Why did Kataib Hezbollah suspend attacks on US forces in Iraq?

Iranian influence likely prompted Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah to suspend its attacks on US forces, according to experts, though the situation remains precarious ahead of likely US military action against the group and other affiliates of Iran.

Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah announced on Tuesday that it suspended its attacks on US forces in Iraq to avoid “embarrassment for the Iraqi government.” Instead, the group will engage in “passive defense,” Secretary-General Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi said in a statement.

The announcement follows a strike that killed three US soldiers in Jordan on Sunday. The White House on Wednesday blamed an alliance of militias that includes Kataib Hezbollah for the attack, and Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said Tuesday the attack “has the footprints of Kataib Hezbollah.” US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the United States would respond.

‘Reigning in Kataib Hezbollah’