The Pentagon would not confirm reports Tuesday that U.S. drones were providing surveillance over Tikrit, Iraq, where the Iranian-supported offensive against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is now stalled.
For the last several weeks, a large number of Iran-led Shiite militias have assisted Iraqi Security Forces in trying to rout Islamic State fighters from Tikrit, but the fighting has hit a stopping point in recent days, with Iraqi forces reconstituting their supplies and repositioning.
“The enemy is dug in there,” Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said Tuesday, noting that Tikrit’s urban combat setting has complicated efforts there.
Agence France-Presse reported Tuesday that the U.S. was now providing overhead surveillance to the Iraqis, which Warren disputed. Warren also said no U.S. forces were conducting operations around Tikrit.
Any U.S. involvement in the Tikrit battle would run the risk of engaging with Iranian forces there, including Iran’s Major Gen. Qasem Soleimani, commander of the al-Quds brigade of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Soleimani’s role has raised concerns that Iran’s ulterior motive is to expand its grip and influence on the region. Due to U.S. needs to try and negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran, the U.S. has been hamstrung to confront the increasing Iranian presence in Iraq, said Rick Brennan, a senior political scientist at the Rand Corp.
“We allow [Iran to] exert influence because otherwise it might affect the nuclear negotiations,” Brennan said. “So they continue to be emboldened to do more.”
