Iranian Ambassador to Iraq Iraj Masjedi warned the US against attacking Iran in comments on Iraqi television, saying that the Iranian government would respond to any strike.



Not only would there be a reaction, but the reaction would be against US forces in Iraq. Iran says they prefer the US to withdraw these troops because they don’t do anything constructive, but that Iran won’t interfere with them so long as the US isn’t attacking.



This warning is relatively obvious, given Iraq’s proximity to Iran and how many US troops are available there in the event a war breaks out. At the same time, this is the worst-case scenario for Iraq, which doesn’t want to be the host of the war.



Iraq’s desire for neutrality in such a war probably isn’t realistic, both because they host so many US troops and because a number of Iraqi Shi’ite militias would doubtless join such a conflict on the side of Iran. If fighting breaks out, it’s going to be a region-wide problem.



Author: Jason Ditz Jason Ditz is news editor of Antiwar.com. View all posts by Jason Ditz