The commander of Iran's Quds Force Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani has reportedly met with Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and told them to "prepare for a proxy war" as tensions continue to soar between Tehran and Washington.
The U.K.'s Guardian newspaper reported that Soleimani called for the meeting with Iranian-backed forces in Baghdad three weeks ago, but it was not clear when the meeting actually took place.
According to one source, "It wasn't quite a call to arms, but it wasn't far off."
According to the report, the meeting was a key factor in the U.S. decision to recall all non-essential government staff from Iraq over an "imminent" threat from Iranian-linked militias.
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have boiled over recent weeks, with Washington accusing Tehran of preparing attacks against American interests in the region – reportedly based in part on Israeli intelligence.
The U.S. has significantly boosted its military presence in the region, triggered in part by intelligence information that showed Iranian missiles packed onto civilian boats in the Persian Gulf.
The root of the tensions, however, appears to stem from Iran's announcement it would halt some commitments under a 2015 nuclear deal, which President Donald Trump quit in May 2018, snapping back punishing sanctions that have crippled Tehran's economy.
Both sides have said they do not seek war, and Iran has charged that the U.S. wouldn't dare take any action against it for fear of retribution against Israel.
Meanwhile, a state-aligned Saudi newspaper has called for "surgical" U.S. strikes in retaliation against alleged threats from Iran.
The Arab News published an editorial in English, Thursday, arguing that in response to attacks on Saudi energy targets this week, the next logical step "should be surgical strikes."
According to the editorial, U.S. airstrikes in Syria, when the government there was suspected of using chemical weapons against civilians, "set a precedent."
It is "clear that [U.S.] sanctions are not sending the right message" and that "they [the Iranians] must be hit hard," the editorial said, without elaborating on what specific targets should be struck.
The newspaper's publisher is the Saudi Research and Marketing Group, a company that until 2014, had long been chaired by various sons of King Salman and is regarded as reflecting the government's official position.
