Excuse Me, Our Diplomats Were Ambushed in Iraq by Iran-Backed Militias?
Do we really believe this ceasefire will hold? Vice President JD Vance, along with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, plans to negotiate a formal deal in Islamabad, Pakistan, over the weekend, but we’re dealing with terrorists. It reaches a point where no one is genuinely committed to making a deal. It’s similar to the Democrats in Congress over funding the Department of Homeland Security. There’s no difference. That party and Tehran are not serious players, so don’t be surprised if the bombings start again soon.
Iran keeps messing around with the Strait of Hormuz. Israel’s bombing of Hezbollah in Lebanon is supposedly the one thing that could unravel things immediately. But there’s also this April 8 incident: our diplomats in Iraq were ambushed by Iran-backed militias, one day after Trump canceled ‘Bridge and Power Plant’ Day in Iran, the sortie that leftists thought would be nuclear in nature (via State Department):
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau today summoned Iraqi Ambassador Nizar Khirullah to express the U.S. government’s strong condemnation of the egregious terrorist attacks by Iran-aligned militia groups launched from Iraqi territory against U.S. diplomatic personnel and facilities, including the April 8 ambush of U.S. diplomats in Baghdad. These attacks come after hundreds in recent weeks against U.S. citizens, diplomatic facilities, and commercial interests, as well as Iraq’s neighbors and Iraqi institutions and civilians, including in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region. While acknowledging the efforts of Iraqi Security Forces to respond to these terrorist attacks, the Deputy Secretary emphasized the Iraqi government’s failure to prevent these attacks while some elements associated with the Iraqi government continue to actively provide political, financial, and operational cover for the militias adversely impacts the U.S.-Iraq relationship. The Deputy Secretary stressed the United States will not tolerate attacks on U.S. interests and expects the Iraqi government to immediately take all measures to dismantle the Iran-aligned militia groups in Iraq.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau today summoned Iraqi Ambassador Nizar Khirullah to express the U.S. government’s strong condemnation of the egregious terrorist attacks by Iran-aligned militia groups launched from Iraqi territory against U.S. diplomatic personnel and facilities, including the April 8 ambush of U.S. diplomats in Baghdad. These attacks come after hundreds in recent weeks against U.S. citizens, diplomatic facilities, and commercial interests, as well as Iraq’s neighbors and Iraqi institutions and civilians, including in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region. While acknowledging the efforts of Iraqi Security Forces to respond to these terrorist attacks, the Deputy Secretary emphasized the Iraqi government’s failure to prevent these attacks while some elements associated with the Iraqi government continue to actively provide political, financial, and operational cover for the militias adversely impacts the U.S.-Iraq relationship. The Deputy Secretary stressed the United States will not tolerate attacks on U.S. interests and expects the Iraqi government to immediately take all measures to dismantle the Iran-aligned militia groups in Iraq.
Journalist Shelly Kittleson was recently kidnapped in Baghdad by Iran-backed militias but was released on April 7. There is a new framework considered workable by the Trump White House, which is different from the outdated ten-point plan that the liberal media highlighted—another example of this industry degrading itself. A quick rundown of the demands would have shown that this was not the case.
This weekend is going to be big for this administration. But given how fragile things are, we should brace for more airstrikes soon.