For the first time in nearly two-and-a-half years, US warplanes conducted an airstrike against Iraqi targets from an aircraft carrier deployed in the Persian Gulf. The US Navy’s Fifth Fleet reported that the attacks were carried out by two F/A-18F Super Hornets flying off the deck of the USS Nimitz.
The Pentagon’s Central Command reported an airstrike against a supposed hideout of remnants of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) in the area of Kirkuk, Iraq. While it did not attribute the attack to the carrier-based aircraft, it was carried out on the same day that the Navy reported its operation.
The USS Nimitz-led carrier strike group passed through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategic chokepoints, and into the Persian Gulf on September 18, substantially escalating the US military presence in the tense region.
While ISIS was the ostensible target of the latest airstrike, the military operation constitutes an implicit threat against Iran, the principal target of US militarism in the region.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]F/A-18F Super Hornets from USS Nimitz. (Credit: US Navy, Twitter)
The US military buildup has been accompanied by a threat of US retaliation against Iranian-aligned Shia militias in Iraq, as well as Washington’s ratcheting up of a “maximum pressure” sanctions regime against Iran that is tantamount to a state of war, serving to drive ever larger segments of the Iranian population into poverty and cripple the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has threatened the Iraqi government that Washington will close down its embassy in Baghdad as a prelude to US military attacks aimed at “liquidating” Shia militia elements charged with responsibility for attacks on US facilities in the country.
According to Iraqi Kurdish news agencies, the US ambassador to Iraq, Matthew Tueller, has already fled the embassy, taking refuge in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Preparations are also reportedly underway for evacuating the rest of the embassy staff.
These extreme measures are being justified as a response to a series of Katyusha rocket attacks on the Green Zone, the heavily fortified district of Baghdad where the US Embassy as well as other diplomatic and government facilities are located. According to US officials, the Green Zone has been targeted with rockets or mortar fire 19 times in the last month. None of these attacks have claimed any casualties or inflicted any damage on the embassy. Convoys supplying US and allied facilities have also been attacked roughly two dozen times.
In a tragic incident on Monday, a Katyusha rocket apparently aimed at US troops deployed at the Baghdad airport fell short of its target, hitting a nearby house and killing three children and two women.
The American embassy in Baghdad is the largest and most expensive such US facility in the world, sprawling over 104 square acres, occupying nearly as much space as Vatican City. It opened in 2009, six years after the launching of the US war of aggression that claimed the lives of roughly one million Iraqis and devastated the country. It was built to house an apparatus that would continue the neo-colonial domination of the oil-rich country in the interests of US imperialism. These plans have been thwarted to a large extent by Iran’s close relations with and influence over Baghdad.
Today the embassy is defended by an advanced C-RAM rocket and mortar defense system installed earlier this year. This was combined with the deployment of Patriot missile batteries to protect US military installations, where some 5,000 US troops remain. The Iraqi government had opposed the deployments, fearing the Patriots could be used to facilitate a US war on Iran by forestalling Iranian retaliation.
The missile and mortar attacks have unfolded in the wake of the criminal US drone assassination strike at Baghdad’s international airport in January that claimed the lives of both Qassem Soleimani, one of Iran’s top government officials, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, one of the senior leaders of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). The predominantly Shia militias that comprise the PMF played the predominant role in the ground fighting against ISIS, which overran Iraq in 2014, routing US-trained security forces. By a vote of the Iraqi parliament, the PMF was incorporated into the country’s armed forces as kind of a national guard.
After the January assassination strike, the Iraqi parliament voted for a resolution demanding the withdrawal of all US and other foreign troops from the country. Washington has defied the motion, threatening Iraq with sweeping economic sanctions if it attempts to force out US forces.
While Iran as well as the main Shia parties and militia groups have called for a halt to the rocket attacks on the Green Zone, the continuing attacks are believed to be the work of groups seeking revenge for the murder of Soleimani and al-Muhandis. Iran had vowed retaliation but limited its action to one round of missile strikes at US military bases in Iraq that claimed no lives.
Iraqi24, a Baghdad news website, reported that US Secretary of State Pompeo had threatened Iraqi President Barham Salih in a telephone conversation that Washington’s closure of its Baghdad embassy would be followed by US military action. “The decision to close the embassy in Baghdad is in President Trump’s hands and is ready. …,” the site quotes Pompeo as saying. “If our forces withdraw and the embassy is closed in this way, we will liquidate all those who have been proven to have been involved in these attacks.”
