Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired at least 10 ballistic missiles towards different parts of Erbil province on January 15, under the pretext of targeting Israeli Mossad bases and headquarters of anti-Iran groups. At least five of the missiles targeted the residence of Peshraw Dizayee, a well-known Kurdish businessman, killing Dizayee, his 11-month-old daughter, and two others.
“There is no evidence until now,” Fadi al-Shammari, political advisor to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, told Rudaw’s Nwenar Fatih on Tehran’s failure to back up its claims for striking the Kurdish capital.
“We have an investigative committee, and this committee, which was formed under the chairmanship of Qasim al-Araji and our security institutions, is in its final moments to submit its relevant report, and it [the committee] is also concerned with receiving any evidence or signals of this kind.”
Iraqi National Security Advisor Araji headed a high-level security delegation to Erbil to assess the aftermath of the Iranian bombardment a day after the attack. After inspecting the targeted location, he stated that claims about the presence of Mossad base in Erbil are “baseless.”
The deadly Iranian attack was strongly condemned by Erbil, Baghdad, and the international community, labeling it a “violation” of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region’s sovereignty. Erbil has repeatedly denied the Iranian claims of the presence of Israeli intelligence in the Kurdistan Region.
Shammari added that the current unanimity provides an opportunity for the Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to work out their differences and resolve outstanding issues.
“The recent attack created a kind of great solidarity between Baghdad and Erbil, meaning that it had a positive impact, as great sympathy was shown, and at the same time there was respect and high regard for the [federal] government's position, which was clear, appropriate, and unambiguous in its message to the Security Council and its objection to this attack in which Iraqis were killed,” said the advisor.
A day after the attack, Iraq’s foreign ministry announced it had summoned the Iranian charge d’affaires in Baghdad to protest the IRGC aggression and officially submitted a complaint against Iran to the United Nations Security Council.
The Iranian attack came amidst a spate of attacks targeting American interests in Iraq and Syria by Iran-backed militias condemning Washington’s support for Israel in its war on Gaza. The United States has responded with several retaliatory strikes in both countries.
The American response has been strongly condemned by the Iraqi government, saying the strikes target state-linked armed forces and are in violation of Iraq’s sovereignty. Baghdad has recently intensified efforts to end the mission of the US-led global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq in light of the retaliatory strikes.
Shammari stressed that Iraq is no longer in need of a foreign military presence, stating that the international coalition has operated outside its boundaries and understandings reached with the Iraqi government.
“We believe that the international coalition has deviated from its duties at times, so the attacks which took place at various times, especially the recent attacks, which claimed the lives of innocent people who had no fault in the nature of the conflict taking place in the region, is certainly an indication that the coalition has departed from its duties and must return to the negotiating table, so that we can move towards implementing the Iraqi desire for them to exit, but through an agreement, understanding and affection.”
Sudani in late January presided over the first round of talks of the joint US-Iraq Higher Military Commission (HMC), the purpose of which is to evaluate the coalition’s future role in Iraq based on the level of ISIS threat, operational and environmental requirements, and the capabilities of Iraqi security forces.
Baghdad’s language has been clear that the commission’s aim is to bring an end to the presence of the coalition forces in the country, while Washington has described the step as a “transition” in the forces’ roles.
At least 17 people were killed in Iraq as a result of a massive US retaliatory campaign targeting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) and Iran-aligned militias on Friday. The previous American retaliatory attacks had killed 12 members of the Iraqi state-linked but Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).
