The pressure from Baghdad came after the start of talks with US officials to establish a timetable for the exit of US troops
Farhad Alaadin, adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, confirmedon 30 January that Iraqi resistance group Kataib Hezbollah’s announcement of suspending operations against the US came as a result of intensive government efforts to prevent escalation.
"Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani has been hard at work in the past few days, engaging with all relevant parties inside and outside Iraq," Alaadin told Iraqi media.
"All sides need to support the efforts of the Prime Minister to prevent any possible escalation," the spokesman added.
Kataib Hezbollah – believed to be a prominent member of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI) coalition formed in October to confront the US and Israel – released a statement on Tuesday announcing a suspension of military operations against US forces in the region.
“As we announce the suspension of military and security operations against the occupation forces - in order to prevent embarrassment to the Iraqi government - we will continue to defend our people in Gaza in other ways,” the statement reads.
Several Iraqi factions banded together in October, forming the IRI in solidarity with Gaza and rejection of US support for Israel. The IRI began near-daily operations against US bases in Iraq and Syria and on Israeli targets.
On 28 January, the IRI announced an attack on several US bases, including the Rukban Camp base in Syria. Washington announced later that day that three US soldiers were killed and at least 40 injured in a drone attack that hit the Tower 22 US outpost on the Jordan-Syria border.
The US has already launched several violent attacks on Iraq in response to IRI operations.
Iraqi and US officials met a day before the deadly drone attack to discuss the future of the US presence in Iraq under the framework of the US-Iraq Higher Military Commission (HMC).
The meeting aimed at “Reviewing the mission of the US-led international coalition against ISIS, following Iraq’s victory over one of the most formidable terrorist groups in the world.”
“Following this review, a specific timetable will be formulated to end the military mission of the Coalition and transition to bilateral security relations between Iraq, the United States, and partner countries in the Coalition.”
A Pentagon spokeswoman said the week before that the meeting was “not a negotiation about the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq."
Sudani said on 5 January that Baghdad and Washington would begin the process of scheduling the withdrawal of the US-led international coalition from the country. Days later, the Pentagon said it was unaware of any such plans.
Sudani has repeatedly condemned the presence of both armed factions and US troops in Iraq.
The prime minister has been attempting to diplomatically facilitate a withdrawal of US forces from Iraq to set a precedent for ending all armed presence in the country. Baghdad has requested more than once that the US play an advisory role in Iraq rather than maintain the presence of combat forces.
US pressure on his government has surged since the start of Iraqi resistance operations on US bases. The killing of three US soldiers is expected to further delay any potential agreement for a withdrawal of US forces from the country.
Iraqi resistance groups have suspended operations to support Sudani’s diplomatic efforts in the past.
Before Sudani came to power in 2022, US bases in Iraq were targets of frequent drone and missile attacks by Iran-linked resistance factions.
In April last year, a spokesman for the Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS) resistance group revealed that attacks on the US were halted after Sudani came to power to relieve political pressure on Baghdad and to allow the premier to enact a parliament decision to oust US forces from the country without conflict.
The spokesman vowed at the time that the attacks would resume if Sudani’s mission were to fail.
In 2020, following the assassination of Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani, Iraq’s parliament voted in favor of expelling the US from Iraq. The resolution specifically called for the cancellation of Iraq’s formal request for US military assistance against ISIS, which was issued in 2014.
Washington rejected the resolution and threatened to impose sanctions on Baghdad.