Pompeo was said to have specifically named Kata'ib Hezbollah, which al-Muhandis led before his assassination, and Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq. Both are among the largest components of the PMF and have been active in fighting ISIS as well as the Al Qaeda-linked forces that were backed by the CIA in its bid to oust the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
According to the Kurdistan 24 website, Pompeo specifically linked his threats of military action in Iraq to Trump’s concerns about the US November election.
This threat underscores the danger that the Trump administration may be preparing an “October surprise” in the form of military action aimed at shocking the electorate and potentially creating the conditions for the imposition of the kind of coup d’état election and martial law repression that the US president has threatened.
Military action against the Iraqi Shia militias has the potential of spiraling rapidly into a region-wide and even global conflict. As it escalates its threats in Iraq, the Trump administration has arrogantly claimed the right to invoke the “snapback” of sanctions that were suspended under the terms of the 2015 nuclear agreement between Teheran and the major powers that Washington itself unilaterally repudiated in 2018. These include a ban on the export of conventional arms to Iran, which is set to expire in mid-October.
With both China and Russia having established close ties to Iran and interest in selling the country weapons, Washington’s bid to enforce the expired ban could involve attempts to seize Russian or Chinese vessels on the high seas, raising the threat of a direct conflict between the major nuclear powers.
Such a use of military force in pursuit of the global strategic interests of US imperialism, as well as Donald Trump’s own political interests, would likely come with not merely the acquiescence, but the outright support of his ostensible Democratic Party opponents, who have repeatedly criticized his administration from the right for being too “soft” on Russia and China
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
The Pentagon’s Central Command reported an airstrike against a supposed hideout of remnants of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) in the area of Kirkuk, Iraq. While it did not attribute the attack to the carrier-based aircraft, it was carried out on the same day that the Navy reported its operation.
The USS Nimitz-led carrier strike group passed through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategic chokepoints, and into the Persian Gulf on September 18, substantially escalating the US military presence in the tense region.
While ISIS was the ostensible target of the latest airstrike, the military operation constitutes an implicit threat against Iran, the principal target of US militarism in the region.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]F/A-18F Super Hornets from USS Nimitz. (Credit: US Navy, Twitter)
The US military buildup has been accompanied by a threat of US retaliation against Iranian-aligned Shia militias in Iraq, as well as Washington’s ratcheting up of a “maximum pressure” sanctions regime against Iran that is tantamount to a state of war, serving to drive ever larger segments of the Iranian population into poverty and cripple the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has threatened the Iraqi government that Washington will close down its embassy in Baghdad as a prelude to US military attacks aimed at “liquidating” Shia militia elements charged with responsibility for attacks on US facilities in the country.
According to Iraqi Kurdish news agencies, the US ambassador to Iraq, Matthew Tueller, has already fled the embassy, taking refuge in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Preparations are also reportedly underway for evacuating the rest of the embassy staff.
These extreme measures are being justified as a response to a series of Katyusha rocket attacks on the Green Zone, the heavily fortified district of Baghdad where the US Embassy as well as other diplomatic and government facilities are located. According to US officials, the Green Zone has been targeted with rockets or mortar fire 19 times in the last month. None of these attacks have claimed any casualties or inflicted any damage on the embassy. Convoys supplying US and allied facilities have also been attacked roughly two dozen times.
In a tragic incident on Monday, a Katyusha rocket apparently aimed at US troops deployed at the Baghdad airport fell short of its target, hitting a nearby house and killing three children and two women.
The American embassy in Baghdad is the largest and most expensive such US facility in the world, sprawling over 104 square acres, occupying nearly as much space as Vatican City. It opened in 2009, six years after the launching of the US war of aggression that claimed the lives of roughly one million Iraqis and devastated the country. It was built to house an apparatus that would continue the neo-colonial domination of the oil-rich country in the interests of US imperialism. These plans have been thwarted to a large extent by Iran’s close relations with and influence over Baghdad.
Today the embassy is defended by an advanced C-RAM rocket and mortar defense system installed earlier this year. This was combined with the deployment of Patriot missile batteries to protect US military installations, where some 5,000 US troops remain. The Iraqi government had opposed the deployments, fearing the Patriots could be used to facilitate a US war on Iran by forestalling Iranian retaliation.
The missile and mortar attacks have unfolded in the wake of the criminal US drone assassination strike at Baghdad’s international airport in January that claimed the lives of both Qassem Soleimani, one of Iran’s top government officials, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, one of the senior leaders of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). The predominantly Shia militias that comprise the PMF played the predominant role in the ground fighting against ISIS, which overran Iraq in 2014, routing US-trained security forces. By a vote of the Iraqi parliament, the PMF was incorporated into the country’s armed forces as kind of a national guard.
