ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The US military is moving air and missile defense systems into Iraq after negotiations with Baghdad, Marine Corps General and head of the US Central Command Kenneth McKenzie told the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.
The announcement comes just two months after a spate of rocket attacks on Iraqi military bases hosting US troops following Washington’s assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, causing US-Iran hostilities to skyrocket.
Pro-Iran factions of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), known in Arabic as Hashd al-Shaabi, are thought to be behind the attacks.
“Since May 2019, Iranian proxies and Shiite militia groups in Iraq have increased attacks on US interests and conducted scores of unmanned aerial system reconnaissance flights near US and Iraqi security force bases,” said Gen. McKenzie in his opening statement to the committee.
“We are in the process of bringing air defense systems, ballistic missile defense systems into Iraq – particularly to protect ourselves against another potential Iranian attack,” he added.
He did not provide further detail on the specifics of timeline of the missile defense introduction.
McKenzie also warned the committee of the “growing threat posed by unmanned aerial systems, coupled with our lack of dependable, networked capabilities to counter them,” adding that drones belonging to Iran and groups under its influence is the “most concerning tactical development” in the region.
He also stated that drones were used in the September attack against a Saudi oil facility, which Washington has attributed to Iran - a claim which the Islamic Republic denies.
The US has Patriot missile systems, which are designed to shoot down missiles and aircraft, deployed to many of their military locations in the region. The Pentagon has seen its troops in Iraq as less vulnerable to attacks than other locations, officials say.
“The national defense strategy directs us to work with partners to deny the Iranian all pass to a nuclear weapon and to neutralize Iranian malign influence,” added General McKenzie, describing Iran as the “world's largest state sponsor of terrorism”.
