The Biden administration has warned the Iraq government that if it allows Iran to attack Israel from its soil, the US won’t stop Israel from striking Iraq, Axios reported on Tuesday.
The report said US and Israeli intelligence believe that Iran is preparing to launch a significant attack from Iraq in response to Israel’s October 26 airstrikes on Iran, which killed four Iranian soldiers and one civilian. Iranian officials have been vowing that there will be a response.
US and Israeli officials claim 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 Axios report said National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken both spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani this week and warned him not to allow Iran to attack from Iraqi territory. “If you don’t, we won’t be able to stop Israel from striking Iraq,” a US official said.
The US is vowing to defend Israel from any potential attack and has deployed additional military assets to the region for that purpose. The US also deployed B-52 bombers to the Middle East as a threat to Iran.
Iran has said that it would not be deterred by the new US deployments and said the American presence in the region is “destabilizing.” Since the US is vowing to defend Israel, US military assets could become targets of Iranian missiles, especially if Iran feels its attack will lead to a full-blown war.
