ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraq will not flatter any country at the sake of its sovereignty, the country’s prime minister told the Iranian national security advisor on Monday as the country has become a target for multiple strikes reflected by US-Iran tensions. 

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Monday met with Iranian National Security Advisor Ali Akbar Ahmadian on Monday.

During the meeting, Sudani said that “Iraq rejects any unilateral actions undertaken by any country,” according to a statement from his office, adding that the premier said that Iraq will not “flatter” any country at the expense of its sovereignty.

Ahmadian’s visit to Baghdad came after the US launched the first round of retaliatory strikes in Iraq and Syria on Friday for the death of three US service members in Jordan late last month. 

The US announced to have targeted 85 targets of interest to the IRGC’s Quds Force and pro-Iran militias.

The strikes on the Iraqi side hit Anbar’s al-Qaem, directly on the Syrian border, and housed several Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) facilities and personnel.

According to the PMF, 16 members of their forces were killed in the strikes and at least 36 others were wounded.

The PMF, though officially incorporated into the Iraqi armed forces, shares strong ideology with the Islamic Republic, and armed groups functioning under the PMF umbrella are considered part of the informal Iran-led axis of resistance in the region against Israel and western forces.

Iraq’s foreign ministry on Saturday summoned the US embassy’s charge d’affaires to protest the US “aggression”.

The UN Security Council on Monday held an urgent meeting over the attacks.

In the meeting, Iraq’s deputy permanent representative addressed the council, noting that Iraq will not be dragged into a wider conflict.

Though Iraq has said that civilian sites were targeted during the Friday strikes, the US has on several occasions defended the accuracy of their strikes, claiming that the attacks have been conducted on facilities that Iran-backed groups use to conduct attacks.

US President Joe Biden shortly after the attacks said that the US response “began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing,” reiterating that the US response will be multi-phased and will happen at different times.