ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Thursday reiterated that his country must not get entangled in any war amid heightened regional escalations and ongoing attacks on Israel by Iraqi factions.
Sudani’s remarks came during a meeting with tribal leaders from Wasit province, eastern Iraq, a day after an official from the Iran-backed Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba told an Iraqi media outlet that the final decision to enter war with Israel using Iraq’s soil was vested in their hands, not the Iraqi government.
“The state makes the decision of war and peace through its constitutional institutions,” Sudani said in his meeting with the Wasit province’s tribal leaders.
Referring to Iran-backed factions in Iraq, Sudani warned that “anyone who deviates from that will face the state.”
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a surprise and unprecedented attack on Israel.
In response, Israel launched a full-scale military aggression against Gaza, destroying approximately 90 percent of the territory, according to reports.
The Israeli military has also expanded its operations to Lebanon since last month, carrying out heavy attacks that have targeted civilian areas, leading to significant casualties and widespread destruction. The latest Lebanese government data show over 1,500 people were killed and over 1.2 million fled for their lives.
Tensions between Israel and Iran have also sharply escalated during this period. The situation reached a boiling point when Israel reportedly carried out targeted assassinations of senior pro-Iran leaders, including Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’ political bureau, in Iran, and Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah, in Beirut, and the two leaders’ successors in recent weeks.
These high-profile killings have intensified hostilities between Israel and Iran, which recently resulted in a retaliation attack on Israel by Iran, as well as with Hezbollah, adding another volatile layer to the already explosive war in the region.
Iraq has repeatedly warned on several occasions that it does not seek to engage in any regional conflict with Israel.
Irrespective of the Iraqi government’s warnings, Iran-backed factions, most notably the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, frequently fire rockets at Israeli territory, targeting their forces on the annexed Golan Heights, and sometimes inside Israel.
On one occasion in early October, two Israeli soldiers were killed and 24 others wounded in an attack on Israeli troops on the Golan heights launched from Iraq, the Israeli military confirmed.
Iraq has so far managed to shield itself from the conflict's direct effects. PM Sudani repeatedly credited this success to cooperation with international partners while stressing the need for continued diplomatic efforts to prevent further deterioration.
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