(Baghdad) On a surprise visit to Baghdad, the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken on Sunday judged “totally unacceptable” attacks carried out against American troops stationed in Iraq and neighboring Syria since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Mr. Blinken’s visit to Iraq, announced by the services of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Chia al-Soudani, had not been revealed beforehand for security reasons.
It comes at a time when, since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, triggered on October 7 by an unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israeli soil, rocket and drone attacks have targeted Iraqi bases where troops are deployed. Americans and the international anti-jihadist coalition.
During his meeting with Prime Minister Soudani, Mr. Blinken “clearly told him that attacks or threats coming from militias aligned with Iran were totally unacceptable,” he reported during a press briefing organized before flying to Turkey.
PHOTO JONATHAN ERNST, REUTERS
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
We will take all necessary measures to protect ours.
Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State
Washington accuses Iran of being involved by proxy in these attacks which also targeted American troops in neighboring Syria.
Most of the attacks were claimed by a group called “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” on Telegram channels affiliated with Iraqi factions close to Iran.
According to Pentagon figures from Friday, between October 17 and November 3, some 17 attacks took place in Iraq and 12 in Syria.
Some 2,500 American soldiers are deployed in Iraq. Their mission is to advise their Iraqi counterparts in the fight against the Islamic State jihadist group.
Mr. Soudani has already condemned these attacks and assured that “investigations” were being carried out to find out the perpetrators.
On Sunday when receiving Mr. Blinken, he once again called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, emphasizing “the urgency of containing the crisis and preventing its spread,” according to a press release from his services.
Iraq does not recognize the State of Israel and the Iraqi government is close to Iran, a country which supports Palestinian Hamas.
Antony Blinken already visited Israel on Friday and Jordan on Saturday where he participated in a ministerial meeting with five of his Arab counterparts and met King Abdullah II of Jordan.
On Sunday morning, he went to Ramallah in the occupied West Bank where he met the President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas, before passing through the island of Cyprus to meet with the Cypriot president. The meeting took place in the plane parked on the airport tarmac.