BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaIraq could be pushed into conflict, minister warnsPublished3 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingThis video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.Media caption, ‘They are not going to solve their problem on Iraqi soil’By Orla GuerinSenior international correspondent, BaghdadIraq could be pushed into conflict by tit-for-tat attacks on its territory by Iranian-backed militias and US forces, Iraqi foreign minister, Dr Fuad Hussein, has told the BBC.”The tension nowadays between Iran and the United States is very high,” he said. “I hope both sides will stop their attacks. They are not going to solve their problem on Iraqi soil,” he said. “We paid a very big price.”In the past week or so, that price has involved a wave of US air strikes killing 17 fighters from Iranian-backed armed groups. Then came a deadly missile attack on a militia commander, Abu Bakir Al Saadi, which turned his jeep into a fireball on a residential street in Baghdad. That attack was condemned by the government here as “a clear-cut assassination” without regard for civilian lives or international law – a stunning indictment of an ally.The American strikes were in retaliation for the killing of three US soldiers in Jordan. The US military says it will “continue to take necessary action” to protect its own people. As the two sides battle it out, Iraq is getting burnt.The minister said talks had to resume on the withdrawal of 2,500 US troops, deployed here as advisors since 2014 to help prevent a resurgence of the so-called Islamic State. The word – in government and on the streets – is that they have overstayed their welcome.Image caption, Foreign Minister Dr Fuad Hussein says the US and Iran are not going to solve their problems in Iraq”The majority of Iraqi people do not want to have foreign forces on Iraqi soil,” he told us. “Those who have been invited (the Americans), we will do it through negotiation. And those who have not been invited must leave, we hope also through negotiation.”The uninvited guests – at least not invited by him – are powerful pro-Iranian militias here who have been targeting US troops. Officially, many are part of Iraq’s security forces. Critics say they are foot soldiers for Iran. The minister says the militias are now being challenged, a change from the past when speaking out meant threats. This is a new moment in Iraq.”If now you talk with many political leaders, they’re starting to talk about this,” he said. “Many people, they didn’t dare to talk about it. This is also part of the reality of this country. But now we are talking about it. People dare to say to those guys, ‘it’s enough’.” And he says the militias have got the message that “if they continue, they will push this country into a war while it is not our war”. The message has also been received in Tehran, he says.The foreign minister admits that Iran has “influence” here, but denies it is dictating policy in Baghdad. It is more of “a constant negotiation”, according to Dr Renad Mansour, a senior research fellow at Chatham House, an international affairs think tank in London.”Do they have to listen to Tehran? Sometimes yes, and sometimes no,” he says. “It depends. The Iranians come in and say ‘this is our bottom line, this is our red line’. Often, they converge, but sometimes they diverge. It’s not as black and white.”Image source, EPA/EFEImage caption, A senior commander of an Iranian-backed militia was killed in a US drone strike in BaghdadThe Iranian influence looms large here: in politics, in militias, and in the streets. Among the blast walls and the palms trees, you find posters of Qasem Soleimani, the top Iranian general killed at Baghdad airport in January 2020 by a US airstrike. Here and there the face of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, gazes down on choking traffic.Some of the tuk-tuk taxis screeching around Tahrir Square in the afternoon sun have pictures of Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the Iranian-backed leader of Hezbollah, the most powerful armed force in Lebanon.I asked the foreign minister if he was worried about the degree of Iranian influence here. “I’m worried about the degree of all the influence surrounding us, not only Iranian. We are trying to get rid of all these influences. The decision about Iraq must be taken in Baghdad, and it must be taken by the Iraqis in Baghdad,” he said.For now, the country is ensnared between its two feuding allies: Iran and the US. Neither may want a major escalation in their conflict – and it appears they do not – but it cannot be ruled out.Pro-Iranian armed groups here have vowed to step up their attacks on US forces, after the killing of the militia commander in Baghdad. “His assassination… violated all rules of engagement,” said a statement from the Islamic Resistance of Iraq. “We call on our brothers in jihad to join the ranks of the resistance… to expel the occupation.”The situation remains volatile, according to the United Nations envoy for Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert. “Iraq – indeed, the wider region – remain on a knife-edge,” she says, “with the tiniest miscalculation threatening a major conflagration.Related TopicsMiddle EastBaghdadIraqMore on this storyWhy did US wait to retaliate for drone attack on its troops?Published7 days agoIran’s sudden strikes show just how perilous region has becomePublished20 January’We are surrounded’: Guarding the Middle East’s most dangerous borderPublished2 days agoTop StoriesGazans surviving off animal feed and rice as food dwindlesPublished3 hours agoPolice to search Thames for Clapham attack suspectPublished8 minutes agoRival parties each claim edge in Pakistan electionPublished52 minutes agoFeaturesIsraeli soldier videos from Gaza could breach international law, experts sayThe Ukrainians ‘disappearing’ in Russia’s prisonsDinosaur Island: 40 years of discoveries on Skye’There is no right or wrong way to have alopecia’The Papers: Gaza bloodbath fears and King bonds with FergieSpain’s LGBT matador: ‘More will come out because of me’Is Iceland entering a new volcanic era?An ‘impossible’ country tests its hard-won democracyWhat’s next in Prince Harry’s war against the media?Elsewhere on the BBCIt’s make or break timeAnother set of eager entrepreneurs hope to impress the fearsome panelAttributioniPlayerHow are jelly beans made?Gregg Wallace visits a Dublin factory that makes over ten million of the sweets per day!AttributioniPlayerIs this the greatest Jurassic predator that ever lived?Sir David Attenborough investigates a unique discovery: the skull of a giant, prehistoric sea monsterAttributioniPlayerThe sound effect that became the ultimate movie in-jokeIt’s used in everything from Toy Story to Reservoir Dogs, but what is the Wilhelm Scream?AttributioniPlayerMost Read1Celebrities and the perils of oversharing daily routines2Ex-Fujitsu boss ‘shocked’ by Post Office’s actions3Man’s indefinite sentence a ‘serious injustice’4Mum found under coat in A&E died days later5Gaza bloodbath fears and King bonds with Fergie6Tory donors and 27-year-old among new peers7Cash-strapped clubbers make their nights out count8Invasive alligator snapping turtle found in Cumbria9Police to search Thames for Clapham attack suspect10Gazans surviving off animal feed and rice as food dwindles

• newsinsightplus.com
Blog
• February 10, 2024
• 0 Comments