Middle East
Iraq's Council of Ministers hold a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani on November 19, 2024. Photo: Office of the PM
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq on Tuesday reacted to an Israeli letter to the UN Security Council holding Iraq responsible for the activities of pro-Iran groups in the Middle East. Baghdad deemed this a “pretext to justify aggression” and said it seeks peace in the region.
In a letter to the Security Council on Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar urged “immediate action” against “attacks on Israel conducted by the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq” and ensure that Iraq “fulfills its obligations” to “prevent the use of its territory as a base for attacks against other nations.”
Some Iraqi militia groups backed by Iran have launched rocket and drone strikes against US military installations in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for Washington’s support for Israel in its war against Gaza. They have also targeted Israel with drones and missiles.
Iraq’s government on Tuesday responded to Israel’s letter in a statement from Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani’s office following a council of ministers meeting, describing it as “a pretext to justify aggression against Iraq and an attempt to expand the ongoing war in the region.”
“The Prime Minister reaffirmed Iraq’s rejection of such threats, emphasizing that decisions of war and peace rest solely with the Iraqi state,” the statement read, adding that “Iraq refuses to be drawn into war while maintaining its principled stance of ending the conflict and providing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples.”
The US also commented on the matter.
“Iraq should do everything within its power to stop terrorist attacks, both within its borders and against targets outside its borders,” State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told Rudaw’s Diyar Kurda during a press briefing on Tuesday.
On October 7 of last year, Palestinian Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, which retaliated by invading Gaza with the conflict now having spread to Lebanon.
In October, the Israeli army announced that two of its soldiers were killed and 24 others were injured, when a suicide drone launched from Iraq hit a military base in the Golan Heights.
These attacks by the militia groups have raised concerns that Iraq could be dragged into the war - something Iraqi officials have said they want to avoid.
In early November, the Iraqi government denied similar reports of its lands being used as a launchpad to attack Israel, stating that the reports are being used as an excuse to drag Iraq into war.
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