After the January assassination strike, the Iraqi parliament voted for a resolution demanding the withdrawal of all US and other foreign troops from the country. Washington has defied the motion, threatening Iraq with sweeping economic sanctions if it attempts to force out US forces.
While Iran as well as the main Shia parties and militia groups have called for a halt to the rocket attacks on the Green Zone, the continuing attacks are believed to be the work of groups seeking revenge for the murder of Soleimani and al-Muhandis. Iran had vowed retaliation but limited its action to one round of missile strikes at US military bases in Iraq that claimed no lives.
Iraqi24, a Baghdad news website, reported that US Secretary of State Pompeo had threatened Iraqi President Barham Salih in a telephone conversation that Washington’s closure of its Baghdad embassy would be followed by US military action. “The decision to close the embassy in Baghdad is in President Trump’s hands and is ready. …,” the site quotes Pompeo as saying. “If our forces withdraw and the embassy is closed in this way, we will liquidate all those who have been proven to have been involved in these attacks.”
Pompeo was said to have specifically named Kata'ib Hezbollah, which al-Muhandis led before his assassination, and Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq. Both are among the largest components of the PMF and have been active in fighting ISIS as well as the Al Qaeda-linked forces that were backed by the CIA in its bid to oust the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
According to the Kurdistan 24 website, Pompeo specifically linked his threats of military action in Iraq to Trump’s concerns about the US November election.
This threat underscores the danger that the Trump administration may be preparing an “October surprise” in the form of military action aimed at shocking the electorate and potentially creating the conditions for the imposition of the kind of coup d’état election and martial law repression that the US president has threatened.
Military action against the Iraqi Shia militias has the potential of spiraling rapidly into a region-wide and even global conflict. As it escalates its threats in Iraq, the Trump administration has arrogantly claimed the right to invoke the “snapback” of sanctions that were suspended under the terms of the 2015 nuclear agreement between Teheran and the major powers that Washington itself unilaterally repudiated in 2018. These include a ban on the export of conventional arms to Iran, which is set to expire in mid-October.
With both China and Russia having established close ties to Iran and interest in selling the country weapons, Washington’s bid to enforce the expired ban could involve attempts to seize Russian or Chinese vessels on the high seas, raising the threat of a direct conflict between the major nuclear powers.
Such a use of military force in pursuit of the global strategic interests of US imperialism, as well as Donald Trump’s own political interests, would likely come with not merely the acquiescence, but the outright support of his ostensible Democratic Party opponents, who have repeatedly criticized his administration from the right for being too “soft” on Russia and China
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Today at 6:16 am by Rocky
» Al-Badran: The reason for postponing the Basra Council session is to give members sufficient time to
Today at 6:14 am by Rocky
» The Contractors Registration and Classification Committee at the Ministry of Planning completed more
Today at 6:13 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Foreign Affairs: We discussed these files with the Romanian Senate
Today at 6:12 am by Rocky
» Baghdad Investment Authority to / Nina /: We will adopt future programming to implement projects and
Today at 6:10 am by Rocky
» Their arms are "electronic flies"... Personalities who lost their positions seek to stir up strife b
Today at 6:08 am by Rocky
» Decrease in dollar exchange rates in morning trading in Baghdad markets
Today at 6:06 am by Rocky
» An international organization: Plans to enhance the livelihood of affected displaced and returning f
Today at 6:04 am by Rocky
» Dozens of factories are halted... Industry: We went into partnership with the private sector to rest
Today at 6:03 am by Rocky
» The Iraqi Communist criticizes the decision to abolish the Kurdistan Parliament quota: positive disc
Today at 6:01 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani confirms Iraq's aspiration for the participation of Azerbaijani companies in construction
Today at 6:00 am by Rocky
» An initiative by the President of the Republic to solve the problem of the region’s salaries
Today at 5:59 am by Rocky
» The Kurdistan government complains about Baghdad’s finances: It is ready to pay 59% of the salaries
Today at 5:58 am by Rocky
» Al-Khanjar: The Democratic boycott of the elections puts the future of Iraq in danger
Today at 5:55 am by Rocky
» Iraq is ranked seventh in the Arab world and 33rd globally in the misery index
Today at 5:54 am by Rocky
» Trade announces the achievement of self-sufficiency in ration card materials
Today at 5:52 am by Rocky
» Finance releases funding for state employees’ salaries for the month of March
