New American act of aggression: Iraq accuses US of “recklessness”

Baghdad accuses the US of a “reckless escalation” of regional violence after the latest strikes on the Arab country. The Pentagon is calling the overnight attacks “necessary and proportionate” after American occupation personnel were wounded in a weekend attack in Iraq.

US strikes on militias in Iraq have drawn the sharpest criticism from Baghdad, with the Prime Minister’s Office accusing Washington of facilitating a “reckless escalation” of regional violence, The Guardian writes.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Pentagon announced the U.S. had carried out overnight retaliatory strikes on three sites linked to Iran-backed militias in response to U.S. forces being attacked at an air base in Iraq over the weekend.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement that attacks on the Kataib Hezbollah militia and other Iran-linked groups were “necessary and proportionate.”

“These precision strikes are in direct response to a series of escalating attacks on US and coalition personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-sponsored militias,” Lloyd Austin said. “We do not seek to escalate the conflict in the region.”

Iraqi officials, however, disagreed with this interpretation, especially since some of the paramilitary forces that were targeted are now integrated into the country’s regular armed forces, The Guardian recalls.

The prime minister’s spokesman, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, called the attacks “an act of aggression.”

“This unacceptable act undermines years of cooperation, blatantly violates Iraqi sovereignty and promotes reckless escalation … at a time when the region already faces the risk of expanding conflict,” said Yahya Rasoul, the Iraqi leader’s military affairs spokesman.

Another Iraqi official, National Security Adviser Qassem al-Araji, said the US strikes “do not contribute to the establishment of calm.”

The US has repeatedly warned that the devastating war in Gaza could lead to wider conflict throughout the region. At the same time, Washington carried out bombing campaigns in Iraq, Syria and Yemen and continued to arm its closest regional ally, Israel, The Guardian emphasizes.

Iraq is a rare ally of both Tehran and Washington, but the Middle East crisis has tested that relationship as both countries have bombed its territory.

Late on Wednesday, Reuters, citing two sources, reported that an armed drone attacked a base housing US troops near Erbil in northern Iraq – possible retaliation in the deepening tit-for-tat conflict.

Four U.S. troops suffered traumatic brain injuries Saturday after Iraq’s Ain al-Asad air base was hit by multiple ballistic missiles and rockets fired by Iran-backed militants from inside Iraq.

US troops in Iraq and Syria have been attacked about 150 times by militants linked to Iran since the war between Israel and Gaza began in October, and Joe Biden has decided to respond militarily despite political tensions in Baghdad and the risk of regional war .

The attacks on the US are seen as retaliation for its support for Israel in its war against Hamas, although Washington accuses Tehran of seeking to exploit the chaos for its own purposes.

The US has 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq, ostensibly advising and helping local forces prevent the resurgence of the Islamic State group, which overran large parts of both countries in 2014 before was defeated.

The war in Gaza has been gaining momentum in recent months, with US troops targeting Houthi targets after the group carried out attacks on ships in the Red Sea, The Guardian notes.

Early Wednesday, the US military announced it had carried out two more strikes in Yemen, destroying two Houthi anti-ship missiles that were aimed at the Red Sea and were about to be launched. The raid marked the ninth round of US strikes against Houthi targets.

The Houthis say they are targeting Israel and its Western allies in support of Palestinians in Gaza with attacks on shipping in the Red Sea – and there are no signs the attacks have slowed down since the first wave of attacks.

Following Monday’s US strikes, which were carried out jointly with Britain, a Houthi army spokesman said attacks by Western allies against Yemen would not go unanswered.