Iran Warns US Against Warmongering, Top Iran General Visits Baghdad

Iran meets with Iraqi officials amid signs US preparing for war

Iran’s Quds Force commander Gen. Esmail Ghaani arrived in Baghdad and has been meeting with top Iraqi officials over the past day, important consultations amid reports that the US is preparing to launch a war against Iran, with Iraqi militias as a first target.

US deployments of Patriot missiles to several sites in recent days were also criticized in a statement by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, saying the US needs to halt “warmongering during the coronavirus outbreak” and stop destabilizing the region.

Earlier Wednesday, President Trump claimed that Iran is plotting a sneak attack on the US, and others suggested it might be such an attack that the US couldn’t effectively pin it on Iran. This comes amid reports that the US was planning to “wipe out” certain Iraqi militias in a new campaign.

Ghaani has been the head of Quds force since January, when his predecessor, Qassem Soleimani, was assassinated by the US during his own visit to Baghdad. Ghaani appears to have arrived in Baghdad without any attempts on his life.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.