Following threats from Iraqi factions, the Pentagon told Shafaq News: We are strengthening our capabilities while maintaining a "defensive posture."

A Pentagon spokesperson told Shafaq News Agency that the official position issued by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is to enhance the capabilities of the US Central Command (USCENTCOM), without revealing the nature of those capabilities or their locations.

In a separate post, Department of Defense spokesman Sean Parnell explained that "US forces remain in a defensive posture," indicating that Washington is not seeking direct military escalation at this time.

The ministry declined to disclose whether it had engaged directly with the Iraqi government to contain threats posed by armed factions, or the nature of the expected response if US facilities or forces were attacked inside Iraq, referring only to the public statements of senior Pentagon officials.

Prominent Iraqi factions, such as Kata'ib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba, have escalated their warning tone, declaring their readiness to target US sites in Iraq and Syria if the United States intervenes militarily against Iran in the ongoing escalation.

The approximately 2,500 US troops deployed in Iraq are deployed as part of a training and support mission for Iraqi forces and the international coalition against ISIS. However, these forces have been the frequent target of missile and drone attacks since 2020, with attacks escalating following the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and the deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Forces, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

The latest US position comes at a time when the region is witnessing an unprecedented escalation on the ground, with Israel and Iran exchanging military strikes amid fears that the conflict could expand to new arenas, most notably Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon.  link