US newspaper: Iran tones down its posture in Iraq

Shafaq news/ Wall Street Journal reported today that Iran has shifted its military strategy regarding U.S. forces in Iraq ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November, reducing the number of rockets launched at bases and potentially withholding its response to the January killing of its top general, according to an intelligence assessment described by U.S. officials.

Some U.S. officials and analysts said Iran and its backed groups are unlikely to launch a provocative attack that could have the effect of rallying U.S. public support for President Trump in the in the few weeks before the election.

"If they do not want to be reelected, the worst thing they can do is to do something to anger the American public," the newspaper quoted a US observer as saying.

Despite the escalation of Iranian-Backed missile attacks on US bases in Iraq in the past two recently they has decreased.

in this context, military officials said, "usually Iran launched 20 or more missiles in a single attack, but at present three to five missiles"

US military officials added to the newspaper that Iran aim to prove that it's still "a threat to the US" without doing anything could lead to a military response such as targeting Americans.

The newspaper reported that, "Some observers believe that Iran will not take any action that could affect the US withdrawal plan from Iraq, especially since many officials in Tehran expressed they want the United States out of Iraq."

"What we should is the high Iranian pressure on the US-backed Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi and his political supporters, who represent the new engine of US pressure on Iran," said Jennifer Cafarella, the inaugural National Security Fellow at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

On the other hand, some US military commanders believe that Iranian threats remain, like General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Marine General Frank Mackenzie, who heads the US Central Command, which is responsible for military operations in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

It's noteworthy that Trump has confirmed that he is able to conclude a new agreement with Iran within weeks as he was re-elected, while his rival, Democratic candidate Joe Biden, pledged to return to the 2015 nuclear deal if Tehran returned to comply with its provisions.