Baghdad yesterday warned of "escalation and chaos" after the attacks against American interests in Iraq multiplied, after Washington vowed to make a "decisive response" to Tehran, whose influence in the country is expanding through armed factions loyal to it, and at a time when consultations continued in Baghdad, with Near the end of the constitutional deadline to choose a new prime minister, Iraq witnessed protest marches and the closure of government departments.

In detail, the office of the resigned Iraqi Prime Minister, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, said in a statement that the US Defense Secretary, Mark Esber, in a telephone conversation with Abdul-Mahdi, expressed his "concern that some installations have been bombed, and that measures should be taken to stop this."

For his part, Abdul-Mahdi said, according to the same statement, he was also "concerned about these developments, and demanded that serious efforts be made, with the participation of all, to prevent an escalation that would threaten all parties."

And Abdul-Mahdi considered that "any weakening of the government and the Iraqi state, would encourage escalation and chaos," warning that "unilateral decisions will have negative reactions, difficult to control, and threaten the security, sovereignty and independence of Iraq."

Since October 28, there have been 10 missile attacks against bases housing US soldiers or the US embassy, ​​in the heavily fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad.

No one has claimed responsibility for any of these attacks, but Washington often accuses the armed factions loyal to Iran.

Security sources told Agence France Presse that they believed that the Hezbollah Brigades, one of the most prominent Iranian-backed PMF factions, which is on the blacklist in the United States, was behind the attacks.

The United States has become increasingly concerned about these attacks, especially as it intends to send between 5,000 and 7,000 additional soldiers to the Middle East.

According to a senior Iraqi official, Abdul-Mahdi feared that the United States would respond to those attacks, "which could lead to a collision on Iraqi soil."

For his part, an Iraqi security source confirmed yesterday, "The entry of American military convoys, loaded with weapons, into the Green Zone, after obtaining official approvals."

"The military convoys are composed of 15 tankers, carrying Hummer wheels with American materiel and weapons," the source added, who asked not to be identified.

On the other hand, political consultations continued in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, yesterday, to agree this week on a candidate to head the government to succeed Abdul-Mahdi, who resigned in the wake of a protest movement, demanding a change in the ruling political class. And the Iraqi parliament approved, on the first of December, the resignation of the government of Abdul-Mahdi, after nearly two months of a wave of protests that began spontaneously and demand, and resulted in the deaths of about 460 people, and injured more than 20 thousand injured.

And the President of the Republic of Iraq, Barham Salih, issued a book, the night before last, in which he called the parliament to announce the parliamentary bloc, which won the largest number of seats in last year's elections "for the purpose of assigning a new candidate" to the prime minister. Saleh confirmed that the presidency received the letter of Abdul-Mahdi's resignation, on the fourth of this month. As the constitution provides for the appointment of a new prime minister, within a maximum period of 15 days, the nomination of a new person must take place by next Thursday.

The largest bloc was not clear after the legislative elections that took place in Iraq in May 2018. The appointment of Abdul-Mahdi as Prime Minister at the time came with a political consensus that took place within hours, shortly after Saleh was elected President of the Republic.

Things seem more complicated, as the theoretical alliance between the two “Saeron” factions led by Muqtada al-Sadr and the “conquest” that includes the old leaders of the Popular Mobilization Forces has become virtually dissolved after the former joined the ranks of the demonstrations, in what the second considered a “conspiracy”.

It is reported that this alliance was the largest player in sharing positions with the resigned government.

The nomination of the Prime Minister is different this time from its predecessors, as the street stands as a watchdog and judge for any attempt to circumvent his demands on the one hand.

On the other hand, the Supreme Religious Authority announced that it would not participate in any consultations, negotiations, or blessing of any name that is proposed, unlike the past 16 years, when it played a decisive and indirect role in shaping the country's political track.

This comes at a time when dozens of Iraqi protesters in Diwaniya have closed the health, tax, municipal, and municipalities departments, and have prevented employees from working, according to activists, yesterday.

Activists explained that the protesters also closed the office of the Electoral Commission and the State Real Estate Department, as well as the Housing and Commercial Control Fund, noting that the districts ’strike continued until the end of this week.

In Basra, student marches and women’s demonstrations went to the Navy Square in the city’s center in the south of the country. In the Najaf governorate, protesters have closed a number of public and private schools and the Najaf municipality directorate.

Security, an Iraqi military statement said yesterday that five Iraqi soldiers were killed and five others, including an officer, were injured in two separate incidents, carried out by ISIS in areas affiliated to Diyala Governorate.