“American criminality is increasing day by day in its support for the Zionist entity, and we hold the Americans fully responsible if their forces or the entity commit any foolishness in Iraq or the Axis countries, as our response will be direct wherever our hands reach,” read a statement from the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a network of shadow Iraqi militia groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The Axis of Resistance is an informal Tehran-backed political and military alliance that is mainly active in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.
The Islamic Resistance claimed that Washington has increased the number of its troops in Iraq and threatened to target them if the US continues its support for Israel.
Around 2,500 American troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria are leading an international coalition that has assisted Kurdish, Iraqi, and Syrian forces in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS). These troops have come under attack dozens of times after Israel began its war in Gaza last October. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for the majority of the attacks that were suspended in Iraq after the US carried out several deadly retaliatory airstrikes.
Sudani will meet Biden in Washington on Monday. He is under pressure at home to expel the US forces.
“When I visit Washington and meet with President Joe Biden on April 15, it will be an opportunity to put the U.S.-Iraqi partnership on a new, more sustainable foundation,” Sudani said in an article published in Foreign Affairs on Thursday.
“We recognize and value the crucial role of the United States and other members of the international coalition to combat ISIS in defeating terrorism. This support has helped Iraq achieve stability and make significant strides on democracy, the rule of law, and ensuring that the government has a monopoly on the use of force,” Sudani said, adding that it is time for their ties to become “broader.”
The US and Iraq have initiated talks that are aimed at determining the future of US troops in Iraq.
