Blinken Makes Unannounced Iraq Trip Amid Regional Tensions

Facts

• As part of a multi-country tour of the Middle East, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken paid an unannounced visit to Iraq on Sunday, holding talks with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani following recent attacks within the country on American forces as well as the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.¹
• Blinken arrived in Baghdad after meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the occupied West Bank earlier on Sunday as well as stopping in Cyprus to discuss a potential aid route to Gaza. The visit was not announced due to security precautions.²
• Speaking after his surprise meeting with al-Sudani in Baghdad, Blinken claimed that 'attacks or threats' targeting US troops by 'militias that are aligned with Iran' were 'totally unacceptable.' There are approximately 2.5K American troops currently deployed in Iraq.³
• On Saturday night, Iran-backed group Kataib Hezbollah claimed that Blinken's visit to Iraq would see 'an unprecedented escalation' in response. The US Department of Defense has stated that attacks on US troops in Iraq and Syria have increased since Hamas's surprise attack on Israel last month.⁴
• Blinken continued that militia attacks on US troops were 'a matter of Iraqi sovereignty' while claiming that both Iraq and the US shared mutual interests in combating the threat. The Secretary of State received a security briefing at the US Embassy in Baghdad before his meeting with al-Sudani.⁵
• The Pentagon has reported that there have been at least 32 attacks on US and coalition military facilities since Oct. 17 in Syria and Iraq, with at least 21 service members being injured.⁶

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²Yahoo News, ³Arab News, ⁴Reuters, ⁵VOA and ⁶ABC News.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Atalayar. The entirety of Blinken's current mission is to prevent the Gaza war from spilling over into other regional countries. With powerful elements within the Iraqi state in favor of Iran, alongside an expansion of attacks against US forces, Blinken is attempting to rule out the possibility of further military escalation and violence before it spirals into a disaster that would negatively impact the region's security.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by PressTV. It is the US that continues to manipulate and stoke tensions in the Middle East to further its geopolitical goals. Iraq is a lynchpin in resisting US-Israeli hegemony in the region, and it has laid the groundwork for a new front in the Arab and Muslim worlds, which also includes Iran's regional muscle. The US will soon realize that its presence in Iraq is untenable.

Predictions