In a surprise move, an Iran-linked militia in Iraq that the Pentagon said was possibly responsible for a deadly drone attack on a US base in Jordan over the weekend announced on Tuesday that it had suspended military operations in Iraq under pressure from the Iraqi government and from Iran.
The announcement came shortly after President Biden said he had decided how to respond to the attack in Jordan on Sunday that left three US soldiers dead, although he did not say what that response would be. His comment sparked fears in Iraq of a possible retaliatory US attack on its soil.
The militia, Kata’ib Hezbollah, or Brigades of the Party of God, is the largest and most entrenched of the Iran-linked groups operating in Iraq. It has led most of the roughly 160 attacks on US military installations in Iraq and Syria since Israel began its ground operations in Gaza, acting in response to an October 7 Hamas-led offensive from the enclave.
The US military has about 2,500 troops in Iraq advising and training the Iraqi military and about 900 in Syria, supporting the Kurdish Syrian Defense Forces in their fight against the Islamic State.
Kata’ib Hezbollah is part of what is known as the Axis of Resistance, a network of Iranian-backed groups active in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and occasionally further afield. (Kata’ib Hezbollah is separate from the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.)
The other two Iraqi groups believed to have been involved in strikes against US targets – Harakat al-Nujaba and Sayyid Suhada – have not announced they will stop attacks.
Kata’ib Hezbollah leader Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi said in a statement: “We are announcing the suspension of military and security operations against the occupation forces — in order to avoid embarrassment to the Iraqi government.” It was the first time the militia had publicly announced the suspension of operations.
The statement made clear that Iran had pressured the group to stop attacks on US troops and that Kataib Hezbollah was not happy about it. The group has argued that it chooses its own targets and timing, rather than following Iran’s orders.
“Our brothers in the Axis, especially in the Islamic Republic of Iran, do not know how we conduct our Jihad and often oppose the pressure and escalation against the US occupation forces in Iraq and Syria,” the statement said.
Asked about Kataib Hezbollah’s announcement, a Defense Department spokesman, Lt. Gen. Pat Ryder, said at a Pentagon briefing: “I don’t have any specific comment to make, other than actions speak louder than words.”
He added: “I will refrain from editorializing these types of comments after 160-plus attacks against US forces.”
Interviews with Iraqi and Iranian officials close to both governments suggest that intensive negotiations have taken place in recent days aimed at pressuring Kata’ib Hezbollah to end its attacks.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani began pushing for a halt several weeks ago, according to senior government advisers. He was trying to start negotiations on a possible withdrawal of the US-led international military presence in Iraq, but the US side did not want to negotiate while under fire, according to Iraqi and US officials.
The United States eventually agreed to start talks with no guarantee that the attacks would stop, but with a clear push in that direction.
Kataib Hezbollah and other groups had ignored the Iraqi government’s demand that they step down, but when the attack in Jordan on Sunday claimed American lives, Mr. Sudani called for a complete pause from Kataib Hezbollah. Mr. Sudani contacted Iran directly, according to a Revolutionary Guards military general who works closely with Axis groups in Iraq.
Mr Sudani argued that he was trying to negotiate what Iran wanted most – an end to the US troop presence in Iraq – and that Kataib Hezbollah’s attacks undermined his government’s ability to do so, according to the Iranian military strategist and a senior Iraqi official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private negotiations.
An Iraqi government spokesman, Hisham al-Rikabi, painted much the same picture. “Kataib Hezbollah’s decision came as a result of the action taken by the prime minister internally and externally to prevent escalation and ensure the smooth completion of negotiations to complete the process of the international coalition’s withdrawal from Iraq,” he said.
Mr al-Rikabi added: “We hope that all parties will heed the government’s call to reduce tension and ensure that there are no hot spots in the region, and in Iraq in particular.”
The negotiations involved senior officials in Mr. Sudani’s government close to Iran, according to Iraqi and Iranian officials close to their respective government leaders. Among those taking part in the negotiations were former prime minister Nuri al-Maliki and the leaders of two armed groups that have not targeted US forces: Qais al-Khazali and Hadi al-Ameri. The talks on the Iranian side were attended by General Esmail Qaani, the head of the Quds Force, a branch of the Revolutionary Guards that cooperates with Axis groups outside Iran.
The report was made by Falih Hasan from Baghdad, Farnaz Fashihi from New York and Eric Schmidt from Washington, DC
