Will the attacks by the Iraqi factions be an opportunity to end the presence of the international coalition?

The attacks so far were directed to avoid causing the death of Americans, according to experts (Reuters)

Baghdad

- The pace of mutual attacks is escalating between Iraqi armed factions targeting American bases inside and outside Iraq, and between the American side, at a time when Baghdad seeks to schedule the withdrawal of American forces from military bases inside the country and end the presence of the international coalition through joint military and technical committees that began their work at the beginning of the week. The current one.

Three American soldiers were killed and at least 40 service members were injured in a drone attack last Sunday night on the American “Tower 22” military site near the Al-Tanf base on the Jordanian-Syrian border, according to American officials announced. This is the first time that American soldiers have been killed by hostile fire in the Middle East since the beginning of the Gaza war.

The Iraqi government denounced what it described as the ongoing escalation, especially after the Jordan attack, stressing that Iraq is ready to draw up rules of action to stop the expansion of the conflict.

American soldiers at a site that was targeted by a missile said to be Iranian inside the Ain al-Asad Air Base in Anbar Governorate (Reuters)

Iraqi warnings

According to its spokesman, Bassem Al-Awadi, the Iraqi government denounces the ongoing escalation, especially the recent attack that occurred on the Syrian-Jordanian border, indicating that it is following with great concern the dangerous security developments in the region.

Al-Awadi stressed Iraq's readiness to work on drawing up basic rules of engagement to avoid further repercussions in the region and to prevent the conflict from expanding, noting that the repercussions of these developments threaten regional and international peace and security, and undermine efforts to combat "terrorism" and drugs, as well as endanger trade, the economy, and energy supplies.

For his part, the media advisor to the Prime Minister, Hisham Al-Rikabi, says that Iraq had previously warned of the expansion of hotbeds of tension in the region after the events of October 7 in Gaza, especially since the speech of the Prime Minister, Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani, at the Cairo conference was clear, and it is a message. To the international community and the Arab countries that the massacres committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip constitute genocide, so Iraq’s position is to end these massacres and open safe corridors for aid to enter the people of Gaza.

Al-Rikabi explained, in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, that Iraq looks at the future of the relationship with the international coalition and the United States in a way that is dominated by common interests and mutual respect after ending military operations or military presence in the country, especially since the need for the presence of these forces disappeared after the defeat of ISIS.

He added, "Today we aspire to comprehensive relations based on common interests," noting that Iraq "has identified the technical committee that is working to set a time limit for the withdrawal of the international coalition."

Continuation of operations

Regarding the fate of the current escalation, Najah Muhammad Ali, an expert in Iranian and regional affairs, confirmed that the armed factions under the name “Islamic Resistance Factions in Iraq” will continue to carry out their operations until the aggression against Gaza stops.

Muhammad Ali told Al Jazeera Net that the Iraqi factions will continue their operations by targeting American bases in Iraq without exception, even if a truce is reached between Hamas and Israel, but if the war against the Palestinians stops, operations will stop by the “resistance factions” that will leave the issue of negotiation over presence. US military to the Iraqi government.

The expert believes that the prevailing opinion among the factions is that the issue of withdrawing forces was not raised in the meetings of the Iraqi-American Military Committee. However, military operations against American forces will stop the moment the aggressive war on Gaza stops.

He pointed out that the failure to show any signs of a decline in the Gaza war and Israel's gradual expansion of its operations to target the "axis of resistance" puts Iran in a sensitive position.

Muhammad Ali is not likely to target Israel directly at the present time. Rather, he said, "Tehran may continue to provide its support to its allies in the region, while the Ansar Allah movement is active in Yemen in strong harmony with what is happening in the occupied Palestinian territories."

As for Iraq, according to the Iraqi expert, Iranian-backed armed groups used heavy weapons such as ballistic missiles in their attacks on American forces, but Tehran began to rely on new, unknown groups in anticipation of matters sliding into a comprehensive regional war.

However, Muhammad Ali says, the attacks so far appear to have been directed to avoid crossing the red line of killing Americans to stop the war on Gaza.

Iraqi soldiers inspect a site from which missiles were launched towards the Ain al-Asad base, which houses American soldiers in Anbar (Reuters)

Activating understandings

Last Monday, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby confirmed that Washington would respond in an appropriate manner to the Jordan attack, stressing that Washington does not seek war with Iran.

The "Islamic Resistance Factions in Iraq" claimed responsibility for the attack on the American base, stating that they targeted 4 American bases, namely Al-Shaddadi, Al-Rukban, and Al-Tanf, while the fourth was inside the Palestinian territories, which is the "Zevulun" naval facility, explaining that they would continue to launch their attacks against the American bases in support of the Gaza Strip and in response to... Israeli massacres against the Palestinians.

In this context, political analyst Wathiq Al-Jabri believes that the recent escalation called on the American side to accelerate the activation of the understandings with Iraq, amid different views between the American side and the Iraqi factions, which believe that the escalation will accelerate the withdrawal of American forces, while the latter believes that the issue needs some kind of truce. .

Al-Jabri told Al-Jazeera Net that the Iraqi government has a balanced position between the two parties and relies on the diplomatic side and holding the stick in the middle, and believes that negotiation is what can lead to the withdrawal of American forces, and that the issue needs a military technical decision, ruling out that the withdrawal will happen that quickly, especially Washington wants to maintain its interests and relations with Iraq.

Al-Jabri explains that the strikes carried out by the Iraqi factions have direct repercussions on the war in Gaza, especially since the forces facing American and British interests, whether in Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon or Syria, have dispersed the international alliances that support Israel, so the American side tries to respond from time to time.

Source: Al Jazeera