Iraq appeals to UN, regional allies amid Israeli threats

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi government announced on Saturday that it sent letters to the United Nations Security Council as well pan-Arab and Islamic corporations in a bid to stop Israel’s threats. 

Iraq’s foreign ministry said it sent official letters to the Security Council, the Arab League, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation “in response to the threats of the Israeli entity to attack Iraq.”

The ministry said it is has turned the UN Security Council out of “keenness to have the Council perform its role in maintaining international peace and security and the need to take the necessary measures to stop Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, and to oblige the Israeli entity to stop the ongoing violence in the region and stop issuing threats.”

Fuad Hussein, Iraq’s foreign minister, warned on Friday that Israel has made “serious” threats that it would attack and said Baghdad has taken preventative measures at home and abroad, including speaking to Iran, to avoid being dragged into war.

“There are clear threats from the Israeli government,” Hussein told the Middle East Peace and Security (MEPS) forum in Duhok.

Israel’s ire is directed at Iranian-backed militia groups in Iraq that are staunch supporters of Palestine and Hamas. Some of these groups have targeted Israel with drones and missiles and carried out rocket and drone strikes against United States military installations in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for Washington’s support for Israel in its war on Gaza.

In a letter to the UN Security Council on Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar asked for “immediate action” against “attacks on Israel conducted by the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq” and to ensure that Iraq “fulfills its obligations” to “prevent the use of its territory as a base for attacks against other nations.”

Last month, the Israeli army announced that two of its soldiers were killed and 24 others were injured when a suicide drone launched from Iraq hit a military base in the Golan Heights.

Hussein said that the threats from Israel are “serious, clear and tangible.” 

The Iraqi foreign ministry statement called for “concerted international efforts to stop the Israeli escalation in the region and ensure respect for international laws and conventions which contributes to enhancing the security and stability in the region.”