Iraqi Hezbollah's suspension of operations followed talks with PM
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The Iraqi PM's Advisor for Foreign Affairs says the Iraqi Hezbollah brigades announced suspending their operations due to extensive talks with the Iraqi government.
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Members of an Iraqi Resistance faction group carry the coffin of a Kataib Hezbollah fighter who was killed in a US airstrike in Babil Province, during his funeral in Baghdad, Iraq, December 26, 2023. (AP)
The Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah's decision to suspend the operations against the US occupation forces in the region came in the wake of days of extensive talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani regarding the issue, the premier's Advisor for Foreign Affairs, Farhad Alaadin, said on Tuesday.
"All sides need to support the efforts of Iraq's Prime Minister to prevent any possible escalation," Alaadin added.
Commenting on the Iraqi Hezbollah's decision to suspend its operations, Pentagon spokesperson Major General Pat Ryder said "actions speak louder than words."
"When I say 'actions speak louder than words,' you know, there have been three attacks to my knowledge since the 28th of January, and I'll just leave it there," he added.
Iraqi Hezbollah Secretary-General Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi announced earlier in the day that the Islamic Resistance "has taken the decision to support the people of Gaza without any intervention from foreign parties."
He added that the Iraqi Resistance faction would continue defending Gaza through means other than armed struggle.
"Our brothers in the Axis [of Resistance], especially in Iran, do not know the specifics of our jihadist work, and they have repeatedly declared opposition to our escalation against the US forces in Iraq and Syria," he added.
The Secretary-General also commanded the fighters of Kataib Hezbollah to "adopt passive defense (temporarily) if any hostile US action occurs against them."
Just one week ago, the Iraqi Resistance announced that it had transited to the second phase of its operations in which it will work on enforcing blockading Mediterranean maritime routes to the Israeli-occupied ports in occupied Palestine, the Secretary General of the Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Abu Alaa al-Walai, said in a post on X.
The announcement came after US President Joe Biden revealed that he had reached a decision on how to respond to the recent drone strike that killed three American troops in Jordan as part of the ongoing operations against US the US occupation forces in the region for its complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Despite pledging a response against what was claimed by his administration to be the Iraqi Resistance faction, Kataib Hezbollah, he emphasized his reluctance to escalate the situation into a broader conflict in the region.
Addressing reporters at the White House, President Biden placed blame on Iran for supplying the weapons used in the first fatal attack on a US military base since the start of the Israeli aggression on Gaza on October 7.
The White House issued a warning, stating that "multiple actions" were likely but offered no further information on the nature of the response.
While on the campaign trail in Florida, the 81-year-old president reiterated his commitment to avoiding a wider war in the region despite attacking Yemen, Syria, and Iraq within the span of a few days. When asked about the fear of exacerbating tensions with Iran, Biden affirmed that he was not seeking an escalation and emphasized his preference for a more measured approach.