Today at 5:51 am by Rocky
» Elon Musk: 20 seats won by Biden and his party with the votes of “illegal immigrants”
Today at 5:50 am by Rocky
» A "paradigm shift" awaits the regions of the belt and outskirts of Baghdad
Today at 5:47 am by Rocky
» “Speicher and Malwiya Fund”..Parliamentary Finance talks about “illegal fees” in state departments
Today at 5:46 am by Rocky
» Government admission of the failure of the meter campaign: Generators’ compliance is “almost non-exi
Today at 5:44 am by Rocky
» Iraq is proceeding with the zero nuclear reactor project.. Find out its details
Today at 5:42 am by Rocky
» The decision to “reduce exports”... “unplanned” production for Kurdistan will cost Baghdad half a bi
Today at 5:41 am by Rocky
» The powers of Kurdistan.. The Federal Court confirms its commitment to what was agreed upon by the “
Today at 5:39 am by Rocky
» Launching funding for state employees’ salaries for the month of March
Today at 5:38 am by Rocky
» Iraq and Syria top the "least safe" Arab countries
Yesterday at 8:23 am by Rocky
» Governor of Baghdad: 20 projects will be included during the current year in the city of Nahrawan
Yesterday at 8:20 am by Rocky
» More than $242 million in central bank sales today
Yesterday at 8:17 am by Rocky
» Advisor: Sudanese is determined to close the displacement file
Yesterday at 8:14 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani: The implementation of the 2023 budget witnessed a success that must be invested in
Yesterday at 8:13 am by Rocky
» The Baghdad Council will decide on the nomination of the committees in the coming days
Yesterday at 8:10 am by Rocky
» Al-Samarrai: The Sunni community is not in favor of removing American forces
Yesterday at 8:08 am by Rocky
» A warning from Al-Rasheed to those wishing to apply for advances and loans
Yesterday at 8:06 am by Rocky
» Azerbaijan expresses its desire to participate in the implementation of joint projects in the oil an
Yesterday at 8:05 am by Rocky
» Fuel cards arouse citizens' discontent
Yesterday at 8:03 am by Rocky
» utube 3/18/24 MM&C Iraqi Dinar-- IQD-- Dinar Update -100% Electronic - Real Effective Exchange Rat
Yesterday at 6:21 am by Rocky
» utube MM&C 3/16/24 0:05 / 18:16 Iraq Federal Court Brings - Strength to Financial - Politic
Yesterday at 6:18 am by Rocky
» MM&C 3/18/24 Sudanese Advisor: Iraq will leave government monetary dealing in mid-2024
Yesterday at 6:17 am by Rocky
» A delegation from the Kurdistan government visits Baghdad to discuss the issue of localization of sa
Yesterday at 6:11 am by Rocky
» Director of the Central Oil Company: We are keen to provide the appropriate investment environment
Yesterday at 6:10 am by Rocky
» The Energy Parliament calls for reporting generators violating government pricing
Yesterday at 6:08 am by Rocky
» A representative reveals the fate of the laws of “previous sessions”
Yesterday at 6:07 am by Rocky
» Politician: Coordination holds the keys to resolving the “Parliament Presidency” conflict
Yesterday at 6:05 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani: Iraq wants to carry out its peaceful activity in the field of atomic energy
Yesterday at 6:04 am by Rocky
» Including a minister and a parliamentarian... 38 arrest and recruitment orders were issued against t
Yesterday at 6:02 am by Rocky
» Integrity: Citizens’ cooperation resulted in detecting inflation and returning state funds
Yesterday at 6:01 am by Rocky
» Agriculture presents 97 projects to the Ministerial Council for the Economy
Yesterday at 5:59 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani: We succeeded in implementing the 2023 budget, and we must continue to complete economic p
Yesterday at 5:58 am by Rocky
» Labor adopts new mechanisms to reduce the phenomenon of begging
Yesterday at 5:57 am by Rocky
» Electronically.. directing the collection of fees tomorrow in an Iraqi governorate
Yesterday at 5:56 am by Rocky
» Held in Brussels.. Iraq receives an official invitation to attend the Nuclear Energy Summit
Yesterday at 5:55 am by Rocky
» Kurdistan has been paralyzed. There has been no liquidity in hand for 50 days, and the truth has bee
Yesterday at 5:53 am by Rocky
» The dollar continues to decline against the Iraqi dinar on the stock exchange and exchange offices
Yesterday at 5:52 am by Rocky
» The Minister of Oil reveals the reasons for Shell’s withdrawal from Nebras: It will be divided into
Yesterday at 5:51 am by Rocky
» The Housing Fund advises loan applicants and launches a link for inquiries
Yesterday at 5:50 am by Rocky
» He stressed that the government’s vision is to make one class not exceed 25 students...Government me
Yesterday at 5:48 am by Rocky
» Al-Hakim and Al-Halbousi stress the importance of choosing a speaker for Parliament in accordance wi
Yesterday at 5:47 am by Rocky
» Iron and Steel Company: Iraq is on the verge of a major industrial revolution
Yesterday at 5:46 am by Rocky
» Economists: Citizens still prefer cash transactions over electronic transactions
Yesterday at 5:45 am by Rocky
» The compass of Iraq's foreign policy in a world of turbulent polarization
Yesterday at 5:43 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Finance: The federal budget is in the corridors of the Council of Ministers, and there
Yesterday at 5:42 am by Rocky
