US officials: Iran may not have ordered an attack on al-Kadhimi.
A number of US officials said in an interview that Iran may not have ordered an attack on the Iraqi prime minister’s residence in Baghdad’s Green Zone last week.
Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of US terrorist forces in the region, had previously claimed that Iranian-linked armed groups had carried out a drone strike on al-Kazemi’s residence in Baghdad’s Green Zone, although Iran has vehemently denied this claim.
A senior US Department of Defense official told NBC News that the attack may not have been approved by Iran and that Iran has little control over militants in Iraq.
“It is fair to say that Iran has not had much control over these groups since Soleimani was killed,” the defense official continued.
Iraqi media reported on Sunday morning that gunfire and explosions were heard in Baghdad’s Green Zone, targeting Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s home.
The Iraqi Interior Ministry later announced that three drones had been used to assassinate Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. Brigadier General Saad Maan, director of public relations and information at the Iraqi Ministry of Interior, called the move “terrorist” and “rejected.”
The incident on Sunday morning provoked many domestic and international reactions. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, in a telephone call with his Iraqi counterpart, while expressing his satisfaction with the health of the Iraqi Prime Minister following the assassination attempt on Sunday morning, called such incidents unstable and unstable. Peace in Iraq is done.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh also condemned the assassination attempt on the Iraqi prime minister and stressed the Islamic Republic of Iran’s firm and consistent position in supporting stability, security and tranquility in Iraq.
Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, wrote in a tweet in response to the assassination attempt on the life of Mustafa al-Kadhimi: “Terrorism and the occupation of this country have brought nothing to the oppressed people of Iraq, except insecurity, creating discord and instability.”
