Why do the USA and Iran confront each other in Iraq?

Taylor Adam on the WP explains in detail what is happening in Iraq between the United States and Iran and why Iraq is important for the whole region.

Tensions between the US and Iran increased throughout 2019, but on New Year's Eve, they took on a surge that saw the US Embassy in Baghdad under siege. It was no surprise that supporters of the Han militia targeted the embassy in Iraq. For the United States, which has no diplomatic relations with Iran, Iraq has become a sticking point in its regional conflict with the Iranian regime. A missile attack on Friday on a base hosting US troops in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk killed an American contractor. The United States blamed a Han-backed group for the attack and in response launched air strikes on bases along the Syrian border, used by the Kataib Hezbollah group, on Sunday, killing 25 militia members and injuring more than 50. Airstrikes were condemned not only by Tehran but also by Baghdad, which in a statement said it was a violation of Iraqi sovereignty. An angry mob then lashed out at the US Embassy in Baghdad, shouting "Death to America".

Why are the United States and Iran at odds?

Iran was a close ally of the United States during much of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's reign. But Pahlavi was overthrown by the 1979 Iranian revolution and replaced with an Islamic Republic. In November of the same year, Iranian militants took about 70 Americans hostage at the US embassy in Tehran. Many hostages were held for 444 days. Iran's relations with the United States rapidly deteriorated and have remained strained ever since. Many argue that the United States meddles in the Middle East in close alliance with Israel and rival Sunni countries, while others argue that Iran has expansionist aims, eager to foster the influence of the Shia branch of Islam throughout the Middle East . Washington and its allies in the Middle East also suspect that Iran is trying to develop a nuclear weapons program. In this regard, prolonged negotiations over the years led to an agreement in 2015 between Iran and a number of world powers, including the United States, to place restrictions on Iran's nuclear program.

Why are both the United States and Iran interested in Iraq?

Iraq is Iran's neighbor. The two nations share a 900-mile long border. Historically, Iraq had been part of Persia for hundreds of years. About 70% of its population is Shiite, with most of the remaining Sunni population (in Iran, over 90% of the population is Shiite), although Iran has nearly four times the territory of Iraq. In the modern era, the two countries have had a very tense relationship: Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Iran in 1980, causing an eight-year war that left hundreds of thousands of deaths. However, after Saddam Hussein's dominated Sunni government was overthrown by the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, Iraq was dominated by Shia political groups, some of which are allied with Iran. The US has always been opposed to Saddam Hussein's Baathist government, yet it has provided support to Iraq during its war with Iran. Then Iraq in 1990 invaded Kuwait, an American ally, and an international coalition had to intervene which then defeated Saddam's forces in the first Gulf War.

President George W. Bush had labeled Iraq and Iran as "axis of evil" countries in a 2002 speech. The invasion of Iraq in 2003 ousted Saddam Hussein, but US troops remained in the country to fight a violent insurrection. Although the administration of President Barack Obama completed troop withdrawal in 2011, troops were relocated to the country in 2014 to fight the Islamic state, led by a Sunni extremist group.

What effect has the rise of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq had on US-Iran relations?

The Islamic State has its origins in Iraq, but has taken on prominence in the war in Syria, which began in 2013 and is still ongoing. At its peak in late 2014, the self-proclaimed caliphate controlled an area the size of Britain and used it as a base to launch attacks on the Western world, US and Iranian interests. Iran and the United States therefore supported opposing sides in the Syrian war. Tehran viewed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as a key ally in the region, while the United States and other Western powers supported rebels who opposed his rule. But for both, the Islamic State was the real danger to be eradicated. With US air strikes, as well as the intervention of forces loyal to Iran and the Russian military, the Islamic State was defeated by ceding the last part of its territory in 2019.

In the meantime, Donald Trump was elected president of the United States. President Trump has taken an increasingly critical view of Iran since taking office in 2017. The tension between the United States and Iran has reached its highest peak in Iraq, where some 5.000 are deployed. US troops to help Iraq against the Islamic State. Shia militias, many of them allied with Iran, also gained a lot of ground during the war to free Syria from the Islamic State.

What relations does Iran have with groups in Iraq and Syria?

Iran has long been accused of running a network of affiliates across the Middle East, using Shia militias and political parties to undermine rival governments. Often, the exact nature of its relationship with these groups, and Tehran's level of autonomy, is difficult to assess, but it is certain that they are propaganda against the United States. In Iraq, there are various Shia militias. Not all of them formed at the same time and do not have identical interests, but they have had growing political weight in the battle against the Islamic State, earning nearly a third of the seats in the Iraqi parliament in the 2018 elections. In the last year, frequent missile attacks on bases used by US troops in Iraq have led to increased tensions. The surprise of all observers was the ease with which, today, supporters of Kataib Hezbollah and other Shiite militias were able to reach the US embassy, ​​which is located in the safe "Green area" of Baghdad.

Trump tweeted that he expected Iraq to protect the embassy, ​​and Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper called on Iraq to "fulfill its international responsibilities" to protect US personnel in the country. .

How has Trump changed US relations with Iran and Iraq since he took office?

Trump has always viewed the Obama-era nuclear deal with Iran with great suspicion and argues that the previous administration had not done enough to reduce Iranian influence across the region. The president withdrew the United States from the deal in May 2018 and reintroduced sanctions against Iran. Since then, the US has specifically targeted Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a religious and political figure who is the country's top decision maker. He also named the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. Despite the political and economic pressure on Iran, there is today no indication that support for foreign militias has decreased. Iran is accused of being linked to attacks on a Saudi oil facility as well as foreign oil tankers in the Persian Gulf. Iran has also begun to enrich and store uranium at a level higher than that allowed by the previous 2015 agreement.

At the same time, tensions between the United States and Iraq have increased under Trump. In early 2019, Iraqi President Barham Salih said his country would reject the "baffling" idea that the United States would stay in Iraq to "watch over" Iran. The Iraqi government has argued that Sunday's airstrikes constitute an affront to national sovereignty and has questioned the deal that allows US troops to remain Iraq. But Iran's influence in Iraq is also a moot point for many: While thousands took to the streets to protest the government in the fall, some targeted Iranian interests, even burning down the Iranian consulate in Karbala at first. of November. In a tweet at the time, Trump appealed to Iraqis who were tired of Iranian influence, saying, "To those millions of people in Iraq who want freedom and who don't want to be dominated and controlled by Iran, this is the time! "

Why do the USA and Iran confront each other in Iraq?