www.bbc.com Open in urlscan Pro
151.101.0.81  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

LET US KNOW YOU AGREE TO COOKIES

We use cookies to give you the best online experience. Please let us know if you
agree to all of these cookies.

Yes, I agree

No, take me to settings

BBC Homepage
 * Skip to content
 * Accessibility Help

 * Sign in


 * Home
 * News
 * Sport
 * Earth
 * Reel
 * Worklife
 * Travel
 * More menu

More menu
Search BBC
 * Home
 * News
 * Sport
 * Earth
 * Reel
 * Worklife
 * Travel
 * Culture
 * Future
 * Music
 * TV
 * Weather
 * Sounds

Close menu
BBC News
Menu
 * Home
 * Israel-Gaza war
 * War in Ukraine
 * Climate
 * Video
 * World
 * UK
 * Business
 * Tech
 * Science

More
 * Entertainment & Arts
 * Health
 * World News TV
 * In Pictures
 * BBC Verify
 * Newsbeat

 * World
 * Africa
 * Asia
 * Australia
 * Europe
 * Latin America
 * Middle East
 * US & Canada




IRAQ COULD BE PUSHED INTO CONFLICT, MINISTER WARNS

Published
2 days ago

Share
close panel
Share page
Copy link
About sharing

This video can not be played


TO PLAY THIS VIDEO YOU NEED TO ENABLE JAVASCRIPT IN YOUR BROWSER.

Media caption,

'They are not going to solve their problem on Iraqi soil'

By Orla Guerin
Senior international correspondent, Baghdad


Iraq could be pushed into conflict by tit-for-tat attacks on its territory by
Iranian-backed militias and US forces, Iraqi foreign minister, Dr Fuad Hussein,
has told the BBC.

"The tension nowadays between Iran and the United States is very high," he said.

"I hope both sides will stop their attacks. They are not going to solve their
problem on Iraqi soil," he said. "We paid a very big price."

In the past week or so, that price has involved a wave of US air strikes killing
17 fighters from Iranian-backed armed groups. Then came a deadly missile attack
on a militia commander, Abu Bakir Al Saadi, which turned his jeep into a
fireball on a residential street in Baghdad. That attack was condemned by the
government here as "a clear-cut assassination" without regard for civilian lives
or international law - a stunning indictment of an ally.

The American strikes were in retaliation for the killing of three US soldiers in
Jordan. The US military says it will "continue to take necessary action" to
protect its own people.

As the two sides battle it out, Iraq is getting burnt.



The minister said talks had to resume on the withdrawal of 2,500 US troops,
deployed here as advisors since 2014 to help prevent a resurgence of the
so-called Islamic State. The word - in government and on the streets - is that
they have overstayed their welcome.


Image caption,
Foreign Minister Dr Fuad Hussein says the US and Iran are not going to solve
their problems in Iraq

"The majority of Iraqi people do not want to have foreign forces on Iraqi soil,"
he told us. "Those who have been invited (the Americans), we will do it through
negotiation. And those who have not been invited must leave, we hope also
through negotiation."

The uninvited guests - at least not invited by him - are powerful pro-Iranian
militias here who have been targeting US troops. Officially, many are part of
Iraq's security forces. Critics say they are foot soldiers for Iran.

The minister says the militias are now being challenged, a change from the past
when speaking out meant threats. This is a new moment in Iraq.

"If now you talk with many political leaders, they're starting to talk about
this," he said. "Many people, they didn't dare to talk about it. This is also
part of the reality of this country. But now we are talking about it. People
dare to say to those guys, 'it's enough'."

And he says the militias have got the message that "if they continue, they will
push this country into a war while it is not our war". The message has also been
received in Tehran, he says.



The foreign minister admits that Iran has "influence" here, but denies it is
dictating policy in Baghdad. It is more of "a constant negotiation", according
to Dr Renad Mansour, a senior research fellow at Chatham House, an international
affairs think tank in London.

"Do they have to listen to Tehran? Sometimes yes, and sometimes no," he says.
"It depends. The Iranians come in and say 'this is our bottom line, this is our
red line'. Often, they converge, but sometimes they diverge. It's not as black
and white."

