The United States has expressed deep concern over recent political attacks on Catholic Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako in Iraq and has appealed for his safe return to Baghdad. State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller conveyed the US government's apprehension regarding the situation.

"We are disturbed by the harassment of Cardinal Sako, the patriarch of the Chaldean church, and troubled by the news that he has left Baghdad," said Miller during a press briefing. "We are concerned that the Cardinal’s position as a respected leader of the church is under attack from a number of quarters," he added, highlighting the gravity of the situation.

The Cardinal's decision to leave Baghdad and relocate to the autonomous Kurdistan region came after months of intense verbal confrontations with Christian lawmaker Rayan al-Kildani. Al-Kildani is the leader of the Babylon Movement, an organization with an armed wing affiliated with Hashed al-Shaabi, a network of predominantly pro-Iran paramilitary groups that have been integrated into Iraq's security forces in recent years.

In a statement released on Saturday, Cardinal Sako condemned the government's lack of response to what he described as a targeted campaign against him by the Babylon Movement. Tensions escalated further when President Abdul Latif Rashid, an ethnic Kurd, revoked the 2013 decree recognizing Sako as the head of the Chaldean Church and granting him authority over the community's endowment.

As a result of these developments, Cardinal Sako declared his decision to withdraw from the patriarchate seat in Baghdad and relocate to one of the monasteries in the Kurdistan region, situated in northern Iraq.

The State Department spokesman, Miller, asserted that the treatment of Cardinal Sako is an affront to religious freedom and emphasized that Washington had conveyed its concerns to the Iraqi authorities unequivocally.

"We look forward to his safe return. The Iraqi Christian community is a vital part of Iraq’s identity and a central part of Iraq’s history of diversity and tolerance," Miller stated, underlining the significance of the Christian community's role in the nation's fabric.

The situation remains precarious as international observers monitor developments in Iraq, particularly with regards to the treatment of religious leaders and the protection of religious freedom for all communities in the country.