» Integrity calls on citizens to report the inflation of funds in the sector of the Ministry of Labor
Yesterday at 5:40 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani directs the launch of initiatives for young businessmen and investors
Yesterday at 5:38 am by Rocky
» Representative agriculture emphasizes taking supportive measures for the local product
Yesterday at 5:37 am by Rocky
» An economist calls on the government to support and stimulate the private sector
Yesterday at 5:36 am by Rocky
» Al-Ittihad: Employees and retirees in Kurdistan paid the price of political differences with Baghdad
Yesterday at 5:34 am by Rocky
» Al-Samarrai and Al-Hakim discuss the importance of achieving political and constitutional entitlemen
Yesterday at 5:32 am by Rocky
» Only 23 million dunums. Iraq exploits approximately 50% of its arable land
Yesterday at 5:30 am by Rocky
» Türkiye considers it a political issue.. Where have the negotiations reached regarding Iraq’s water
Yesterday at 5:29 am by Rocky
» Sudanese receives an invitation to attend the Nuclear Energy Summit in Brussels - Urgent
Yesterday at 5:27 am by Rocky
» Central Bank sales exceed $240 million today
Sun Mar 17, 2024 7:52 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Finance calls on the government to expedite sending the 2024 budget to Parliament
Sun Mar 17, 2024 7:47 am by Rocky
» ‘We’re So Sick of It’: Northern Border Crisis Gets Worse
Sun Mar 17, 2024 7:35 am by Bama Diva
» A representative holds Kurdistan responsible for the faltering legislation of the oil and gas law
Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:27 am by Rocky
» Warnings of the danger of the increase in foreign labor in Iraq
Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:26 am by Rocky
» Iraq's oil exports to America decreased within a week
Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:25 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani chairs an “important” meeting to form the Kirkuk government
Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:23 am by Rocky
» Investment confirms the adoption of a new method in new residential cities and explains its details
Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:21 am by Rocky
» For the first time in 2024.. exchange rates fall to the threshold of 149 thousand in Baghdad
Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:19 am by Rocky
» Including gold.. An increase in exports of 3 Turkish products to Iraq during 2024
Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:18 am by Rocky
» A detailed integrity report regarding the Housing Fund... called for this matter
Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:17 am by Rocky
» Resources count the number of trespassers in Baghdad.. What about restaurants?
Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:16 am by Rocky
» At a cost of approximately two billion dinars... determining the completion rates achieved in the Ma
Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:15 am by Rocky
» Parliament awaits the “Cabinet of Ministers” law
Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:14 am by Rocky
» Provincial councils return after an absence with a heavy legacy
Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:13 am by Rocky
» Iraq is the axis and meeting point of East and West
Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:11 am by Rocky
» One million beneficiaries of health insurance early next May
Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:10 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Finance: Delaying the budget had a negative impact on the performance of the ministrie
Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:09 am by Rocky
» The chaos of urban expansion threatens the agricultural character of Diwaniyah
Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:08 am by Rocky
» A project to plant Japanese trees in Erbil
Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:07 am by Rocky
» A team to prepare the national strategy for national security in Kirkuk
Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:06 am by Rocky
» Next Tuesday...concluding a contract to expand the basic design of the city of Mosul
Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:04 am by Rocky
» A festival to reduce food prices in Mosul
Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:03 am by Rocky
» Technical committees between Baghdad and Erbil to resume oil exports through Türkiye
Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:02 am by Rocky
» A model of economic diversification
Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:01 am by Rocky
» Variation in the extent to which Iraq was affected by the decision to reduce the credit rating of {T
Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:00 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani: Iraq has made a commitment to receive the entire security file from the Ministry of Inter
Sun Mar 17, 2024 5:58 am by Rocky
» The President of the Republic stresses the important role of Mr. Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim in the first st
Sun Mar 17, 2024 5:56 am by Rocky
» The Iraqi Center for Combating Rumors warns against social media celebrities misleading their follow
Sun Mar 17, 2024 5:54 am by Rocky