Iraq: 'Iranian Factions' Divided Over Response to US Strikes

Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units march during a parade marking the annual Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, in Baghdad, Iraq, June 23, 2017. - REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily
Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units march during a parade marking the annual Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, in Baghdad, Iraq, June 23, 2017. - REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily
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Iraq: 'Iranian Factions' Divided Over Response to US Strikes

Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units march during a parade marking the annual Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, in Baghdad, Iraq, June 23, 2017. - REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily
Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units march during a parade marking the annual Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, in Baghdad, Iraq, June 23, 2017. - REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily

The pro-Iranian Popular Mobilization factions in Iraq failed to reach a consensus on the military response to the US air raid that targeted the headquarters of a faction on the Iraqi-Syrian border last week.

The leaders of the factions held successive meetings to discuss the timing of the response, without reaching an agreement, as some parties warned against “delicate and difficult calculations” that might open the door to “more severe” US strikes.

However, high-ranking sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the meetings witnessed sharp differences between leaders, who wanted a quick and strong strike, and others who called for the need to study the dangerous repercussions of a continued confrontation, noting that the US strike increased the division and confusion among the factions.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a leader in the Al-Fateh Alliance said that the division of the leaders was focused on two main points.

Some saw that ignoring the US raid would weaken the factions’ influence vis-à-vis the Iraqi government, while others cautioned that any response would mean that the next blow of the Biden administration would be inevitably fatal.

The leader claims that a number of faction senior members “have new security data regarding the nature of the US moves, which gives the impression that Washington’s concessions with Iran do not mean the cessation of military strikes against its interests in Iraq, especially against the Popular Mobilization camps.”

On Monday, the US Department of Defense said that the strikes it had carried out were necessary and deliberate against Iranian-backed factions, in response to drone attacks, noting that the targeted camps were used by Kataeb Hezbollah and Sayyid al-Shuhada.



Lebanon PM Says Hopes for Ceasefire With Israel in 'Coming Hours or Days'

This handout picture provided by the Lebanese Prime Minister's press office shows Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati delivering a statement to the press in Beirut on October 11, 2024. (Photo by Lebanese Prime Minister's Press Office / AFP)
This handout picture provided by the Lebanese Prime Minister's press office shows Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati delivering a statement to the press in Beirut on October 11, 2024. (Photo by Lebanese Prime Minister's Press Office / AFP)
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Lebanon PM Says Hopes for Ceasefire With Israel in 'Coming Hours or Days'

This handout picture provided by the Lebanese Prime Minister's press office shows Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati delivering a statement to the press in Beirut on October 11, 2024. (Photo by Lebanese Prime Minister's Press Office / AFP)
This handout picture provided by the Lebanese Prime Minister's press office shows Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati delivering a statement to the press in Beirut on October 11, 2024. (Photo by Lebanese Prime Minister's Press Office / AFP)

Lebanon's prime minister said US envoy Amos Hochstein had signaled during a phone call Wednesday that a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war was possible before US elections are held on November 5.
"The call today with Hochstein suggested to me that perhaps we could reach a ceasefire in the coming days, before the fifth" of November, Najib Mikati said in a televised interview with Lebanese broadcaster Al-Jadeed.
Hochstein was heading to Israel on Wednesday to discuss conditions for a ceasefire with Hezbollah, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
Hezbollah's new leader Naim Qassem on Wednesday said the group would agree to a ceasefire with Israel under acceptable terms, but added that a viable deal has yet to be presented, reported AFP.
"We are doing our best... to have a ceasefire within the coming hours or days," Mikati told Al-Jadeed, adding that he was "cautiously optimistic".
Mikati said Hezbollah is no longer linking a ceasefire in Lebanon to a truce in Gaza, but criticized the group over its "late" reversal.
Previously, Hezbollah had repeatedly declared it would stop its attacks on Israel only if a ceasefire was reached in Gaza.
However, Qassem on Wednesday said the group would accept a ceasefire under conditions deemed "appropriate and suitable", without any mention of the Palestinian territory.
Mikati said a ceasefire would be linked to the implementation of the United Nations resolution that ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Security Council Resolution 1701 states that only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers should be deployed in southern Lebanon, while demanding the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory.
"The Lebanese army is ready to strengthen its presence in southern Lebanon" and ensure that the only weapons and military infrastructure in the area are those controlled by the state, Mikati said.
He also said he would continue to try to shield Lebanon's only airport from attacks by Israel.
"I can guarantee that we will not give anyone an excuse to undermine our security or our air traffic," Mikati said.
Aid deliveries from Iran, Iraq and Algeria can "come by sea", he said, in order not to give Israel a pretext to launch strikes.
Mikati also said it was too dangerous to try to reopen Lebanon's main land border with Syria, which was put out of service by an Israeli strike this month.
"We sent a bulldozer to fill the crater at the crossing and it was bombed," Mikati said.
"We will not expose anyone to danger before we have full guarantees."