US’s McGurk, Iran’s Qasem Soleimani Meet over Iraq

The US special presidential envoy to the war against the Islamic State (IS), Brett McGurk, and Iran’s Quds Brigade Commander Qasem Soleimani, recently met amid escalation of tensions between Tehran and Washington in Iraq, al-Jarida reported. 

The Kuwaiti newspaper cited a source from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as saying that the secret meeting was held at the request of the US envoy.

The source claimed that McGurk assured the Iranian commander that Washington was not involved in the recent attack on Iranian consulate in the Iraqi southern province of Basra where protesters set fire to the building.

He also asked Soleimani to order the Iranian allies in Iraq to avoid harming the US interests in the country, as claimed by the source.

McGurk has also demanded Tehran to set aside differences with Washington and help the formation of a new government in Baghdad. He pointed out that the US does not insist on the second term for Haider al-Abadi, and that it could agree on new figures to emerge.

Soleimani, however, provided documents to demonstrate that Iran was aware of the possibility of such an attack, therefore it evacuated its diplomats and moved documents from the facility beforehand. He noted that the Iranian intelligence was still investigating to find out who was behind the attack.

The influential Iranian commander also denied his country being behind an earlier mortar attack on Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone where the US embassy is located . He said intelligence showed that same assailants were responsible for the burning of the Iranian consulate in Basra as part of an attempt to trigger clashes between the US and Iran.

Making it clear that Iraq is a red line in Iran’s regional policy, Soleimani said he could ensure that the US interests in Iraq are not threatened provided that Washington does not harm the interests of Iran in the neighbourhood.

According to the source, the two officials agreed to maintain a line of communication for the future.