US Deputy Secretary of State in Baghdad, warns on Iran, will visit Erbil

On Sunday, US Deputy Secretary of State, John J. Sullivan, arrived in Baghdad where he is meeting senior officials of Iraq’s new government, as well as the outgoing PM, Haider al-Abadi.

WASHINGTON DC (Kurdistan 24) - On Sunday, US Deputy Secretary of State, John J. Sullivan, arrived in Baghdad where he is meeting senior officials of Iraq’s new government, as well as the outgoing Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi.

Sullivan flew into Baghdad from Bahrain. After his meetings in Baghdad, he will proceed onto Erbil, according to a State Department statement.

An informed source told Kurdistan 24 that Sullivan is delivering a “very strong message” from Washington on the need to take a clear stand with the US against Iran.

Sullivan is the most senior US official to visit Iraq since the May 12 elections. According to State Department Spokesperson, Heather Nauert, Sullivan met, along with US ambassador to Baghdad Doug Silliman and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Near Eastern Affairs, Andrew Peek, with Prime Minister-designate Adel Abdul-Mahdi on Sunday.

Notably, Brett McGurk, Special Presidential Envoy (SPE) to the Global Coalition to Defeat the Islamic State (IS), was not part of the US delegation. Appointed SPE under former President Barack Obama, McGurk was known in Kurdish and Sunni Arab political circles as being favorable to the Shia and, by extension, relatively tolerant of Iranian influence in Baghdad.

However, since April, when Amb. John Bolton became National Security Adviser and Mike Pompeo became Secretary of State, Washington has taken a much tougher stance toward Iran.

Most dramatically, it withdrew from the Iranian nuclear deal. But the tougher US line also includes a much more active role in countering Iranian influence and activities in Iraq.

Sullivan congratulated Abdul-Mahdi on his election as Prime Minister, Nauert said, and encouraged him “to continue with government formation quickly and in a manner that is responsive to the needs of all Iraqis.”

Abdul-Mahdi has until November 2 to name his new cabinet.

Sullivan is also meeting in Baghdad with the new Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, Mohammed al-Halbousi, and the new President of Iraq, Barham Salih, the State Department explained.

The State Department announced that Sullivan would also be visiting Erbil, but provided no details about his schedule there.

Sullivan’s “engagements in Baghdad and Erbil will focus on expanding US-Iraq economic ties and underscoring the United States’ continued support for a strong, sovereign, and prosperous Iraq,” the Department stated.

Sullivan also met in Baghdad on Sunday with outgoing Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi. Abadi’s office released a statement saying that the two men had reviewed the political situation in Iraq and that the Deputy Secretary had praised Abadi’s achievements as prime minister, including the defeat of IS.

In Bahrain, Sullivan met with numerous officials: the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and Chief of Public Security. The tiny Gulf sheikhdom, with a population of some 1.6 million, is majority Shia and is the target of hostile Iranian activities.

In July, the State Department designated an Iranian-backed Bahraini group, the al-Ashtar Brigades, as a terrorist organization and explained that its “members have received weapons and explosives from Iran,” as well as training at “camps in Iraq,” funded by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Editing by Nadia Riva