Members of an Iraqi Shiite militant group attend the funeral of a fighter with the Kataeb Hezbollah terror militia who was killed in a US airstrike, in Baghdad, Iraq, January 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
TIMES OF ISRAEL |
Published November 1, 2024
Tehran said to have denied Baghdad’s requests to have pro-Iran militias in Iraq discontinue strikes on Israel and US forces in region
Nervously watching Israel’s wars with Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iraq is working to avoid being drawn into the growing regional conflict as Iran-backed groups launch attacks on Israel from Iraqi soil, sources familiar with the matter say.
Two decades after the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, Iraq is experiencing relative stability with high revenue from oil sales funding a service-based agenda that has turned much of the country into a construction site.
Iraq does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s government is wary of regional conflicts that could affect its delicate balancing act between Washington and Tehran, both states it is allied with.
Iran says it is committed to the destruction of Israel and supports terrorist groups throughout the Middle East in pursuit of that goal.
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SOURCE: www.timesofisrael.com
RELATED: Iraq tries to avoid regional fight as militias fire at Israel
A mourner attends the funeral of a commander from Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah armed group during a funeral in Baghdad, Iraq September 22, 2024. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani/File Photo
REUTERS |
Published November 1, 2024
Nervously watching Israel’s destructive campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon, Iraq is working to avoid being drawn into the growing regional conflict as Iran-backed armed groups launch attacks on Israel from Iraqi soil, sources familiar with the matter say.
Two decades after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, Iraq is experiencing relative stability with high revenue from oil sales funding a service-based agenda that has turned much of the country into a construction site.
Iraq does not have diplomatic relations with Israel and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s government is wary of regional conflicts that could affect its delicate balancing act between Washington and Tehran, both states it is allied with.
Axios reported late on Thursday that Israeli intelligence suggests Iran is preparing to attack Israel from Iraqi territory in the coming days, possibly before the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5, citing two unidentified Israeli sources.
There was no immediate Iraqi comment.
Spillover from regional conflict has already resulted in months of tit-for-tat attacks between Iran-backed armed groups and U.S. forces stationed in Iraq and the region that only subsided after Iran intervened in February.
Sudani’s government has not been successful in a push to convince the Islamic Resistance in Iraq – a coalition of Iran-backed armed groups – to stop firing rockets and drones at Israel, according to four sources in Iran-backed armed groups and two government advisors.
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SOURCE: www.reuters.com
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