ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Modernizing and rebuilding air defense capabilities is a “top priority,” said the Iraqi Prime Minister's spokesperson on Friday after issuing strict orders to bolster military readiness following US-Saudi airstrikes across Iraq days earlier that resulted in dozens of deaths and injuries.
"Rebuilding and modernizing air defense capabilities is a top priority for preserving national sovereignty,” Sabah al-Numan told state-owned Iraqi News Agency (INA), noting strict orders to accelerate the deployment of modern radar, early warning and air defense systems, while increasing the protection of vital areas and military sites.
“The steps also include officially documenting foreign airspace violations to bolster international efforts to compel parties to respect Iraqi airspace,” Numan stated, adding that the effort aims to fulfill requirements for a layered, integrated air defense network to ensure full aerial sovereignty and end all violations.
The remarks follow joint US-Saudi airstrikes targeting Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) headquarters across Iraq early Wednesday in response to two attacks on a Saudi oil field attributed to Iran-aligned militias in Iraq. The PMF reported an initial toll of 20 dead and 32 wounded across Baghdad, Kirkuk, Nineveh, Karbala, Diyala, Wasit, and Basra provinces.
The strikes marked the first widespread attack on the PMF since the US and Iran entered a period of negotiations following the war that began in late February.
Numan framed the regional escalations as a threat to stability, denouncing the foreign parties' use Iraqi airspace for “unilateral strikes.”
"The threat lies not only in the material impact of the strikes, but in the attempts to draw the state into the axes of conflict," he said.
The PMF was established in 2014 during the Islamic State group’s (ISIS) takeover of several territories across Iraq and Syria. Although it was later integrated into the state security apparatus, some of its factions have largely acted independently of the government despite officially being under the command of the prime minister in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), an umbrella group of Iran-backed factions that overlaps with the PMF, positioned their allegiance to Tehran in late February when the US and Israel launched a large-scale military campaign against Iran.
As tensions between Washington and Tehran fluctuate, the group continues to attack US interests in the region.
The IRI reiterated in a statement on Wednesday that it had not carried out attacks against Saudi Arabia but warned retaliation.
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