The other shoe drops in the US vs Iran dance for control of Iraq…
Iran and the West are NOT gonna have a direct war….
But with Donald Trump’s admin new hardline military push there?
Iran is now trying to push back….
This isn’t simple ….
Donald Trump is still trying to erase Barack Obama’s fingerprints on anything to do with Iran….
Europe has tried to keep the Obama /Iran Nuclear bomb deal intact…
Iran, under pressure from sanctions from the West is hurting economically….
And has just crushed internal protests against it ‘s economic problems …
And on Solemani?
Presenting Trump with a target that is off limits probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do…
Iraq?
With both the West and Iran squaring off?
Is trying to navigate a tightrope…
Hmmmm?
“If the sanctions are lifted … the Islamic Republic is ready to return to its obligations,” the statement said. It added that Iran will continue to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.
The announcement came as the region continued to grapple with the fallout of a U.S. drone strike that killed Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force, as he traveled in a convoy near the Baghdad airport Friday. The strike also killed a key Iraq militia leader, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
Iraq’s caretaker prime minister urged parliament on Sunday to take “urgent measures” to force the withdrawal of foreign forces following the strike. In an address to the legislature, Adel Abdul Mahdi recommended that the government establish a timetable for the departure of foreign troops, including the members of the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State militant group, “for the sake of our national sovereignty.”
“What happened was a political assassination,” Abdul Mahdi said.
Lawmakers responded by passing a nonbinding resolution calling on the government to end the foreign troop presence in Iraq. But Abdul Mahdi, who resigned in November and has been serving in a caretaker role, is not legally authorized to sign the bill into law….
Pompeo appeared on all of the Sunday morning news shows to discuss U.S. strategy following the strike, which also killed eight others, including Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a powerful Iraqi militia leader.
Earlier Sunday, Iraqi leader Adel Abdul Mahdi called the U.S. strike “a political assassination” and told parliament that the government must establish a timetable for the withdrawal of all foreign troops “for the sake of our national sovereignty.”
Pompeo brushed aside those remarks, calling Mahdi “the resigned prime minister” and “the acting prime minister.” Mahdi resigned in Novemberamid sustained anti-government protests in Iraq but has been operating in a caretaker role.
“He’s under enormous threats from the very Iranian leadership that it is that we are pushing back against,” Pompeo said on “Fox News Sunday.” “We are confident that the Iraqi people want the United States to continue to be there to fight the counterterror campaign. And we’ll continue to do all the things we need to do to keep America safe.”
Iraqi lawmakers responded to Mahdi’s remarks by passing a nonbinding resolution calling for an end to the foreign troop presence in the country. To cancel the agreement that grants U.S. and foreign troops access to Iraqi territory, however, parliament must pass binding legislation….
Note…
Iran has NOT closed the door on nuclear bomb deal despite the media headlines….
Iraq has NOT officially kicked Western military troops out of its country , which would leave it naked against Iran , ISIS and other’s….
image…telegraph.co.uk
Post on Iran/Iraq/Trump is here….
Iraq and Iran have left wiggle room…..
We’ll see if Trump and Pompeo take the bait….
The funniest thing in the whole post is Mike Pompeo decreeing what the “Iraqi people want.”
He neither knows ,nor more importantly ,cares.
Of all the considerations here ,the least important to Trump and company is what the “Iraqi people want.”
So why the deceit?
Rhetorical question I trust.