Iranian Quds Force head credited with halting attacks on US troops in Iraq, Syria

The head of Iran’s elite Quds Force visited Baghdad last month and convinced groups aligned with Tehran to halt attacks on US forces, multiple Iranian and Iraqi sources tell Reuters, saying it is a sign Tehran wants to prevent a broader conflict.

Esmail Qaani met representatives of several of the armed groups in Baghdad airport on January 29, less than 48 hours after Washington blamed the groups for the killing of three US soldiers at the Tower 22 outpost in Jordan, the sources say.

Qaani told the factions that by drawing American blood risked a heavy US response, including strikes on their senior commanders, destruction of key infrastructure or even a direct retaliation against Iran, sources say.

All but one group immediately acceded to Qaani’s request and the next day Kataib Hezbollah announced it was suspending attacks. One smaller but very active group, Nujaba, said it would continue attacks, arguing that US forces would only leave by force.

There have been no attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria since February 4, compared to more than 20 in the two weeks before Qaani’s visit, part of a surge in violence from the groups in opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza.

“Without Qaani’s direct intervention it would have been impossible to convince Kataib Hezbollah to halt its military operations to deescalate the tension,” a senior commander in one of the Iran-aligned Iraqi armed groups says.

Qaani did not leave the airport during the quick visit, fearing he could be targeted in the same location where his predecessor Qassem Soleimani was killed four years earlier, a senior Iraqi security source says.

“The Iranians learned their lesson from the liquidation of Soleimani and did not want this to be repeated,” the source says.

“Commander Qaani’s visit was successful, though not entirely, as not all Iraqi groups consented to de-escalate,” a high-ranking Iranian security official says.