ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iran has promised Iraq “positive things” regarding Tehran’s targeting of US interests in Iraq, upon a request by Iraq, amid ongoing military escalations between Iran and Israel.

"The request was made. They promised us positive things," AFP reported, citing a top Iraqi official speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. 

Israel, in the early hours of Friday morning, initiated a devastating campaign of airstrikes against targets across Iran using Iraqi airspace, with the attacks hitting myriad military facilities and nuclear sites across the country, killing at least nine nuclear scientists and over 20 high-ranking Iranian military figures.

The strikes prompted retaliatory Iranian strikes on Tel Aviv, leading to a raging military conflict that has seen the two countries trade strikes and suffer immense damage.

Iraqi state media also reported that Iraq has “officially asked the United States of America not to allow Israeli aircraft to violate Iraqi airspace," citing an Iraqi official.

Iraq’s proximity and close ties to Iran have rendered the country unable to strike a balance between the US and Iran in terms of international relations, with Baghdad facing mounting pressure from the US to limit its ties to Tehran, including the disarming of Iran-backed militia groups.

Baghdad, despite its close ties with Iran, has also enjoyed a key partnership with Washington, who have stationed thousands of troops in Iraq, across multiple sectors, particularly in the fields of security and energy. 

Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh on Wednesday threatened that the US “will be forced to leave the region” if it decides to pursue any “aggression” against Tehran in the event of a breakdown in the nuclear talks.

“All of its [the US’] bases are within our reach, and we have access to them, and we will target them all in the host countries without consideration,” said Nasirzadeh.

The US State Department announced it was shrinking its diplomatic missions in several countries in the Middle East and authorized American dependents and non-military personnel to leave the region after the Iranian threat.

The US have has confirmed that they had prior knowledge of Israel’s plans to carry out the strikes, but have maintained that they had no involvement in the attack. Washington reportedly provided assistance in intercepting retaliatory Iranian missiles on Israeli soil later on Friday however.