US Secretary Of State Blinken Visits Suddenly To Iraq, Meets Sudani PM To Discuss Syria

JAKARTA - United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a surprise visit to Iraq on Friday to meet with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to discuss the future of neighboring Syria.

As reported by Reuters, Friday, December 13, Blinken made a visit to the region after the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad government in the face of the progress of the Syrian opposition faction.

The overthrow of Assad shocked Washington and President Joe Biden's administration urged the winning rebels to form a government that distances itself from Islamic and inclusive factions against the Syrian minority.

Blinken visited the US embassy in Bagdad and said he spoke with Sudani about the situation in Syria.

"The belief of many countries in this region and its surroundings, when Syria transitions from the Assad dictatorship to a democratic country, this is done in a way that, of course, protects all minority groups in Suria," Blinken said.

"Syria should not be a place of terrorism," he said.

A US official told Reuters Washington saw this moment as an opportunity to further suppress Iran's influence in the region.

Iraq, led by a coalition of mostly Shia political parties and armed groups close to Iran, is a major player in the Tehran Resistance Axis which includes Hamas in Gaza and Lebanon's Hezbollah and has faced setbacks since Israel responded to Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023.