VIDEO: Militiamen quit US embassy, but mood remains tense
Iraqi soldiers stand guard in front of the US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, on Wednesday. Associated Press
Iran-backed militiamen withdrew from the US Embassy compound in Baghdad on Wednesday after two days of clashes with American security forces, but US-Iran tensions remain high and could spill over into further violence.
The withdrawal followed calls from the government and senior militia leaders.
It ended a high-stakes two-day crisis and practical siege of the largest and one of the most heavily fortified US diplomatic missions in the world.
The attack prompted the Pentagon to send hundreds of additional troops to the Middle East.
In an orchestrated assault, hundreds of militiamen and their supporters broke into the embassy compound, destroying a reception area, smashing windows and spraying graffiti on walls to protest US airstrikes against an Iran-backed militia over the weekend that killed 25 fighters.
The US blamed the militia for a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base in the northern city of Kirkuk last week that killed a US contractor.
The protesters set up a tent camp overnight and on Wednesday set fire to the reception area and hurled stones at US Marines guarding the compound, who responded with tear gas.
There were no injuries on either side and no American staff were evacuated from the compound.
The Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group of state-allied militias - many backed by Iran - called on its supporters to withdraw in response to an appeal by the Iraqi government, saying “your message has been received.”
By late afternoon the tents had been taken down and the protesters relocated to the opposite side of the Tigris River, outside the so-called Green Zone housing government offices and foreign embassies. US Apache helicopters circled overhead.
Kataeb Hizbollah, the Iran-backed militia targeted by the US airstrikes, initially refused to leave but later bowed to demands to disperse.
The militia is separate from the Hizbollah group in Lebanon, though both are backed by Iran.
President Donald Trump blamed Iran for the attack on the embassy and the Pentagon dispatched an infantry battalion of about 750 soldiers to the Middle East.
A US official familiar with the decision said they would go to Kuwait. Iran denied involvement in the attack on the embassy.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted by media as saying that “if the Islamic Republic makes a decision to confront any country, it will do it directly.”
Iran later summoned the Swiss charge d’affaires, who represents American interests in Tehran, to protest what it said was war-mongering by US officials.
The violence came as Iran and its allies across the region have faced unprecedented mass protests in recent months and heavy US sanctions have cratered Iran’s economy.
Iraq has been gripped by anti-government protests since October fuelled by anger at widespread corruption and economic mismanagement, as well as Iran’s heavy influence over the country’s affairs. Those protesters were not involved in the embassy attack.
Tensions have steadily risen since Trump withdrew the US from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and embarked on a campaign of maximum pressure through economic sanctions. Iran has responded by abandoning some of its commitments under the deal.
US officials have blamed Iran for the sabotage of oil tankers in the Arabian Gulf and a drone attack on Saudi oil facilities in September that caused a spike in world oil prices. But the Trump administration has not responded with direct military action, apparently fearing a wider conflict.
The US has sent more than 14,000 additional troops to the Gulf region since May in response to concerns about Iranian aggression.
At the time of the attack, the US had about 5,200 troops in Iraq, mainly to train Iraqi forces and help them combat Daesh extremists.
The US and Iran have vied for influence over Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Iran has close ties to Iraq’s Shiite majority and major political factions, and its influence has steadily grown since then.
Iran helped to mobilize tens of thousands of mostly Shiite militiamen to battle the Daesh group when it stormed across northern and western Iraq in 2014 as the armed forces collapsed.
The US and Iran both provided vital aid to Iraqi forces, who eventually declared victory over the extremists in December 2017.
Associated Press
