TEHRAN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st April, 2020) Tehran considers the US military's "warmongering" in Iraq to be dangerous, as this may lead to a catastrophic escalation in the security situation in the region, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Wednesday, in the light of media reports on US preparing a military operation.
Media reports emerged this week that the United States had deployed Patriot air defense systems to an Iraqi military base as a precaution against Iranian-backed militia attacks. There were also media reports about a preparations for a US attack on Iran's Shiite militia proxies that have been accused of carrying out a series of rocket attacks on Iraqi bases hosting foreign troops in recent months.
"While the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the international community are emphasizing the need for halting the tension-creating and warmongering measures amid the outbreak of coronavirus, these (US) moves are against the official and announced will of the Iraqi government, Parliament and people, would create tensions, and could steer the regional situation towards instability and catastrophic conditions," Mousavi said.
The US-led international coalition is currently relocating its troops in Iraq to consolidate them at better-protected bases. The coalition officially transferred K1 Air Base in the northern Iraqi province of Kirkuk to the Iraqi Armed Forces on Sunday. On Monday, the coalition handed over another base � in Iraq's northern province of Nineveh � to the host country. Earlier in March, the international troops left a base in al-Qaim, located near the border with Syria, and the Qayara base in Nineveh.
In March, representatives of the coalition said that as part of cooperation deals with partners and the Iraqi government, US military personnel and equipment from several Iraqi bases would be redeployed and consolidated in 2020. As such, the number of bases where coalition forces will be deployed in Iraq will decrease. At the same time, however, the coalition will remain in the country at the invitation of the Iraqi government and will continue to advise and train local security forces.
