Reports in Iraq are swirling about a phone call that reportedly took place between US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and his Iraqi counterpart. Although many details of the call, or even if it happened, were still unclear, the reports indicate that Iraq is on edge.
“Two days after a US message reassured Baghdad about the future of bilateral relations, the Iraqi government appears to have received its sternest warning yet from the White House regarding armed factions,” London-based newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported.
The warning to Baghdad came before Iraqi elections next week. It also came after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also had warned Iraq about the presence of Iranian-backed militias in the country.
Iran backs militias within Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces. These include up to 100,000 armed men in various militia groups.
Now, Iraq is wondering if more tensions might develop.
“The message contained a direct threat should these groups carry out any retaliatory actions in response to planned US operations in areas near Iraq in the coming days,” Asharq Al-Awsat reported. “Two days after what seemed a clear signal of support for Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who is contesting the elections amid intense internal disputes within the Shiite Coordination Framework, Baghdad received a sharply worded warning from US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, conveyed in a phone call to his Iraqi counterpart, Defense Minister Thabet al-Abbasi.”
Abbasi has spoken about the phone call. It didn’t appear that Hegseth or the Department of War had confirmed it. In fact, this seems to be mostly an Iraqi tempest in a teapot so far.
Nevertheless, it indicates how Iraq is on edge about US ties. In September, Kataib Hezbollah freed Princeton researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, who has Israeli and Russian citizenship. The US had pressed to free her, and her sister in the US had campaigned to get her out.
Kataib Hezbollah is an Iranian-backed militia that kidnapped Tsurkov in March 2023. As such, the role of the militias is in the US spotlight.
What do we know about Iraq’s concerns?
“In a televised interview, al-Abbasi said Hegseth, via the US chargé d’affaires in Baghdad, warned of upcoming military operations in the region, cautioning against any interference by Iraqi factions,” Asharq Al-Awsat reported. “No further operational details were provided.”
“Al-Abbasi said the call lasted 11 to 12 minutes and included Iraq’s Chief of Staff, Deputy Joint Operations Commander, Assistant Operations Chief, and Director of Military Intelligence,” the report said. “The discussion also covered drone cooperation, a proposed security and intelligence cooperation memorandum, and the planned delivery of Bell helicopters to Iraq.”
According to the Iraqis, the US has put Baghdad on notice – a “final notice,” in fact.
“Analysts speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat acknowledged serious concerns over the future of US-Iraq relations, regardless of the upcoming election results,” the report said, adding that analysts “noted that statements by US envoy Mark Savaya and Secretary Hegseth constitute a road map for political forces forming the next government, in line with American options.”
Kurdistan24, a new channel based in northern Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Region, also reported about the tensions.
“In what is being described as the sternest warning yet from Washington to Baghdad, the United States has issued a direct and unequivocal threat to the Iraqi government, cautioning against any interference by armed factions in planned US military operations in the region and signaling that these Iran-backed groups are now squarely in American crosshairs,” the report said.
The US Department of War had not yet responded to a Jerusalem Post request for comment on the matter.