ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - In meetings with American and British diplomats in Baghdad on Sunday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein emphasized the need for stopping Israel’s offensive in both Gaza and Lebanon and preventing further expansion of the war.

Hussein “stressed the need to stop [Israel’s] military operations in Gaza and Lebanon, calling for finding solutions to calm the situation and avoid expanding the scope of the conflict,” according to a statement from the foreign ministry on the meeting with British Ambassador Stephen Hitchen.

Hitchen assured the Iraqi top diplomat that the UK is in constant contact with all relevant sides to alleviate the tensions and end the crises, the statement added. Bilateral relations were also discussed.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani was set to conduct an official visit to the UK in early October, but the trip was indefinitely delayed due to escalating regional tensions.

On October 7, 2023, Palestinian Hamas launched al-Aqsa Flood operation, an unprecedented aerial and ground attack into southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people.

In response, Israel launched a full-scale military aggression against Gaza which is still ongoing a year later. Nearly 42,000 Palestinians have been killed as a result of the Israeli offensive.

Hussein also discussed the region’s “dangerous” situation and the possibility of a large-scale war with Alina Romanowski, the US ambassador to Baghdad, according to a statement from the ministry.

The Iraqi foreign minister said that the situation requires the American government to exert pressure on Israel to stop its aggression on Lebanon and Gaza and prevent expanding the scope of the conflict.

As the first anniversary of al-Aqsa Flood approaches, tensions are high in the region amid ongoing hostilities Gaza, an Israeli aerial and ground aggression in southern Lebanon aimed at targeting the Hezbollah, attacks on Israel by Iran and its proxies, and a potential “severe” Israeli retaliation to Iran’s recent ballistic missile attack.

The UN Security Council has adopted several resolutions demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza or proposing a ceasefire plan to bring an end to the conflict. The UN Human Rights Council in April passed a resolution calling on states to cease the sale and shipment of weapons to Israel.

Israel has rejected all the initiatives, including a recent US-French proposal for a temporary truce in Lebanon.

Frenc President Emmanuel Macron over the weekend called for halting arms supply to Israel in an effort to end the conflict. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Macron’s statement was shameful and labeled it as “a disgrace,” noting that they will win the war with or without their support.