Secretary of State Antony Blinken's unannounced visit to Iraq largely was aimed at sending a message to Iran and its proxy terrorist groups, The New York Times reported.

Blinken stopped in Baghdad on Sunday for talks with Iraqi Prime Mohammed Shia al-Sudani as American forces in the region face a surge of attacks by Iranian-allied militias in Iraq and elsewhere following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the Israelis response into Gaza.

The Biden administration wants Iran and its proxies to know about the commitment the U.S. has to defending its allies and U.S. personnel.

"It was very important to send a very clear message to anyone who might seek to take advantage of the conflict in Gaza to threaten our personnel here or anywhere else in the region: Don’t do it," Blinken said at the Baghdad airport.

The Times reported that the administration, through regional partners including Turkey, has sent messages to Iran and Hezbollah that the U.S. would be prepared to intervene militarily if attacks are launched against Israel.

"The attacks, the threats coming from militia that are aligned with Iran are totally unacceptable," Blinken said.

"We are not looking for conflict with Iran — we made that very clear — but we will do what’s necessary to protect our personnel, be they military or civilian."

Open Source Intelligence Defender (OSINTdefender), citing the Times story, posted a message on social media platform X.

"Senior U.S. Officials have reportedly been Warning the Iranian Government and Iranian-Backed Militias in the Middle East such as Hezbollah for several weeks now, both Directly and through Back-Channels in Countries like Turkey, that if they decide to launch a Significant or Coordinated Attack on Israel then the United States will Respond Militarily," OSINTdefender posted on X.

The U.S. has sent warships, including two aircraft carriers, and fighter aircraft to the region to try to deter Iran and Iran-backed groups.

The U.S. has deep concerns that Iran and its proxies, including several militia groups in Iraq, may take advantage of the situation in Gaza to further destabilize the Middle East.

Iranian-backed militias have intensified rocket and other attacks on U.S. military facilities in Iraq and Syria, drawing at least one retaliatory strike from American forces.

Blinken urged al-Sudani to hold responsible those found to have carried out attacks against American personnel.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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