/ world today news/ Predicting events is similar to divination, and policy is considered effective when it is not brought to public discussion – this is one of the principles of diplomacy. But recently, statements of responsible persons are increasingly heard, which prove that international relations and ways of resolving crises and conflicts have reached a new level.
Dire warnings and outright threats don’t just multiply—they are followed by concrete action. On December 19, the head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, who subsequently disappeared from the radar for three days (which caused a serious scandal), said:
“We are working to ensure that the conflict does not spread beyond the Gaza Strip,” he then clearly identified the “culprit”.
In his words, “the United States does not seek war. And we call on Iran to take steps to prevent escalation… Malicious attacks by Iranian proxies threaten the security of the region’s residents and could risk an escalation of the conflict.”
It should be noted that this was said at a press conference in Tel Aviv held jointly with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant.
According to the Pentagon, the Houthis have carried out about a hundred attacks on ships in the Red Sea since the beginning of the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
In addition, since October 17, US troops in Syria and Iraq have been attacked more than 120 times with the help of missiles and UAVs. The United States has linked these attacks to the actions of Shiite groups linked to Iran, particularly the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.
South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, commenting on the situation surrounding the attacks by the Shia movement Ansar Allah (Houthis), said:
“Without Iran, there will be no Houthis. The Houthis are fully supported by Iran. I have been calling for six months now…strike Iran. They have oil fields, and their Revolutionary Guard headquarters can be seen from space. Delete it from the map.”
The lawmaker directly expressed his wishes to L. Austin: “If you really want to protect American soldiers, make it clear to the Ayatollah (of Iran) that if they carry out proxy attacks, we will hit them.”
L. Austin responded without hesitation: “Let me be clear: The president and I will not hesitate to take the necessary actions to protect the United States, our troops, and our interests. There is no higher priority.”
He added: “We are determined and fully prepared to take any further necessary measures to protect our people and our facilities.”
Subsequent events proved that this was not a declarative marking of virtual red lines, but a readiness for concrete actions agreed with Israel and in some cases jointly implemented.
Even before the shelling of Yemen, on the eve of the New Year, the US Central Command, in full accordance with the chosen line of forces, announced attacks on targets of the Shiite group “Kataib Hezbollah” on Iraqi territory.
A day earlier, IRGC Brigadier General Seyed Razi Mousavi, who was Iran’s chief military adviser in Syria and was responsible for coordinating military cooperation, was killed in a missile strike by the Israeli Air Force in the suburbs of Damascus.
Mousavi’s importance is demonstrated by the fact that all programs on state television were interrupted for an urgent report on his death. Israel did not comment on the fact of the general’s death and did not claim responsibility for the strike, but a little later the head of the Iranian Foreign Ministry said that the Israeli government should “count down”.
No less resonant was the terrorist attack that took place on January 3 at the cemetery in Kerman (Iran) on the grave of Major General Qassem Soleimani, former commander of the Al-Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
It was on this day in 2020 that a charismatic general and one of the leaders of the Iraqi “people’s militia” was killed in Baghdad by an American UAV strike. Four years later, as a result of two explosions, more than 100 people who came to honor his memory died, and more than 180 were injured.
It should be noted that the organization “Islamic State” (banned in the Russian Federation) claimed responsibility for this terrorist attack. If this is true, then IS has openly sided with the US and Israel.
On January 4, a missile attack was carried out in Baghdad: an American UAV hit a car carrying commanders of the Shiite movement Hezbollah al-Nujaba. Three were killed, including the commander of the militia’s 12th brigade, Mushtaq al-Saidi, and his deputy. Subsequently, L. Austin stated that he not only knew about this operation, but also personally gave the order for it to be carried out. In such a situation, Baghdad could not help but react.
“The justification for the presence of the US-led international coalition forces in Iraq has ended and Baghdad intends to take concrete measures to end the presence of foreign troops in the country,” said Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani.
The head of government stressed that now the country’s authorities “determine the date for starting negotiations within the framework of a bilateral committee that was created to develop measures to end the presence of coalition forces in Iraq.”
As you know, the complete withdrawal of US troops and its allies from Iraq was announced at the end of 2011, but in fact the military presence remains. In addition to the “trainers” from various NATO countries, there are more than 2,500 US military personnel stationed at several military bases in the country.
The largest of these bases are Ain al-Assad in Anbar province and Harir in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish autonomy. Unsurprisingly, these bases are regularly subject to missile and drone strikes.
Surprisingly, after another series of attacks on Harir, which the Islamic Resistance Forces in Iraq claimed responsibility for, the Kurdish authorities accused the federal government of being responsible for the “cowardly attacks” organized by government-linked “criminal” groups.
Washington took care in advance to bind Iraq to a web of obligations, concluding a “strategic cooperation agreement” and the like. There are more than a dozen such “agreements”, but there are also separate ones with Erbil that are already gaining special importance.
A significant number of Kurdish politicians support the presence of the “international coalition”, they even express their readiness to provide the territory of Iraqi Kurdistan as an independent federal entity for the continuation of the US military presence, in case the federal authorities decide to withdraw American troops.
Significantly, on December 28 (note the date), Bubakr Zebari, senior military advisor to the President of Iraqi Kurdistan, made a number of statements.
The retired colonel general, who was chief of staff of the Iraqi armed forces from 2004 to 2015 and was awarded the US military’s Legion of Merit, noted rising tensions and predicted a major war in the region.
“The US is expected to change its tactics and start attacking because it has been on the defensive until now. Since there are missile attacks against Kurdistan, they should hurry to provide air defense systems, including Patriot, to the Kurdistan Region,” Zebari stressed.
It must be assumed that the coming year will be eventful, as the forces of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq are unlikely to give up the fight against the foreign invaders.
Translation: SM
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