The Saudi website “Elaph” reported this morning (Sunday) that Israel threatened the Iraqi government to strike targets in the country if drone attacks from its territory continued or if Iran used its territory for attacks.
According to the publication, citing military sources, satellites and surveillance assets tracked Iranian attempts to transfer ballistic missiles and related equipment from Iran to Iraqi territory. They believe that this transfer of missiles was aimed at enabling an Iranian attack against Israel from Iraqi soil. According to the report, Israel sent warning messages to the Iraqi government, asking it to control the militias (Shiites loyal to Iran) and to prevent Iran from using Iraqi territory as a theater of war against Israel.
The source within the Iraqi government told Al-Akhbar newspaper that Israeli threats of strikes in Iraq amount to psychological warfare, aimed at deterring pro-Iranian militias. The Iraqi Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister spoke with European, Iranian and regional leaders to avoid an expansion of the conflict. “The Iraqi government will not allow its territory to serve as a starting point for a conflict that would harm Iraq,” he said.
The sources also clarified that all pro-Iranian militias in Iraq respect the decisions of the Iraqi government, but that they cannot remain passive in the face of “crimes committed by the Zionist entity.” They claim that Iraq is not the source of the conflict, but that it was Israel which violated Iraqi airspace to attack Iran.
The source also stressed that Iran did not inform Baghdad that it would retaliate against Israel from Iraqi territory, and added that the Iraqi government will not allow its territory to serve as a starting point for a conflict that could harm to Iraq.
