Iraq: The United States Secretary of State Mr. Antony Blinken has made an unannounced visit to Iraq amid growing fears that the Israel-Gaza war could lead to a regional conflict.
Mr. Blinken held talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Mr. Mohammed Shia al-Sudani as Washington sought Baghdad’s help in dealing with “attacks on US forces from Iran-backed groups.”
Mr. Blinken told reporters that the talks with Mr. al-Sudani were “productive” and his Iraqi counterpart was working with his security forces to “take necessary action” to deal with the attacks.
“This is a matter of Iraqi sovereignty. No country wants to have militia groups engaged in violent activity. We have a shared purpose and commitment in trying to make sure that these attacks don’t happen,” the top US diplomat commented.
Mr. al-Sudani reiterated calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and pointed to “the urgency of containing the crisis and preventing its spread.”
According to the US Pentagon, rocket and drone attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria—most of which have been claimed by a group calling itself the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq”—have increased significantly since the Israel Hamas war.
Recently, the US has been concentrating on its diplomacy in the Middle East as Arab countries and armed groups in the region raise concerns over the mounting death toll from Israel’s war in Gaza.
Mr. Blinken’s visit, following stops in Israel and Jordan, came after Lebanese officials said an Israeli air raid killed four civilians, including three children, in the latest escalation in fighting along the tense Lebanon-Israel border.
After the Iraq visit, the US diplomat has landed in Turkey to hold talks with his Turkish counterpart, Mr. Hakan Fidan, amid warnings by the Iran-backed group Kataib Hezbollah that the diplomat’s visit would be met with “an unprecedented escalation.”
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