McKenzie says the United States is not looking for escalation.
With the anniversary of the US drone strike that killed a top Iranian general approaching, there remains an “increased risk” of threatening Iran for US interests in the Middle East, the top American general in the Middle East told ABC News in a statement interview. But General Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie also downplayed that a conflict between the United States and Iran is more likely.
McKenzie made the comments a day after the US Navy rarely acknowledged that an American submarine had entered the Persian Gulf, a move widely seen as sending a message to Iran.
The head of the US Central Command spoke to ABC News on the way back to the United States from a trip to the Middle East that included stops in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.
U.S. officials have been concerned that Iran or its pro-government groups in the region may retaliate for the January 3 American drone strike that killed Revolutionary Guard commander General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.
Recently, McKenzie told reporters that the US intelligence services saw a higher risk of attacks inside Iraq by Iran or Iran-backed groups.
“I think we’re in a high-risk period,” McKenzie told ABC News on Tuesday. “I would like to emphasize this key point: we are not looking to intensify. We are not looking for war with Iran, I really want to emphasize this.”
McKenzie continues to see Iran and its envoys as the biggest threat to US interests in the region, but he said, “I don’t think Iran wants a war with the United States right now.”
“And I know for a fact that the United States is not looking for war with Iran,” he added.
On Monday, the US Navy obtained the public disclosure of the transit of the USS Georgia submarine in the Persian Gulf, a move widely considered as sending a message to Iran in order not to raise tensions.
McKenzie would not give an explanation for the deployment of the submarine in the Gulf other than to say “there are a lot of reasons why a submarine should be introduced to the right in the Arabian Gulf. I will not comment on this beyond that.”
He also mentioned that when a submarine passes through the Strait of Hormuz, “it will be on the surface.”
“So you can take this for what it’s worth,” he said.
The threat to US troops and interests in Iraq usually takes the form of Iranian-backed Shiite militia rocket attacks targeting the US Embassy in Baghdad, although these attacks have recently diminished.
But on Sunday night, unknown assailants fired 20 107-mm rockets at the embassy complex, killing an Iraqi civilian. No Americans were injured in the attack, which damaged some structures in the complex.
“The launch of more than 20 missiles at the US Embassy is certainly an escalation,” said McKenzie, who also labeled the attack as “very worrying”, given that it was the largest such attack since 2010.
“We take this very seriously,” McKenzie said. “We have conveyed our concern to the Iraqi government. We are there at their invitation; they have a responsibility to protect us and, in fact, I think they take it very seriously.”
The investigation to determine who was responsible for the attack continues, and with so many missiles launched, McKenzie predicted “there will be a lot of evidence.”
An assessment is also underway to determine whether the C-RAM air defense system played a role in minimizing damage and attack casualties.
The rocket attack came 12 hours after McKenzie left Iraq after meeting with the Iraqi defense chief. McKenzie remained optimistic that an agreement would be reached with Iraq to maintain a long-term US military presence in the country.
The United States is reducing the number of forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan to 2,500 by mid-January.
The reduction of troops in Afghanistan means that there are more NATO forces than US troops in Afghanistan, and McKenzie expected this to remain the case even if NATO is likely to decide to reduce its troop levels early next year.
McKenzie said the United States will be able to continue its counterterrorism and advisory missions in Afghanistan, although those operations “will not be as robust as we have been in the past.”
The Taliban have stopped attacking US forces in Afghanistan as part of a peace deal with the United States earlier this year. But McKenzie remains concerned about the “very large” number of Taliban attacks on Afghan security forces.
He expressed optimism that the Afghan government and Taliban negotiators will be able to address the levels of violence when they resume peace talks in Qatar on January 5th.