Blinken met Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in Baghdad on Friday as part of a last-minute regional tour after Islamist-led Syrian rebels ended a half-century of rule by the Assad clan, a major ally of Iran.
A US official said Blinken told Sudani that Iran was at its weakest in some time and that Iraq had an opportunity to reduce Tehran's influence.
Specifically, Blinken asked Sudani to clamp down on Iranian-backed Iraqi Shiite armed groups, who for years have periodically attacked US forces in Iraq, the official said on condition of anonymity.
Blinken also asked Sudani to help prevent the transfer of Iranian weapons across Iraqi territory to any affiliated groups in Syria, the official said.
Blinken was more circumspect in his public remarks, saying after their meeting in Baghdad that the US was committed to "working for Iraq's sovereignty to make sure that that is strengthened and preserved".
"I think this is a moment as well for Iraq to reinforce its own sovereignty as well as its stability, security and success going forward," he said, without naming Iran.
Iran's clout rose sharply in its fellow Shiite-majority neighbour after the 2003 US-led invasion toppled Tehran's foe Saddam Hussein.
Assad's government in Syria had long been propped up with help from Iran and its powerful ally Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Tehran-backed group, however, suffered heavy losses in its recent war with Israel, which has also struck Iran-linked targets within Syria.
Assad's other key backer Russia, meanwhile, has been tied up by its invasion of Ukraine.
The US official declined to say how Sudani responded to Blinken's request, other than to say the prime minister expressed hope Iraq could avoid becoming embroiled in a conflict.
Blinken also promised to work with Iraq to prevent a resurgence of the ultra-violent Islamic State group, which established a self-styled caliphate across vast swathes of Iraq and Syria a decade ago before counter-offensives backed both by the United States and Iran.
The Iraqi government has close ties to Iran, and US President Joe Biden's administration has agreed with Baghdad to reduce the remaining US troop presence in the country -- a long-standing demand of Iran-aligned militias there.
The incoming administration of Donald Trump is expected to harden US actions against Iran, even though the president-elect has also voiced a willingness for deal-making.
The Biden administration last month extended again a waiver allowing Iraq to buy electricity from Iran in spite of sanctions.
Lawmakers from Trump's Republican Party lashed out at the move, saying that Biden was permitting a major cash flow to Iran that worked against international efforts to isolate it.
On Syria tour, Blinken pledges to work with Iraq against IS jihadists
Baghdad (AFP) Dec 13, 2024 -
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised Friday to work with Iraq to ensure no resurgence of the Islamic State group after Bashar al-Assad's overthrow in neighbouring Syria.
On a regional tour devoted to a suddenly-changed Syria, the top US diplomat flew to Baghdad from the Turkish capital Ankara and headed into talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
Blinken said he told Sudani of "our commitment to working with Iraq on security and always working for Iraq's sovereignty, to make sure that that is strengthened and preserved".
"I think this is a moment as well for Iraq to reinforce its own sovereignty as well as its stability, security and success going forward," Blinken said.
He added that "no one knows the importance" more than Iraq of stability in Syria and avoiding the resurgence of Islamic State group (IS) jihadists, also known by the Arabic acronym Daesh.
"We are determined to make sure that Daesh cannot re-emerge," Blinken said.
"The United States (and) Iraq, together had tremendous success in taking away the territorial caliphate that Daesh had created years ago."
The Islamic State group (IS) overran large swathes of Iraq and neighbouring Syria in 2014, proclaiming its "caliphate" and launching a reign of terror.
It was defeated in Iraq in 2017 by Iraqi forces backed by a US-led military coalition, and in 2019 lost the last territory it held in Syria to US-backed Kurdish forces.
Iraq is keen to prevent any spread of chaos from Syria, where on Sunday Islamist-led rebels toppled the five-decade rule of the Assad dynasty following a lightning offensive.
Sudani, in his meeting with Blinken, "underscored the necessity of ensuring the representation of all components of the Syrian people in managing the country to bolster its stability," Sudani's office said.
He stressed Iraq "expects tangible actions, not just words" from Syria's transitional authorities, and "emphasised the importance of preventing any aggression on Syrian territories by any party".
After taking a helicopter into central Baghdad, Blinken also complimented Iraq on a construction boom, saying it showed growing success.
- US troops -
Iraq's government has urged respect for the "free will" of all Syrians and the country's territorial integrity after Assad's fall.
The deposed Syrian leader hailed from a rival faction of the Baath party of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, ousted in a 2003 US-led invasion.
The United States maintains about 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 more in Syria as part of a campaign to prevent IS resurgence.
President Joe Biden's administration has agreed with Iraq to end the coalition's military presence by September 2025 but stopped short of a complete withdrawal of the US forces, whose presence has been opposed by Iran-aligned armed groups in Iraq.
President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month and has long been sceptical of US troop deployments, although it remains unclear whether he would backtrack from Biden's agreement or change tactics in light of developments in Syria.
Last Saturday, the day before rebels took control of Damascus, Trump on his Truth Social platform called Syria "a mess," and added: "THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT."
Blinken has pushed for an "inclusive" political process to bring an accountable government to Syria and avoid sectarian bloodletting of the sort seen in Iraq after the fall of Saddam.
In Baghdad, he said he spoke with Sudani about the conviction of many countries that "as Syria transitions from the Assad dictatorship to hopefully a democracy, it does so in a way that... protects all of the minorities in Syria, that produces an inclusive, non-sectarian government and does not become in any way a platform for terrorism".
Speaking in Jordan on Thursday, Blinken said all regional players he had spoken to "agreed on the need to have a unified approach to advance many of our shared interests" in Syria.
Turkey strongly opposes the US alliance with Syrian Kurdish fighters, who assist the United States with the fight against the Islamic State group but whom Ankara links to outlawed Kurdish separatists at home.
Israel in turn has been pounding Syria, decimating military sites across its historic adversary after a deadly campaign against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, aiming in part to curb the regional influence of Tehran which had allied itself with Assad.
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