MESOPOTAMIA NEWS TOP OF THE AGENDA & ALL RELEVANT SOURCES: Iraqi Protesters Storm U.S. Embassy in Baghdad
Protesters denouncing U.S. strikes on the Iran-backed Kata’ib Hezbollah militant group attempted to break into (CNN) the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, prompting security personnel to fire tear gas and stun grenades. Iraq’s government said the U.S. air strikes forced it to review (WSJ) its security partnership with the United States.
The events stoked fears of a proxy war in Iraq between Iran and the United States. The U.S. ambassador to Iraq and other staff were evacuated (Reuters) from the embassy, and Iraq’s caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi called for protesters to depart (Reuters) or suffer consequences. U.S. President Donald J. Trump tweeted that those who attacked the embassy would be held fully responsible.
Analysis
“Iran-orchestrated violence a response to US eco[nomic] warfare. [Trump] needs to be ready to go to war w Iran or provide a diplomatic off-ramp, linking partial sanctions relief to Iran’s regional, nuclear, domestic actions. Latter path clearly preferable,” tweets CFR President Richard N. Haass.
“Iraq has long struggled to balance its ties with the U.S. and Iran, both allies of the Iraqi government. But the government’s angry reaction to the U.S. airstrikes and its apparent decision not to prevent the protesters from reaching the embassy signaled a sharp deterioration of U.S.-Iraq relations,” Qassim Abdul-Zahra writes for the Associated Press.
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