Iraq rushes to contain fighting between US troops and Iran-backed groups, fearing Gaza spillover

Baghdad, Dec 11: Dozens of attacks on US military facilities by Iran-backed factions in Iraq over the past two months have forced the government in Baghdad to perform a balancing act that is becoming more difficult by the day.
A rocket attack on the sprawling US Embassy in Baghdad on Friday marked a further escalation as Iraqi officials scramble to contain the ripple effects of the Israel-Hamas war.
Iran holds considerable sway in Iraq and a coalition of Iran-backed groups brought Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to power in October 2022. But at the same time, there are some 2,000 US forces stationed in Iraq under an agreement with Baghdad, mainly to counter the extremist Islamic State group.
Baghdad also relies heavily on Washington’s sanctions waivers to buy electricity from Iran, and since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, Iraq’s foreign currency reserves have been housed at the US Federal Reserve, giving the Americans significant control over Iraq’s supply of dollars.
Al-Sudani’s predecessors also had to walk a delicate line between Tehran and Washington, but the Israel-Hamas war has considerably upped the stakes. Since the onset of the war on October 7, at least 84 attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria have been claimed by an umbrella group of Iran-backed Iraqi militants dubbed the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. The militants say their attacks are in retaliation for Washington’s backing of Israel and its military presence in Iraq and Syria.
Al-Sudani has condemned the attacks and US counter-strikes as a violation of his country’s sovereignty. He also ordered authorities to pursue militants involved in the attacks, most of which did not cause injuries or major damage. His office declined further comment.
Washington has sent messages that its patience is wearing thin. After the embassy attack, the Pentagon said that Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin “made clear (to al-Sudani) that attacks against US forces must stop”. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told al-Sudani that Washington expects Iraqi officials to take more action to prevent such attacks, and believes they have the capability to do so, a US official told The Associated Press. (AP)