamenei warned that the U.S. intervention in Syria would be “a disaster” for the Middle East. “The region is like a gunpowder store and the future cannot be predicted,” he said. “If [President Barack Obama] gets stuck in this trap, he will certainly leave behind bad memories of his presidency. The intervention of America will be a disaster for the region.
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The full Senate is expected to vote on the resolution next week. The House of Representatives also must approve the measure.

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US intelligence has intercepted orders from Iran to militants based in Iraq to attack American sites should a strike on Syria go through, US officials said Friday.

The intercepted message came from the head of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, Kassem Sulemenai, and went to Iranian-supported Shi’ite militia groups in Iraq, according to US officials cited in [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].

The targeted sites could include the US embassy in Baghdad and other American interest sites in the Iraqi capital, as well as the US embassy in Beirut and other sites in Lebanon via the terror group Hezbollah, the Journal reported.

The US remains on alert for an array of reprisal threats across the region, officials said, including a fleet of Iranian fast boats in the Persian Gulf, where American warships are positioned. Several destroyers and an amphibious warship are also stationed in the eastern Mediterranean, and US officials told the Journal that military resources have been moved around in preparation for a possible strike and any retaliation on the part of Syria or Iran.

On Thursday, the US Navy’s [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].

According to the report, the US has also readied Marines and other assets for the evacuation of military compounds and other sites should the need arise, and made preparations to against attacks on US embassies and diplomatic missions across the Middle East and North Africa.

On Wednesday, a Senate panel [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] in response to the regime’s alleged use of chemical weapons in an attack on a Damascus suburb in the early hours of August 21 — an attack which the US says killed 1,429 people. The conditions for the approval include that the operation last no more than 90 days and that there will be no American boots on the ground.

Obama will next be seeking congressional approval for a strike, as Congress reconvenes September 9. The president has already received public support for the move by leading Republican figures such as Senator John McCain, and House Speaker John Boehner.

The delay in a US strike could provide increased opportunities for those allied with Iran and Syria to coordinate retaliation attacks, warned US officials cited in the Journal report.

On Wednesday, Sulemenai said [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]according to a report in the Fars news agency. He reportedly added that the majority of Syrian rebels are foreigners and that the US has attempted repeatedly to topple Assad, unsuccessfully.

Iran has also threatened to hit Israel should the US carry out a strike with the commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ General Mohammad Ali Jafari saying late last month that [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]


On Thursday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that the United States was sure to “suffer loss” if it took military action in Syria, adding that Washington was using the reported chemical weapons attack near Damascus on August 21 as a pretext for intervention. The Syrian regime has denied using chemical weapons, calling US claims “blatant lies.”

Iran has remained a staunch ally of the regime and has actively helped Syrian troops loyal to Assad on the battlefield.

The Iranian-backed Hezbollah has also been an active player on the side of Assad in the civil war that has raged in the country for two-and-a-half years, claiming the lives of over 100,000 people, according to the latest UN figures.

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