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Iraqi Protesters Ending Standoff at U.S. Embassy, on Orders From Militia Leaders Iraqi Protesters End Siege of U.S. Embassy After Second Day of Protests
(about 2 hours later)
BAGHDAD — After vowing to camp outside the United States Embassy until the Americans left Iraq, and trying for a second day to scale the compound’s walls, demonstrators drawn largely from Iranian-backed militias called off their protest on Wednesday. BAGHDAD — After a second day of tense protests at the American Embassy in Baghdad, thousands of pro-Iranian demonstrators dispersed on Wednesday, ending a siege that had trapped American diplomats in the embassy compound overnight and winding down a potentially explosive crisis for the Trump administration.
They gradually drifted away on foot or drove off in trucks, ending a tense standoff in which American diplomats were trapped in the embassy compound, and United States troops fired tear gas to disperse the thousands of people who stood outside chanting “Death to America.” The demonstrators had swarmed outside the embassy, chanting “Death to America!” Some tried to scale the compound’s walls and others clambered onto the roof of the reception building they had burned the day before.
Iraqi counterterrorism forces took over on Wednesday from the Special Forces for the Green Zone, which had largely hung back from confronting the protesters, even as some of them attempted to climb over the walls and clambered onto the roof of the reception building demonstrators had burned a day earlier. In contrast to Tuesday, when some demonstrators forced their way into the compound and set some of the outbuildings on fire, the crowd on Wednesday was smaller and no protesters breached the compound’s gates.
In contrast to Tuesday, when some demonstrators forced their way into the compound and lit fires there, the crowd was much smaller on Wednesday and none of the protesters got inside the compound. When they reached the roof of the burned reception building, the United States security forces defending the embassy shot tear gas that drove them back, and a second volley of tear gas around midday dispersed a few hundred of the roughly 1,000 who had spent the night just outside the walls. When the demonstrators — largely members of Iranian-backed militias angered by deadly American airstrikes over the weekend — reached the roof of the burned reception building on Wednesday, American security forces, including Marine reinforcements sent by the Pentagon the day before, fired tear gas to drive them back.
A couple of hours later an order came from the Hashid Commission, which oversees all the armed groups that sprang up in 2014 to fight the Islamic State — the most powerful of which are close to Iran and function as Iranian proxy forces. A few hours later, the militia leaders who had organized the demonstration called on the crowd to leave, and most gradually drifted away on foot or drove off in trucks.
The commission asked, out of “respect for the government’s sovereignty” and its promise that “it had heard the protesters’ message,” that the protesters stand down. That request was reiterated by the spokesman for one of the powerful, Iranian-backed armed groups, Asaib al-Haq. In a parting shot, some militia members hung a green banner with yellow writing on the burned reception area saying “Popular Mobilization Commission,” the umbrella group for the militias, as if to remove any doubt of who was in charge.
Those militia members then began to leave, but at first the fighters loyal to Kataib Hezbollah, the militia at the center of the confrontation, did not. “We have not heard from our leaders,” said Mohammed Muhi, the spokesman for the group. The point was made, but the two-day standoff at the embassy, a test of wills between the United States and Iran that evoked traumatic memories of earlier attacks on American embassies in Tehran and Benghazi, Libya, ended peacefully, with no reports of deaths or injuries.
Within an hour, that group, too, sent the word for its followers to leave. The flare-up began with a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base on Friday that killed an American contractor and wounded several Iraqi and American service members. The United States blamed an Iraqi militia with close ties to Iran, Kataib Hezbollah. The militia denied involvement in the rocket attack.
In a parting shot at the Americans, some members of the militia hung a green banner with yellow writing on the burned reception area that said: “Popular Mobilization Commission,” the umbrella group for the militias, as if to remove any doubt of who was in charge. American forces carried out airstrikes Sunday on five sites controlled by the militia, in Syria and Iraq, killing at least two dozen people and wounding twice as many; Iran has put the death toll at 31.
