Reuters reveals “resounding” secrets about Al-Sudani’s meeting with 12 armed groups in Baghdad

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[size=52]Reuters reveals “resounding” secrets about Al-Sudani’s meeting with 12 armed groups in Baghdad[/size]

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11-09-2023
Translation
Today, Thursday, November 9, 2023, Reuters revealed the details of the meeting between Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani and about 10 senior members of his government with the leaders of about a dozen armed groups in the capital, Baghdad, on October 23. 2023 to stop its attacks on American forces.
The agency stated in a report translated by Alsumaria News, “A drone, launched by armed groups at the Erbil air base before sunrise on October 26, penetrated the American air defenses and crashed on the second floor of the barracks housing the American forces at approximately five in the morning, according to officials.” Americans.[/size]
[size=45]The officials, who requested anonymity to speak freely about the attack, said the explosive device did not explode, and in the end only one soldier suffered a concussion as a result of the impact. They added that the United States was lucky, because the drone could have caused carnage if it had exploded.[/size]
[size=45]The incident was among at least 40 separate drone and missile attacks launched by militant groups in Iraq and Syria on US forces over the past three weeks in response to US support for Israel in the Gaza war, according to Pentagon statements and US officials.[/size]
[size=45]The bombing has caused only a few dozen minor casualties so far, as US air defenses have intercepted many missiles and attack drones in one direction in Iraq and Syria, where a total of 3,400 US soldiers are stationed.
David Schenker, a former US Assistant Secretary of State at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, warned that while neither Iran and its allied groups nor the United States appear to want a direct confrontation, the risks are growing. He said the possibility of a major strike that would drag America into conflict is a “very realistic concern.”[/size]
[size=45]“I think they are calibrating attacks to harass American forces rather than kill them en masse,” he said of the Iraqi and Syrian groups. “But there is only so much they can do.”[/size]
[size=45]On Sunday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken headed to Iraq - where most of the attacks on US forces occurred - to push Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani to take tough measures against armed groups operating there and avoid any escalation.[/size]
[size=45]However, Sudan has had no luck convincing armed groups to stop their attack, or convincing their financiers in Iran to rein them in, according to five senior lawmakers in Sudan's ruling coalition, a security adviser to the prime minister and an armed group leader.[/size]
[size=45]The seven people who were present said that the prime minister and about 10 senior members of his government met with leaders of about a dozen armed groups in Baghdad on October 23 to pressure the groups to stop their attacks on US forces.[/size]
[size=45]They added that the call had largely fallen on deaf ears, as most leaders pledged to continue their offensive until Israeli forces ended their siege and bombing of the Gaza Strip, according to a Reuters report.[/size]
[size=45]Ali al-Turki, a Shiite MP, said: “No one – not the prime minister or anyone else – can stand against our religious duty.”[/size]
[size=45]Arif Al-Hamami, another Shiite lawmaker, said the prospects for diplomacy looked bleak: “I do not think the prime minister has the ability to stop the attacks as long as Israel is committing atrocities in Gaza with American assistance.”[/size]
[size=45]The Iraqi and Iranian governments did not immediately respond to requests for comment on attacks by armed groups and the risk of escalation.[/size]
[size=45]*The Iraqi leader's appeal to Iran.
The Iraqi Prime Minister has limited control over the armed groups whose support he needed to win power a year ago and which now form a strong bloc in his ruling coalition. The extremist groups that spread in Iraq following the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and his Sunni government receive training and funding from Shiite Iran.[/size]
[size=45]For Al-Sudani, it was just a case of shuttle diplomacy, according to Reuters.[/size]
[size=45]Hours after meeting with Blinken on Sunday, the prime minister flew to Tehran to directly appeal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other Iranian officials for help, according to a senior Iraqi politician close to the prime minister who was briefed on the visit.[/size]
[size=45]The politician said that Al-Sudani asked Iranian officials to pressure armed groups to stop their attacks on American forces in Iraq, fearing that his politically and economically unstable country would not tolerate an escalation that would push the Americans to respond to the militants.[/size]
[size=45]The politician added that officials told him that the armed groups in Iraq made their own decisions and that Tehran would not interfere in the situation there.[/size]
[size=45]Iran denounced the Israeli retaliatory attack on Gaza, describing it as genocide and warning that if it was not stopped, the United States “will not escape this fire.” Meanwhile, Lebanon's Hezbollah movement - a group that sources say has acquired powerful Russian anti-ship missiles - has warned Washington that it will pay a heavy price in a regional war.[/size]
[size=45]'They're laughing at us in Tehran'
Biden faces his own dilemmas as he receives a steady stream of reports about hostilities in the region. US military officials say that among attacks outside Iraq and Syria in recent weeks, Houthi fighters allied with Iran launched 15 drones and four cruise missiles off the coast of Yemen that were shot down by a US Navy destroyer and a crew of hundreds of sailors.[/size]
[size=45]The current crisis erupted after years of continued withdrawal of US military assets from the Middle East, including air defenses, as Washington seeks to focus on the Russian invasion in Ukraine and escalating tensions with China. This refocusing process accelerated after Biden's complete withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban's seizure of power there two years ago.[/size]
[size=45]Biden's response has been cautious so far; He ordered night strikes on two Iranian-linked weapons storage facilities in Syria last month when they were empty, but did not order any strikes in Iraq. On Wednesday, Biden followed a similar strike in Syria, with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warning: “We urge against any escalation.”[/size]
[size=45]Biden has warned Iranian-backed groups across the region, including the large Hezbollah movement in Lebanon, against expanding the conflict, but he and other officials have refused to clearly state what they will do in response.[/size]
[size=45]The United States hopes a military display of force will deter any serious attack, and has deployed two aircraft carrier strike groups and took the rare step over the weekend of announcing the movement of an Ohio-class submarine into the area.[/size]
[size=45]Besides fielding air defenses such as Patriot and the High Altitude System, the US military is also taking additional steps to protect tens of thousands of its troops in the region, according to officials.[/size]
[size=45]They added that the measures include enhancing security at US military bases in the region by increasing patrols, restricting access, and enhancing intelligence collection.[/size]
[size=45]Biden's response to the crisis was not strong enough for many of his critics, including Republicans in Congress.[/size]
[size=45]“They are making fun of us in Tehran,” said Republican Senator Tom Cotton, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He added, "Iran will continue to target Americans until President Biden gets serious about imposing heavy costs on Iran."[/size]
[size=45]In a hearing with Austin on October 31, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham repeatedly asked whether the killing of US service members would lead to a direct response against Iran. Austin objected and merely said that Iran should be held accountable.[/size]
[size=45]“I wish you could be clearer, because if one of these soldiers is killed...” Graham said, pausing for effect.[/size]
[size=45]To read the report in Reuters, click here
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