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The Washington Post quoted US officials as saying that President Donald Trump has threatened immediate and “crushing” retaliation if any Americans are killed in Iraq.
The threat revealed by the Washington Post comes alongside the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh near Tehran on Friday. Iran has promised “harsh retaliation”, which could provoke a confrontation between it and its opponents, if it or its militias in the region target Western targets.
The newspaper says Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi is under pressure from US officials to intensify his government’s campaign against pro-Iranian Iraqi militias, whose missiles have repeatedly targeted diplomatic and military sites used by the Americans.
Last October, a group of Iraqi militias announced the suspension of missile strikes, provided the Iraqi government provided a timetable for the withdrawal of US forces, but launched missiles again in the Green Zone, near the US embassy. United in Baghdad, two weeks ago.
Reuters quoted a US official as saying that Trump requested, during a meeting with high-level advisers in the Oval Office that coincided with the recent attack in the Green Zone, options for attacking Iran’s main nuclear site, the uranium enrichment facility. of Natanz in Iran.
The Washington Post, citing a senior official, reported that US officials had advised Trump not to launch a pre-emptive strike against Iran.
But Trump told his advisers he was prepared to issue devastating response orders if any Americans were killed in the attacks attributed to Iran.
Days after this meeting, an Iranian government spokesman said that any US move against Iran would have a “crushing” response. Later, Ismail Qaani, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, visited Baghdad to urge the militias to exercise restraint.
Taken a Request to Militia Leaders in Iraq … Source Reveals Details of Qaani’s Secret Visit
An informed political source revealed, on Wednesday, details related to the recent visit of the Iranian Quds Force commander, Ismail Qaani, to Iraq and his presentation of a request related to attacking American interests in the country, while indicating that there are differences between the militias in this regard.
Qaani warned his Iraqi militias against any escalation of attacks on US targets before Trump leaves office on January 20, according to the Washington Post, citing people familiar with the matter.
One of the attendees reported that Qaani said that the meeting of the Revolutionary Guard with the militia said: “Wait until he is off the scene.”
A spokesman for Kataib Hezbollah, one of the most powerful Iranian-backed factions in Iraq, said moderation is the best path, especially as the Trump administration is about to withdraw some US forces from Iraq.
Washington, which is slowly reducing its forces in Iraq, had threatened to close its embassy in Baghdad if the Iraqi government did not stop the Iranian-backed factions.
US officials say the number of soldiers will drop from 3,000 to 2,500 by mid-January.
In January, Trump ordered an American airstrike with a drone that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani at the Baghdad airport.