The United States blamed Kataib Hezbollah for a rocket attack on Friday on an Iraqi military base, which killed an American contractor and wounded several other people. American forces responded on Sunday with strikes on five sites controlled by the militia, in Syria and Iraq, that killed at least two dozen people and injured twice as many; Iran has put the death toll at 31. While American officials said the strikes were retaliation for the death of the American contractor and intended to establish a deterrent to the Iranian-backed militias, Iraqi officials denounced the action as a violation of Iraqi sovereignty.
On Tuesday, thousands of Iraqis, many of them militia fighters, marched on the United States Embassy compound in Baghdad to protest the American strikes, and some of them forced their way through the outer wall. They did not attempt to breach the embassy itself, and there were no reports of serious injuries, but the clash evoked memories of the takeover of the American Embassy in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution in 1979. On Tuesday, thousands of Iraqis, many of them militia fighters, marched on the United States Embassy compound in Baghdad to protest the American strikes, and some of them forced their way through the outer wall.
In an ominous sign for the Americans’ ability to stay, the Iraqi authorities, who had prevented previous demonstrations from getting near the embassy compound, allowed the protesters on Tuesday to march on it unimpeded. In an ominous sign for the Americans, the Iraqi authorities, who had prevented previous demonstrations from getting near the embassy compound, allowed the protesters on Tuesday to march on it unimpeded.
In the past months, in the face of antigovernment protests, it was Iraqi forces firing tear gas to dispel protesters. But this week, the Iraqi authorities have left that to the United States, rather than confronting their own people. In recent months, in the face of antigovernment protests, it was Iraqi forces firing tear gas to dispel protesters. But this week, the Iraqi authorities left task to the United States, rather than confronting their own people.
President Trump on Tuesday tweeted that Iran was responsible for the attack on the embassy, and threatened retaliation. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, responded on Wednesday, “You can’t do anything.” The militias, although closely tied to Iran, are made up of Iraqis and fall under the under the umbrella of the Iraqi military, though they have a great deal of independence. But the Trump administration cast both the killing of the American contractor and the attack on the embassy as the direct work of Iran.
Iraqi militias — in theory under the umbrella of the national military, but often quite independent — played a major role in the fight against the Islamic State, or ISIS. While many of the armed groups, who are made up of Shiite Muslims, are backed by Iran, a Shiite theocracy at odds with the United States, the two powers had a common goal in their effort to defeat the Islamic State. President Trump tweeted Tuesday that Iran “will be held fully responsible for lives lost, or damage incurred, at any of our facilities.”
Once the Islamic State was largely demolished, however, the Iran-backed Iraqi militias turned their attention to constraining United States activities in Iraq, especially after America ratcheted up its sanctions against Iran. “They will pay a very BIG PRICE!" he said.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, responded on Wednesday, taunting, “You can’t do anything.”
Iraqi militias played a crucial role in the fight against the Islamic State, or ISIS. While many of the armed groups, who are principally made up of Shiite Muslims, are backed by Iran, a Shiite theocracy at odds with the United States, the two powers had a common goal in their effort to defeat the Islamic State.
Once the Islamic State was largely demolished, however, the Iran-backed militias turned their attention to constraining United States activities in Iraq, especially after the Trump administration ratcheted up its sanctions against Iran.
Ayatollah Khamenei said the United States was “taking revenge on the Popular Mobilization Forces for defeating ISIS,” a group that he claimed “the U.S. had created.”Ayatollah Khamenei said the United States was “taking revenge on the Popular Mobilization Forces for defeating ISIS,” a group that he claimed “the U.S. had created.”
Kataib Hezbollah denied responsibility on Wednesday for the most confrontational demonstrators, although it had pushed for protests in front of the embassy.Kataib Hezbollah denied responsibility on Wednesday for the most confrontational demonstrators, although it had pushed for protests in front of the embassy.
There are about 30 groups within the Popular Mobilization Forces, each answering to different leaders who do not always agree with one another. Neither the government nor any of the factions has the authority to corral all of them, making for a dangerous mix.
There are about 30 groups within the Popular Mobilization Forces, each answering to different leaders who do not always agree with each other. Neither the government nor any of the factions has the authority to corral all of them, making for a dangerous mix.
Falih Hassan reported from Baghdad, and Alissa Rubin from Paris.Falih Hassan reported from Baghdad, and Alissa Rubin from Paris.