U.S. pleased Iraq doing more to protect U.S. embassy: Pompeo

Marjaneh Rouhani — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 16:16:47 +0000

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attends the Mining, Agriculture, and Construction (MAC) Protocol Signing Ceremony, at Villa San Sebastiano, in Rome, Italy, October 1, 2020. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/Pool

October 14, 2020

By Humeyra Pamuk and Jonathan Landay

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday the United States was pleased that the Iraqi government was doing more to protect the U.S. embassy in Baghdad from Iran-backed Shiite Muslim militias but declined to provide an update on whether Washington was still considering to shut down its embassy.

“We are happy that the Iraqis are doing more to provide increased security for our team on the ground there,” Pompeo told a State Department news conference.

Washington, which is slowly reducing its 5,000 troops in Iraq, threatened last month to shut its embassy unless the Iraqi government reins in Iran-aligned militias that have attacked U.S. interests with rockets and roadside bombs.

A spokesman for Kataib Hezbollah, one of the most powerful Iran-backed militia groups in Iraq, on Sunday said it has suspended rocket attacks on U.S. forces on condition that Iraq’s government present a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops.

Asked if the United States saw the announcement as progress and whether it would still follow through on its threat to shut down the embassy, Pompeo did not specifically answer but sounded doubtful about the militia’s ceasefire declaration.

“We have a rogue set of militias who have now promised not to violate the Iraqi people’s sovereignty and to take aim at the U.S. diplomats serving there that are designed to help the Iraqi people,” he said.

The U.S. warning caused alarm in Iraq, where it was seen as a step toward air strikes, potentially turning Iraq into a battleground in a proxy war between the United States and Iran. A broad array of politicians called on the militia to stop provoking the Americans.

(Reporting by Jonathan Landay and Humeyra Pamuk in Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Matthew Lewis)

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U.S. Might Close Embassy Unless Iraq Prevents Iran Militia Attacks

Apadana Central — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 16:31:07 +0000

The Trump administration may close its embassy in Iraq if the government does not take steps to protect it from attacks by Iranian-backed militants.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi of the plans to withdraw during a call on September 26, news agencies reported.

An official announcement has not been made.

The United States has accused Iranian-backed militias of launching rockets at the embassy and demanded Kadhimi crack down on them.

The embassy in Baghdad, which is located in a heavily fortified zone, has grown to become one of the largest U.S. diplomatic outposts.

It was unclear whether Washington would reverse its decision should Kadhimi’s government step up its efforts to protect Western diplomatic and military personnel.

The U.S. military leads a coalition that has been battling the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria from a Baghdad headquarters since 2014.

Iranian-backed protesters stormed the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on New Year’s Eve following coalition air strikes against militia targets inside Iraq days earlier.

The United States accused Iraqi security forces of allowing the protesters to pass security checkpoints.

Based on reporting by AP and The Washington Post | Apadana Media

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U.S. pleased Iraq doing more to protect U.S. embassy: Pompeo

U.S. Might Close Embassy Unless Iraq Prevents Iran Militia Attacks

Based on reporting by AP and The Washington Post | Apadana Media