With the spread of tensions within Iraq, where pro-Iranian parties and militias oppose the supporters of Moqtada al Sadr and their militias, on the northeastern borders of the country there is a risk of a real war between Iran and the states. United.
While negotiations between Washington and Tehran are taking place in Vienna, with much hesitation and little progress, the two sides have clashed near the border with Syria. The 599 km border between Iraq and Syria is crowded with pro-Iranian militias and US-backed Kurdish armed groups. At least 24 pro-Iranian Iraqi fighters were there.
Tehran’s denial
The intensity of the attacks and reactions has been growing until it almost turned into a war. In the latest of these attacks, on August 24, Tehran-backed militias fired missiles at two US military bases, injuring three soldiers.
The Americans responded by attacking with helicopters and destroying three cars and missile launching equipment, killing three fighters, while local sources speak of the killing of Iranian general Sardar Akbar Jalog Mard.
Iran has denied any connection to the attacks and has declared that the Islamic revolutionary guards stationed in Syria are only “military advisers” for the Syrian government and the forces helping the regime.
On the other hand, US President Joe Biden said he had “directed air and artillery strikes that killed four militiamen in eastern Syria to protect US forces from attacks by Iranian-backed militias.” Biden described the attacks as “the heaviest action by US forces in the region in many months.”
After ten months without a government due to the conflict between major parties, everyone here in Iraq, including President Barham Saleh, expects the war in the northeast of the country to drastically evolve into a military escalation, and possibly a civil war. internal to Iraq.
(Translation by Francesco De Lellis)