The Iraqi government on Wednesday denied reports that Iran is planning to launch a major attack against Israel from Iraqi territory, saying the rumors were “false pretexts” meant to justify aggression against Iraq.
“Iraq’s national interests demand distancing its land and airspace from the hostilities fueled by Israel’s expansionist and aggressive policies toward nations and peoples in the region,” Iraq’s Council for National Security said, according to The Cradle.
Iraqi Shia militias have launched drone attacks on Israel, but the reports coming from US media say Iran has been planning something much more significant. Axios reported on Wednesday that US and Israeli officials claimed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been moving drones and ballistic missiles to Shia militias in Iraq in preparation for a joint attack.
The US has reportedly warned Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani that if Iran launched an attack from Iraqi territory, the US wouldn’t stop Israel from striking Iraq.
Iranian officials have vowed they will respond to Israel’s October 26 airstrikes, an attack that killed four Iranian soldiers and one civilian. Israel’s strikes came after Iran fired a barrage of nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israeli territory on October 1, which came in response to a series of Israeli escalations in the region.
The US is vowing to defend Israel from any potential Iranian attack and deployed additional military assets, including B-52 bombers, as a threat to Iran. The US pledge to back Israel could make US troops and military assets in the region potential targets of Iranian missiles.
