U.S. Steers Clear of Tikrit, Cites Iran Role in Support of Iraqis
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fighters were on the ground with Iraqi units, U.S. official says
ENLARGE
Iraqi forces and allied militias take position in the northern part of Diyala province as they take part in an assault to retake the city of Tikrit from Islamic State jihadists Monday. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
By JULIAN E. BARNES
Updated March 2, 2015 4:11 p.m. ET156 COMMENTS
WASHINGTON—Iraq’s latest push to retake the Sunni city of Tikrit from Islamic State extremists has thrown a new spotlight on the role being assumed by Iran in assisting Baghdad in its fight to regain control of the country.
U.S. officials said Iran is supporting the offensive to retake Tikrit, supplying artillery, rocket fire and aerial drones. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, fighters were on the ground with Iraqi units, mostly operating artillery and rocket batteries, according to a U.S. military official.
At the Pentagon on Monday, Col. Steve Warren, a Defense Department spokesman, said the U.S. wasn’t providing assistance in the fight to retake Tikrit. The U.S. hasn’t conducted airstrikes in support of Iraqi forces and didn’t provide advice in planning the attack, officials said.
“We are fully aware of the operation, but the Iraqis did not request our support for it,” Col. Warren said. “Our presence in Iraq is at the request of the Iraqi government. We are there to advise them, to assist them, to support them, when they ask for it.”
Iraq’s military, backed by some 20,000 volunteer fighters, have begun a campaign to recapture the birthplace of Saddam Hussein from Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL. Mark Kelly reports. Image: AFP/Getty
In the briefing, Col. Warren wouldn’t comment on Iranian support for the Tikrit operation. But U.S. officials said one of the key reasons the Iraqis didn’t ask for help from the U.S. to take Tikrit was because of the support they were getting from Iran and the IRGC.
Iranian officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment in the offensive against Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
U.S. military and other government officials are watching the Iranian support for the Tikrit fight cautiously. Having an overwhelmingly Shiite force move on a Sunni city could pose problems by exacerbating sectarian divisions. U.S. officials are particularly worried about Iranian artillery causing collateral damage.
“To the degree they can carry out an offensive without inflaming sectarian tension and can dislocate ISIL, it can be helpful,” said a U.S. official.
The Pentagon has frequently warned Iran to tread carefully in its assistance to Iraq to avoid reigniting a religious-based civil war.
“We want nothing to be done that further inflames sectarian tensions in the country,” Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, said in December.
Another U.S. official said that the campaign to liberate Tikrit from Islamic State could help set the stage for the Iraqi push to liberate Mosul, which is supposed to occur later this year.
“If successful, it would be consequential,” said the second U.S. official. “There is no question any geography taken from ISIL is a good thing.”
The U.S. and Iran have both steered clear of each other’s operations in Iraq, according to U.S. officials. In general, when Shiite militias are involved in a military operation, the U.S. doesn’t provide support. Iran sponsors many of the militias and some are directly controlled by Iran, defense experts have long maintained.
The Tikrit fight, according to U.S. officials, represents the most sizable Iranian support yet for an Iraqi offensive, but it isn’t the first.
Iran has carried out airstrikes within Iraq in support of Shiite militias. In October, Shiite militias supported by Iranian advisers helped retake a Sunni town outside Baghdad, according to U.S. officials.
Iraq had faced a monthslong stalemate to retake the town of Jurf al-Sakhar, or “rocky bank,’ from Islamic State.
Facing the possibility that Islamic State would use the town as a base for attacks on Shiite pilgrims, the Iraqi government launched a renewed push to take the town, with 10,000 Shiite militia men and Iranian advisers.
As in Tikrit, the U.S. didn’t conduct any airstrikes to directly assist the Shiite militias working to retake the town.
When the fighting was over, the Iraqi government renamed the city Jurf al-Nasr, or “victory bank.”
In Iraq, there is a de facto division developing between areas where Iran has the lead in assisting the fight against Islamic State, and areas where the U.S. has the lead, according to some U.S. officials.
The U.S. has the lead in developing plans for Anbar province, for Kurdish areas in the northern part of the country, especially around Mosul.
Iran, on the other hand, has a greater role in parts of the fight where the Iraqi government is relying heavily on Shiite militias, many of which look to Iran for support and guidance. That, officials said, includes areas to the east of Baghdad, Diyala province and Tikrit.
“The geography naturally favors more Iranian influence in these areas,” said the first U.S. official. “The demographics and geography are driving factors.”
A U.S. military official said the Iranian combat power deployed in Iraq still is significantly less than what the American led coalition can bring to bear through its daily airstrikes. Still, the official acknowledged the Iranians have their personnel on the front lines of the fight, while the U.S., for now, is keeping its advisers well behind the front lines.
The U.S. and Iranian officials have repeatedly insisted that they don’t coordinate on actions in Iraq. But both sides have taken steps not to interfere with one another’s operations.
Indeed, U.S. military officials have said American operations in Iraq would be far more difficult if Iranians actively oppose them or attempt attacks on American advisers.
But, officials said, both sides are taking care to keep their distance from each other even as they both work to support the government in Baghdad.
“There is not a lot of overlap,” said the second U.S. official.
http://www.wsj.com/video/iraq-moves-...2497D0730.html
Last edited by cholitzu; 04-03-2015 at 22:54.
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