Image source, EPA/EFE
Image caption,
A senior commander of an Iranian-backed militia was killed in a US drone strike
in Baghdad

The Iranian influence looms large here: in politics, in militias, and in the
streets. Among the blast walls and the palms trees, you find posters of Qasem
Soleimani, the top Iranian general killed at Baghdad airport in January 2020 by
a US airstrike. Here and there the face of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, gazes down on choking traffic.

Some of the tuk-tuk taxis screeching around Tahrir Square in the afternoon sun
have pictures of Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the Iranian-backed leader of
Hezbollah, the most powerful armed force in Lebanon.

I asked the foreign minister if he was worried about the degree of Iranian
influence here. "I'm worried about the degree of all the influence surrounding
us, not only Iranian. We are trying to get rid of all these influences. The
decision about Iraq must be taken in Baghdad, and it must be taken by the Iraqis
in Baghdad," he said.

For now, the country is ensnared between its two feuding allies: Iran and the
US. Neither may want a major escalation in their conflict - and it appears they
do not - but it cannot be ruled out.



Pro-Iranian armed groups here have vowed to step up their attacks on US forces,
after the killing of the militia commander in Baghdad. "His assassination…
violated all rules of engagement," said a statement from the Islamic Resistance
of Iraq. "We call on our brothers in jihad to join the ranks of the resistance…
to expel the occupation."

The situation remains volatile, according to the United Nations envoy for Iraq,
Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert. "Iraq - indeed, the wider region - remain on a
knife-edge," she says, "with the tiniest miscalculation threatening a major
conflagration.


RELATED TOPICS

 * Middle East
 * Baghdad
 * Iraq


MORE ON THIS STORY

 * Why did US wait to retaliate for drone attack on its troops?
   
   Published
   3 February
   
   

 * Iran's sudden strikes show just how perilous region has become
   
   Published
   20 January
   
   

 * 'We are surrounded': Guarding the Middle East's most dangerous border
   
   Published
   4 days ago
   
   





TOP STORIES

 * Live. 
   
   Israel says two hostages rescued as 'wave of strikes' hit Rafah

 * Rafah: The next battle? VideoRafah: The next battle?
   
   Published
   59 minutes ago

 * Chiefs beat 49ers in overtime to defend Super Bowl title
   
   Published
   2 hours ago





FEATURES

 * Usher shines at Super Bowl half-time show
   
   

 * Alzheimer's patients 'could miss out on new drugs'
   
   

 * The blue devils breathing fire into Trinidad Carnival
   
   
 * 

 * Inside Ukraine's struggle to find new men to fight
   
   

 * How Carey Mulligan stamped feminist mark on Maestro
   
   

 * Xi Jinping's never-ending hunt for corruption
   
   

 * Wegovy, the weight-loss drug flying off the shelves
   
   

 * How the codpiece flopped
   
   

 * The planespotter angering Taylor Swift and Elon Musk
   
   




ELSEWHERE ON THE BBC

 * How the codpiece flopped
   
   

 * Where it's taboo if dads don't take parental leave
   
   

 * The scuzzy New York club that gave birth to punk
   
   




MOST READ

 1.  1
     Marathon record holder Kiptum dies in road accident
 2.  2
     Taylor Swift celebrates boyfriend Kelce's NFL win
 3.  3
     Usher shines at Super Bowl half-time show
 4.  4
     Inside Ukraine's struggle to find new men to fight
 5.  5
     Chiefs beat 49ers in overtime to defend Super Bowl title
 6.  6
     Austin transfers duties as he returns to hospital again
 7.  7
     Israel rescues two hostages in Rafah as strikes reported
 8.  8
     Xi Jinping's never-ending hunt for corruption
 9.  9
     Nato says Trump comments 'undermine all of our security'
 10. 10
     Conservative ex-PM Stubb elected Finland president





BBC NEWS SERVICES

 * On your mobile
 * On smart speakers
 * Get news alerts
 * Contact BBC News

 * Home
 * News
 * Sport
 * Earth
 * Reel
 * Worklife
 * Travel
 * Culture
 * Future
 * Music
 * TV
 * Weather
 * Sounds

 * Terms of Use
 * About the BBC
 * Privacy Policy
 * Cookies
 * Accessibility Help
 * Parental Guidance
 * Contact the BBC
 * Get Personalised Newsletters
 * Why you can trust the BBC
 * Advertise with us
 * Do not share or sell my info

© 2024 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read
about our approach to external linking.