Iraqi army in tense stand-off at Fallujah Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, on Monday called on the residents of Fallujah, one of the two cities seized by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, the local al-Qaeda group, to drive out the militants themselves. In the meantime, the army, which has surrounded the city, held off from a full-blown assault. Then as now al-Qaeda forces, believed to have been initially bolstered by Sunni remnants of the regime of Saddam Hussein, were attempting to drive out what they regarded as foreign-backed forces. The crisis has raised new questions about American policy in the Middle East, highlighted when the deputy chief of staff of the Iranian army, Gen. Mohammad Hejazi, offered to send weapons to his Iraqi counterparts. The United States has already sent Hellfire missiles to help the army counter al-Qaeda, another sign that the return of al-Qaeda in both Iraq and neighbouring Syria may end up bringing the US and Iran closer. However, it has rejected suggestions that it might end up sending back troops, withdrawn at the end of 2011. Although the conflict has pitted the Shia-led government against al-Qaeda, comprising Sunni militants, Mr Maliki has also been able to rely on Sunni tribal leaders in the area who helped the US eventually defeat the militant threat in Anbar. But the area has never been entirely pacified, and al-Qaeda has been strengthened by new recruits drawn in by its involvement in the civil war in neighbouring Syria.