Iraqi PM warns U.S. against unilateral response to attacks on its assets in the country

Shafaq News/ Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani, in a call with the U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday, warned Washington against launching a unilateral response to the recent rocket attacks on the US embassy in Baghdad.

Early on Friday, nearly seven mortar rounds landed in the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad. The attack marked the first time it had been fired on in more than a year, apparently widening the range of targets.

A readout by al-Sudani's bureau said that the two statesmen discussed "bilateral security cooperation" and ways to enhance it in the face of mounting challenges.

The statement added that the call also touched on the recent attacks against the U.S. embassy, and the importance of reducing them, as they undermine Iraq's sovereignty and stability.

According to the statement, al-Sudani reiterated the government's commitment to protecting diplomatic missions and personnel of the U.S.-led coalition, adding that the security forces are capable of tracking down and uncovering those involved in these attacks, whoever they may be.

He also warned against a unilateral response without the government's consent and pledged to halt future attacks on the Ain al-Asad air base.

For his part, Austin welcomed the Iraqi government's stance, its condemnation of the attacks against the U.S. embassy in Iraq, and its efforts to track down the perpetrators, according to the readout.

A Pentagon statement said that Secretary Austin singled out Iran-aligned armed groups Kata'ib Hezbollah and Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba for the recent targeting of U.S. personnel.

No group claimed responsibility for the embassy attack, but previous attacks against U.S. forces have been carried out by Iran-aligned groups operating under the banner of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.

"The United States reserves the right to respond decisively against those groups," Austin told al-Sudani, according to the Pentagon statement.

Explosions were heard near the embassy, in the center of Baghdad, at about 4 a.m. on Friday. Sirens calling on people to take cover were activated. State media said the attack damaged the headquarters of an Iraqi security agency.

U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria were also targeted with rockets and drones at least five more times on Friday; three times at separate bases in Syria, and twice at the Ain al-Asad airbase west of Baghdad, a different U.S. defense official said.

The attacks were the most recorded against U.S. forces in the region in a single day since mid-October, when Iran-aligned paramilitary groups started targeting U.S. assets in Iraq and Syria over Washington's backing of Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza.

U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria have been attacked at least 84 times since Oct. 17. The U.S. has responded with a series of strikes that have killed at least 15 militants in Iraq and up to seven in Syria.

"The many Iran-aligned militias that operate freely in Iraq threaten the security and stability of Iraq, our personnel, and our partners in the region," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.

"The Iraqi government has repeatedly committed to protect diplomatic missions as well as U.S. military personnel, who are present in the country at Iraq’s invitation. This is non-negotiable, as is our right to self-defense," Miller added.

The attacks pose a challenge for al-Sudani, who has pledged to protect foreign missions and capitalize on fragile stability to focus on the economy and court foreign investment, including from the United States.

Al-Sudani directed security agencies to pursue the perpetrators, describing them as "unruly, lawless groups that do not in any way represent the will of the Iraqi people," a statement from his office said.

The head of militia Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, one of the main factions that has been targeting U.S. forces in the region, said in a social media post that he rejected "stopping or easing operations" while "Zionist crimes continue in Gaza."

Aside from its diplomatic staff in Iraq, the United States has about 2,500 troops in the country on a mission it says aims to advise and assist local forces trying to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State, which in 2014 seized large swathes of both Iraq and Syria before being defeated.

Houthis in Yemen have been firing at Israel and ships in the Red Sea in a campaign they say aims to support the Palestinians. U.S. warships have shot down several of their projectiles.