Iran Press/ West Asia: The region risks being pushed into a comprehensive war, said Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, noting that the international community, including the United States, needs to put more pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
Sudani, who met Monday with US President Joe Biden at the White House, is on a weeklong visit to the United States, which also includes stops in Houston and Michigan.
Sudani told Al-Monitor, “We are doing our duty to enforce the law inside Iraq,” adding that he has taken “practical measures” to prevent armed groups from attacking US positions in Iraq.
Sudani arrived in America Saturday as Iran conducted a drone and missile attack on Israel in response to airstrikes by Israel that killed seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officials in Syria on April 1. On Monday, Israel vowed a military response to Iran’s attacks, as Washington and other Western capitals called for restraint.
“Iraq exerted strong efforts to prevent a response from Iran,” said Sudani, while adding that in his estimation “Iran does not want war.”
Future of US forces in Iraq
There are approximately 2,500 US military personnel in Iraq deployed in the context of the “D-ISIS coalition” deployed a decade ago at the invitation of the Iraqi government to combat the terrorist group, which had overrun large parts of the country.
In a visit to the Pentagon on Monday, Sudani told US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin that Iraqi military forces are “ready to maintain the stability of Iraq,” and that he was looking forward to further talks to share “suggestions for having a timetable for the withdrawal” of American-led coalition forces.
Sudani said that the future of US forces in Iraq will be the result of ongoing meetings of the Iraqi High Military Committee (HMC), in the context of the Iraqi Constitution and the Strategic Framework Agreement of 2008.
“Cooperation is continuing,” he said, noting that the future depends on the outcome of the HMC discussions, as part of resetting an enduring bilateral security relationship post-ISIS.
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