Iraq, Which Demanded US Troop Withdrawal, Decides to Join Hands with US Again to Fight IS

Esper: US Defense Reviews Deployment of Patriot Missiles at Iraq US Military Bases

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The Iraqi military has decided to join forces with the U.S. military once again to combat the Islamic State (IS). Iraq, which had demanded the withdrawal of U.S. troops, announced it will resume military operations with the United States. Attention is focused on whether this signals a change in the deteriorated relations between the two countries following the assassination of the commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

On the 30th (local time), the Iraqi military announced it will resume the joint operations against IS with the United States, which had been suspended. The Iraqi military stated, "In order to utilize the remaining time before establishing a new relationship with the U.S. and allied forces, we have decided to continue the coalition operations to defeat IS."

However, the Iraqi military did not mention any changes in the relationship between the allied forces and the Iraqi military going forward. After Qasem Soleimani, commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, was killed by U.S. forces at Baghdad Airport in Iraq on the 2nd of this month, relations between Iraq and the U.S. rapidly deteriorated. The Iraqi parliament even demanded a resolution for the withdrawal of U.S. troops. Iraqi Prime Minister Abdul Mahdi also officially requested the withdrawal of U.S. forces, but U.S. President Donald Trump rejected the request.

According to foreign media, there have been internal voices within the Iraqi military pointing out the urgent need for U.S. air support during battles against IS. Although they had called for withdrawal, they could not deny the necessity of U.S. forces in combat against IS.

The U.S. and allied forces stated regarding the Iraqi military's announcement to resume counter-IS operations, "We will strengthen support for the Iraqi government and military and maintain close relations."

Additionally, the U.S. has decided to deploy Patriot missiles, used for missile interception, to protect U.S. troops stationed in Iraq. U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said, "We have requested approval from the Iraqi government to deploy missiles to protect U.S. forces stationed in Iraq." Until now, Patriot missiles necessary for missile interception had not been deployed at U.S. bases in Iraq, so when Iran launched retaliatory attacks over Soleimani's death, interception was not possible.

Meanwhile, the U.S. increased pressure by announcing additional sanctions against Iran. Brian Hook, U.S. Special Representative for Iran, announced that the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) and its head, Akbar Salehi, were added to the sanctions list. However, sanctions on civilian nuclear projects will continue to be waived. This decision considered factors such as allowing civilian companies from Russia, China, and Europe to monitor the progress of Iran's civilian nuclear projects.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.