Americas...:US General: Iran’s Role in Iraq Could be Positiv...

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US General: Iran’s Role in Iraq Could be Positive

Local Editor

Iran's role in an Iraqi military offensive to recapture Tikrit could be positive as long as it does not fuel sectarian divisions in the country, the US military's top officer said Tuesday.

General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told senators that Iran's military assistance for Iraqi groups was nothing new but was carried out in a more open manner this week as Iraqi forces pushed to retake Tikrit from "ISIL" extremists.

"This is the most overt conduct of Iranian support," Dempsey said, which came "in the form of artillery" and other aid.

"Frankly, it would only be a problem if it resulted in sectarianism," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

US commanders rarely discuss Iran's activities in Iraq in public, stressing that Washington does not coordinate with Tehran's military in any way - even though the two foes see the "ISIL" group as a common enemy.

In a new operation launched Monday, officials in Baghdad say a 30,000-strong force has been mobilized to take back Tikrit.

Dempsey said the popular groups account for about two-thirds of the force while Iraqi government army troops make up the remainder.
If the Iraqi army and Shiite fighters "perform in a credible way" and defeat the extremists in Tikrit, "then it will, in the main, have been a positive thing in terms of the counter-ISIL campaign," Dempsey said.

General Qassem Suleimani, the head of Iran's powerful Quds force, is reportedly on the ground with coordinating the operation on Tikrit.
Dempsey said he had seen a recent photo of the commander in social media and that US intelligence agencies "will now go to work to decide if he was personally there or not."

At the same hearing, War Secretary Ashton Carter acknowledged Iraq did not ask for military support from Washington for the Tikrit operation, the largest assault so far by Baghdad against the "ISIL".

Carter said he shared Dempsey's concerns about sectarian divisions erupting and that Washington was closely monitoring the conduct of the campaign.
"I hope sectarianism does not show its ugly head," Carter said.

But after the hearing, two Republican hawks on the committee, John McCain and Lindsey Graham, demanded President Barack Obama's administration "wake up" to the threat posed by Iran's influence in Iraq.

"The Iranian-backed offensive in Tikrit, and its growing role in Iraq more broadly, is not only threatening our mission against "ISIL"."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team