The Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah threatened on Saturday night to spark an “unprecedented escalation” if US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits Baghdad during his meetings in the Middle East.
While the schedule for Blinken’s visit to the region does not list Baghdad as one of the locations he’s set to visit, the Shafaq news site reported that Blinken would visit the city on Sunday to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani and Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein. The report that Blinken will visit Baghdad has not been confirmed by US or Iraqi officials.
Abu Ali al-Askari, a senior leader of Kataib Hezbollah, warned that Blinken, who they referred to as “son of a Jew,” was not welcome in Iraq.
The Kataib Hezbollah leader added that the militia would work to “shut down American interests in Iraq” and would force the closure of the US Embassy in Iraq and prevent US citizens from entering the country in a “non-peaceful” way.
Iran-backed militias target US forces in Iraq and Syria
Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria have launched rockets and drones at bases housing US forces in the two countries in the weeks since the war between Israel and Hamas began.
Two weeks ago, Alwiyat al-Waad al-Haq, an Iran-backed militia believed to be linked to Kataib Hezbollah, threatened to target bases where American forces are housed in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates in response to the Israel-Hamas war.
Source: The Jerusalem Post
