US Defense Secretary warns Iran, as he asks Iraqi PM to help stop militia attacks

US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper affirmed that the US had the right to defend its forces against Iran-backed attacks on forces of the US-led Coalition in Iraq.

WASHINGTON DC (Kurdistan 24) – On Monday, Mark Esper, US Secretary of Defense, while returning from Belgium following a ceremony marking one of the bloodiest battles of World War II, affirmed that the US had the right to defend its forces against Iranian-backed attacks on forces of the US-led Coalition in Iraq.

Journalists traveling with Esper asked who he thought was behind the increasing assaults, and he replied, “My suspicion would be that Iran is behind these attacks,” adding, “much like they’re behind a lot of malign behavior throughout the region.”

“It’s hard to pin down,” Esper continued, “but we also still retain our right of self-defense.”

Esper’s warning following a similar, written statement issued by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday, warning Iran that “any attacks by them, or their proxies of any identity, that harm Americans, our allies, or our interests will be answered with a decisive US response.” 

Read More: US warns Iran against strikes on Iraqi, Coalition forces 

Esper’s comments followed a phone conversation that he held on Sunday with Iraq’s acting Prime Minister, Adil Abdul Mahdi.

As a read-out of their discussion from Abdul Mahdi’s office explained, the US Defense Secretary “expressed his concerns over the shelling of some installations and the necessity to take procedures to stop it.”

The Pentagon did not release a read-out of the conversation, but a Pentagon spokesperson, Cmdr. Sean Robertson, told Kurdistan 24 that Esper had “reiterated United States support for a secure and sovereign Iraq and the people of Iraq,” while he “called on our Iraqi partners to continue to assist in preventing attacks on US and Coalition personnel and facilities.”

Rocket attacks on Iraqi bases have been growing in frequency and sophistication since October. A December 9 attack on security facilities at the Baghdad International Airport wounded five members of Iraq’s elite Counter Terrorism Service.

Last week, a senior US military official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, warned of US retaliation, if Iran crossed an undefined red-line, even as he complained that Baghdad was failing to control the militias, known collectively as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF.)

The PMF was established in 2014 to confront the onslaught from the so-called Islamic State, which, at its peak, occupied nearly one-third of Iraq. Iranian-sponsored militias, including Kata’ib Hizbollah and Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, whose origins lie in their confrontation with US-led forces during the Iraq war (2003-2011), rose to prominence in the post-2014 fight.

The PMF were formally incorporated into the Iraqi Security Forces in late 2017, in an attempt to control their activities. However, it has always been questionable as to how much their autonomy was diminished and whose orders they followed.  

Abdul Mahdi’s Remarks 

Although Esper described his exchange with Iraq’s acting Prime Minister as “a very good conversation,” Abdul Mahdi seemed keen to strike a balance between the US and Iran.

The Iraqi read-out of the discussion with Esper included Abdul Mahdi’s response, in which he “called on everyone to spare no effort to prevent an escalation that will threaten all parties.”

"Unilateral decisions will trigger negative reactions that will make it more difficult to control the situation and will threaten Iraq's security, sovereignty, and independence," he continued. 

Those remarks were cited approvingly by Tasnim, the media outlet of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

In the final analysis, however, at this point, Abdul Mahdi’s authority is very limited. He is 76 years old. He did not actively campaign for the position of prime minister, but represented a compromise between Washington and Tehran, a figure acceptable to both sides.

Abdul Mahdi resigned his post in late November, in response to the ongoing popular protests in Iraq. A replacement was supposed to be named by Monday, but that deadline passed with no decision, and it has now been extended to Thursday.