Israel has warned the Iraqi government that unless it reins in Iranian-backed militias launching drones and missiles at Israel, it could attack the Mesopotamian country, the Saudi website Elaph reports.
According to Elaph, Israel has identified and is monitoring targets belonging to the Iranian-backed militias and also Iraqi state targets and could start attacking them if the militias keep firing at the Jewish state.
Unnamed officials told Elaph that satellites are monitoring the movement of ballistic missiles and related equipment from Iran to Iraq, which could be used in an attack on Israel.
Iraqi sources expressed concern to the outlet that Tehran could be using Iraq to shift the fighting away from its territory.
The AP reported last week that Israel is under daily drone attack from Iraq, which the U.S. and its partners have had to intercept.
According to the report, the UAV launches have been a problem since the Hamas massacre of Oct. 7, 2023, and are not related to any Iranian attack. However, a regional security official said that the drone attacks have increased in recent weeks, with an average of five a day and eight drones launched over a 24-hour period in the past week.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq is an umbrella organization composed of several Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias, including Kata’ib Hezbollah, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhadaa. These groups operate both in Iraq and Syria under IRGC command.
