Iraq's Prime Minister Tells Iran To 'Back-Off' In The War Against The Islamic State

Iraq's Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi listens to a translation during a news conference at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, February 11, 2016. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Reuters: Iraq's Abadi keeps Iran at arm's length in war on Islamic State

BAGHDAD (Reuters)- - As fighting in Iraq raged last summer, Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani came across unexpected opposition to his plans to defeat Islamic State.

Soleimani is the commander of Iran's al-Quds brigade and has been a key figure in the fight against the Sunni Islamist group in Iraq. That fight has been led not by Iraq's army but by Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias.

But in August, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told Soleimani that a planned assault on the Sunni city of Ramadi should be left to the Iraqi army, according to a government official and two diplomats.

Abadi, a 64-year-old Shi'ite, wanted the militias to stay away to avoid inflaming ethnic tensions, the sources said.

Abadi's office declined to comment on the story, which has been repeated in Baghdad's diplomatic circles for months. Three Iraqi politicians denied it ever happened.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: If true .... I am not surprised by this move from the Iraqi Prime Minister. Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani's battlefield strategy is more scorch-earth, and his tactics would all but alienate the Sunni community in Iraq thereby making any hope of reconciliation in the future impossible.

U.S. - Iran Tensions On The Iraq Border

An American soldier looks out toward the border between Iraq and Iran. Photo BBC

At Iraqi Border Outpost, a U.S.-Iran Game Of 'Spy Vs. Spy' -- McClatchy News

JOINT SECURITY STATION WAHAB, Iraq — This windswept U.S. garrison on Iraq's border with Iran has no running water and sporadic mail service, and it's so easily overlooked that the military accidentally canceled its contract for portable toilets last month, forcing the 60 soldiers who live here to resort to disposable waste bags for a while.

Yet Joint Security Station Wahab, which service members recently voted "the most austere base" in southern Iraq, is expected to remain after most of the American super bases in the country close. That's because the soldiers here are on the front line of the U.S. military's efforts to track and counter Iranian influence, a mission that's going to get harder as the area's al Sheeb border station opens to thousands of Iranian tourists in the next few months.

Read more ....

My Comment: I would like to know what is happening on the Afghanistan - Iran border .... my guess .... the same as the Iraq - Iran border.

Iraq Fears Of Iranian Influence Grows As U.S. Soldiers Prepare To Leave

ABU GHRAIB MARKET WALK - Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, tours the market place in Abu Ghraib, Iraq, Dec. 19, 2009. Mullen and his wife Deborah are hosting the USO Holiday Troop Visit to Afghanistan, Iraq and Germany. They're accompanied by tennis star Anna Kournikova, comedian Dave Attell, tennis coach Nicholas Bollettieri and musician Billy Ray Cyrus DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley

As US Withdrawal Nears, Iraqi Fear Of Iran Grows -- Christian Science Monitor

On a tour of Iraq, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke to Iraqis about the threat posed by Iran. Iraqis worry that Iran will fill the void left by the withdrawal of US forces.

Ramadi, Iraq

Iraqis remain deeply concerned about Iranian influence in their country five months before the US begins the massive drawdown of its troops from Iraq.

Next year, elections will be held in March, and the 112,000 American forces will shrink by more than half by the end of August. As that transition nears, Iraq has made significant progress toward greater security.

Read more ....

My Comment: In my own personal opinion .... I wish that the American withdrawal from Iraq was delayed by at least 2 - 3 years. Having the soldiers in the desert (and out of sight) would not only have a stabilizing influence in the region, it will also give the Iraqi Central Government the time to reach accommodations with all (or most) of the different factions within the country.

But this is not going to happen. The growing war in Afghanistan and the high cost of maintaining over 100,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq is having a drain on our treasury, and making it politically unacceptable for President Obama and his supporters to continue with this arrangement.

The net result will be the eventual withdrawal of U.S. troops .... and yes ....the Iraqis will now be responsible for their own future.

Iran Seizes Iraqi Oilfields For A Short Time

Iranian Soldiers Take Control Of Iraq Oil Well -- Times Online

Iranian soldiers crossed into disputed territory on the Iraqi border today and took control of an oil well, according to Iraqi and US officials.

Ownership of the area has been in doubt since the end of the Iran-Iraq war.

The well is one of several in the Fakka oil field, which was part of a group offered to foreign investors in June, but no contract was awarded.

"At 3:30 this afternoon, 11 Iranian (soldiers) infiltrated the Iran-Iraq border and took control of the oil well. They raised the Iranian flag and they are still there until this moment," said deputy interior minister Ahmed Ali al Khafaji.

Read more ....

More News On Iran's Seizure Of Iraqi Oil Fields

Iraqi official: Iranians seized Iraqi oil well -- Washington Post
Iranian forces take over Iraq oil well -- AFP
Oil jumps after Iranians seize Iraqi oil field -- AP
Iran invades 'Iraqi' territory -- The Telegraph
Iraq-Iran in oilfield dispute -- Al Jazeera
Iran Forces Occupy Iraqi Oil Well, Border Guard Says -- Bloomberg
UPDATE: Iranian Forces Occupy Iraq Oil Well -Iraqi Officials -- WSJ

My Comment: This sounds more like Iran testing the waters, and trying to observe how forceful Iraq will respond to any aggression.

Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki Visits Iran

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, right, holds talks with Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, left, in Tehran. Behrouz Mehr AFP/Getty Images

From The L.A. Times:

He hopes to use the two-day visit, including a meeting with Iranian President Ahmadinejad, to allay Tehran's concerns about U.S. influence in Iraq.

Reporting from Baghdad -- Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri Maliki arrived in Iran on Saturday for a two-day visit with top leaders, during which he is expected to allay Tehran's concerns about the United States' continuing influence in Iraq.

The visit is Maliki's fourth since he was elected and comes just days after the U.S. handed over military control of the capital's Green Zone to Iraq and began a drawdown that is to lead to all American troops leaving the country by the end of 2011.

Read more ....