Blinken's visit to Iraq.. Syria file, Iranian hegemony and the danger of ISIS

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[size=52]Blinken's visit to Iraq.. Syria file, Iranian hegemony and the danger of ISIS[/size]

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December 14, 2024
Blinken discussed the Syrian issue and efforts to combat ISIS with Al-Sudani.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken pledged that Washington would prevent the return of ISIS, renewing the United States’ commitment to Iraq’s security.[/size]
[size=45]“No one knows better than Iraq the importance of preventing the return of terrorism to Syria,” Blinken said in remarks following his meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in Baghdad on Friday, adding that Washington “is committed to working with Iraq on security and is always working for Iraq’s sovereignty, to ensure it is strengthened and preserved.”[/size]
[size=45]The “Iraqi sovereignty” that Blinken spoke of and that was present in all official Iraqi statements, some say will not be complete due to the danger of Iranian influence and the armed Iraqi militias loyal to it.[/size]
[size=45]Iraqi political researcher Abdul Qader Al-Nayel from Amman told Al-Hurra that Blinken carried important messages to Iraq, most notably the importance of distancing the political process from Iranian hegemony and influence, “which controls Iraqi decision-making,” according to him.[/size]
[size=45]The second message is that Tehran should not use Iraqi territory “to redeploy and tamper with Syria.”[/size]
[size=45]The third message, Al-Nayel added, is the United States’ keenness to establish peace and peaceful coexistence in Syria, “and this requires the support of Syria’s neighbors,” especially Iraq, which he said had a major role in intervening in Syrian affairs.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Nayel explained that Al-Sudani’s government is at a crossroads and must prepare for the stage of disarming the armed militias and dealing with the fate of 30,000 members of these pro-Iranian militias who withdrew from Syria after the fall of Assad and entered Iraq.
He added that the international community and the United States support Al-Sudani’s government to restrict weapons to the state and dismantle these militias, and that all Iraqis support efforts to free Iraq from Iranian hegemony “because the hands of these factions and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard are stained with the blood of Iraqis,” as he put it.[/size]
[size=45]Despite this internal and international support, according to Al-Nayel, Al-Sudani is unable to achieve these desires due to the strength of the armed factions’ weapons, especially the Hezbollah militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in the Jurf Al-Sakhar area, which he said includes camps containing drones and a special unit to target energy sources in the region and the world.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Nayel says that this base in Jurf al-Sakhar “has become a cancerous germ in the body of Iraq” and that al-Sudani cannot overthrow the Coordination Framework (an alliance of Shiite parties participating in the current government) because this alliance is part of these militias and factions and the Iranian axis that dominates it, according to him.
In light of the change taking place in the Syrian scene, Blinken tried to reassure his Iraqi neighbor about the new state during a surprise visit to Baghdad, where he assured al-Sudani of the United States’ commitment to Iraq’s security and stability, stressing that Washington will never allow ISIS to re-emerge or resume its activities in Syria and Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]During his meeting with Blinken, Al-Sudani stressed the need to represent all components of the Syrian people in the country's administration to ensure enhancing its stability, according to a statement issued by his office.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Sudani stressed that “Iraq is waiting for actions, not words, from those in charge of managing the transitional phase in Syria,” stressing the need to “not allow attacks on Syrian territory, from any party... and that this represents a threat to security and stability in the region.”
Government spokesman Bassem al-Awadi explained that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken praised the government’s role in calming the situation in the region.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Awadi said, according to the official Iraqiya channel, that the government has not stopped communicating with the United States since the beginning of the crisis in Syria, and that Blinken's visit confirmed that Iraq's security is preserved and no breach is allowed, according to his expression.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Awadi added that the international coalition is still present in Iraq, and that the security forces with the international coalition are ready to carry out strikes against any terrorist movements, “and ISIS and any extremist organization cannot be allowed to cross the Iraqi border.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Awadi stressed that Iraq did not intervene militarily in Syria, and does not have individual projects regarding Syria or support for any group or political party, pointing out that there is an Arab, regional and international agreement not to allow any type of extremism to transfer crises outside Syria, according to him.
Member of the Parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee Abbas al-Jubouri explained, for his part, in a statement to “Al-Hurra” that Blinken’s visit is a positive message to Iraq, neighboring countries and the region about the positive role of the United States and its commitment to designing and creating a solution in Syria.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Jubouri said that Iraq has made great efforts at the diplomatic level to achieve stability in the region, “because diplomacy is the only solution to overcome successive crises,” as he put it.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Jubouri added that Iraq is a key partner in the international coalition and part of the system for combating terrorism and extremism locally and regionally.[/size]
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