US Secretary of War warns Iraq/Hezbollah: Lebanon is the target.
Al Jazeera reported: The phone call between US Secretary of War Pete Hegsett and Iraqi Defense Minister Thabit al-Abasi regarding a possible US operation in the region and the need for Iraqi armed groups to refrain from interfering in it has sparked much debate in Iraq.
Iraqi government adviser Aed al-Hilali said that the call was not a direct threat from Washington, but rather a sharp warning message aimed at curbing any field action that might cause internal chaos or security instability on the eve of the upcoming elections.
He added: This comment came at a critical juncture in which security and political considerations are intertwined. Baghdad’s goal is to create a balance that, while refraining from taking action against Washington, maintains communication channels with all parties without losing internal balance.
Al-Hilali said: The US is not interested in direct military conflict and seeks to impose new rules of the political game in Iraq through indirect pressure on the groups and reducing their political role. He claimed that the US Secretary of War’s statement is not a declaration of conflict, but an attempt to establish a balance between American influence and the presence of groups in the Iraqi arena.
On the other hand, Iraqi political expert Haider al-Barzanji said: Abbasi’s statements are shocking. I was surprised by his statements because he clearly spoke of an American request or warning that Iraqi groups should not interfere in any operation carried out by Washington, while these groups are part of Iraq, which has sovereignty. They are the children of this country.
America’s arrogance and dictating to Iraq
He clarified: The timing of these statements is surprising. This shows the arrogance of the Americans and their attempt to dictate to an independent country. They behave in a way that they only inform and do not ask for permission, and they speak in an undiplomatic language, the meaning of which is that they attack and violate airspace, and Iraqi sovereignty is not important to them.
Al-Barzanji said: This is the height of America’s disregard for Iraq’s sovereignty and indicates that Washington still considers Iraq a subservient and dependent country, which is unacceptable neither to the Iraqi people nor to the Iraqi leaders, especially the Minister of Defense.
He emphasized: The Minister of Defense should have said in response to the US Secretary of War that Iraq is a sovereign country and its agreements and national independence must be respected. Sovereignty will be achieved when Iraq has an advanced air defense and radar system in place to be able to defend its territory.
Al-Jazeera continued in its article: In Tehran, analysts consider the US warning an indirect message to the Islamic Republic of Iran and its regional allies, especially since this warning is in line with the ongoing attacks against resistance-oriented groups and the increase in tension from October 7, 2023, onwards.
Although the US warning is directly addressed to Iraqi groups, some Iranian observers believe that the main possible target of the upcoming operation is not the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces, but rather Lebanon and Hezbollah, whose weapons continue to anger the US and Israel.
Political analyst Salaheddin Khedive said in this regard that both the US and Israel believe that last year’s war and the daily attacks that followed were not enough to destroy Hezbollah’s military power, which justifies the transition to a new phase of increased pressure and new operations against the group.
He told Al Jazeera: “The scope of the upcoming military attack may not reach Iran and Yemen, but the front against the axis of resistance still feels threatened by the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi) and Iran-affiliated groups in Syria, which may lead to the expansion of operations into the territory of these countries.”