Discussing rocket attacks against military bases in Iraq, the U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper indicated that “we would ask our Iraqi partners to take more proactive actions… to get that under control because it’s not good for anybody”. He further asserted: “my suspicion would be that Iran is behind these attacks, much like they're behind a lot of malign behaviour throughout the region, but it's hard to pin down”. “We need… [Iraq’s] help in terms of getting the security situation under control and stabilised, but we also still retain our right of self-defence”, Esper added.