ISLAMABAD – According to Joey Hood, the principal deputy assistantsecretary of state for near eastern affairs, Iraq’s possible acquisition ofS-400 anti-aircraft missile systemslinkcouldtrigger US sanctions. “We advise our partners not to make such purchases”,he said.“The Americans cannot stop Iraq. They can strengthen existing sanctions”,Russian political analyst and military expert Ivan Konovalov said.
“The relations between Iraq and the United States have worsened after themurder of Qasem Soleimani. The Americans conducted a military action onIraqi territory; in response, Iraq demanded that American troops withdrawfrom the country. In turn, Trump demanded that they pay for the presence ofAmerican troops and the base that they have built”.
The expert believes that the current events around Iraq potentiallypurchasing S-400s only exacerbate the situation, Sputnik has reported.
“If the Americans try to hamper this deal by closing Iraqi dollar accounts,they’re unlikely to succeed. Iraq can resort to payments in nationalcurrency; we already see this in India and China, Turkey is also preparingfor this.
They may try to increase sectional pressure on Iraq, but they willdefinitely have to withdraw their troops from the country”, he noted.
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“If the Americans leave Iraq, that will indicate that their invasion in2003 was in vain; that their soldiers died in vain, that everything thathappened during so many years was in vain”.
In turn, Iraqi strategic expert Wasiq al-Hashimi said that the Iraqis needto weigh all the pros and cons, because purchasing weapons is a verycomplicated issuelinkthatis closely linked to politics.
“The issue of weapon acquisition is complex. If US troops leave thecountry, there will be problems with American F-16 aircraft, since thecontract with the Russian side hasn’t been concluded. For any country, itis best to purchase weapons from different countries in order to avoidpressure in the future”, he said.
