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According to a US intelligence report released Wednesday, tensions between the United States and Iran have cast doubt on the Iraqi military about its relationship with the international coalition to fight ISIS, led by the United States.
The chief inspector of the United States Joint Task Force to fight ISIS said on Wednesday that the US raid that killed Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani “has likely raised suspicions among Iraqi security forces, about whether the coalition will continue to provide support in the future, “according to a report on the US site” The Hill. “
Based on responses he received from the Pentagon, the inspector added that although the coalition resumed its support for the Iraqi security forces, the growing tensions between Iran and its representatives further complicated relations between the coalition and the Iraqi security forces.
Tensions between the United States and Iran have escalated in Iraq since last December, after US officials blamed an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia for a missile attack that killed a US contractor.
Tensions reached the summit in early January 2020, after Soleimani was killed in a US raid near the Baghdad airport, and Iran responded with a missile attack on a US base in Iraq, which wounded more than 100 soldiers.
US-Iranian tensions prompted the United States to prioritize protection of its forces in January, which in turn halted the training and support of Iraqi security forces in their war against ISIS temporarily.
The report said the coalition had told the inspector general that relations between the US and Iraqi forces had suffered because the United States temporarily suspended operations against ISIS.
The report noted that despite the resumption of most means of cooperation with Iraqi forces, the relationship has not returned to its previous levels.
The site noted that the difficulties Iraq faced, coinciding with the formation of a government agreed by all political parties in Iraq, may find a way out to appoint Mustafa Al-Kazemi as prime minister, who is “a former intelligence official with American support. “
