Iraq reiterates rejection of airspace violation amid Israel-Iran conflict
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, reiterated on Saturday his rejection of the violation of his country's airspace by Israel to launch attacks against Iran.
Al-Sudani's remarks took place during his meeting with the British Ambassador to Iraq, Irfan Siddiq, in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, where they discussed the latest developments in the region as well as prospects for joint cooperation and strategies to strengthen bilateral ties in different fields to serve the interests of the two countries, according to a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
Al-Sudani also emphasized Israel's ongoing aggression against Iran poses a threat to international peace and security.
Al-Sudani urged major countries, particularly UN Security Council members, to take a role in preventing Israel's assault against Iran and its daily atrocities in Gaza, underlining the need to deliver humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Iraq's representative to the United Nations, Abbas Kazim Obaid, revealed on Friday that 50 Israeli warplanes violated Iraqi airspace ahead of a UN meeting on the conflict between Israel and Iran.
Since June 13, Israel has started launching a series of airstrikes and attacks on Iranian military sites and nuclear facilities. Dozens of Iranian military leaders have been assassinated in these attacks.
Iran retaliated with missile and drone assaults against Israel, promising more.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Iraqi News
an hour ago
- Iraqi News
Iran vows retaliation after US strikes on nuclear sites
Tehran – Aerial assaults raged between Iran and Israel early Monday, while Tehran vowed retaliation over the bunker-buster bombs American warplanes unleashed at the weekend on three nuclear sites. US President Donald Trump insisted the attack had 'obliterated' Iran's nuclear capabilities, but other officials said it was too soon to determine how significantly Tehran's nuclear programme had been impacted. As the world awaited Iran's reply, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the bombing campaign Israel launched on June 13 'a big mistake'. 'The Zionist enemy… is being punished right now,' Khamenei wrote on social media. Sirens sounded across Israel and Iran early Monday as the arch enemies exchanged their latest round of fire. The Israeli army said it was intercepting missiles from Iran, while Iranian state media Fars said the air defence system was working to counter a drone attack. In a sign of possible nervousness about the conflict spilling into a wider regional war, oil prices jumped by more than four percent in early trading on Monday. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged China to help deter Iran from shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial trade route through which one-fifth of global oil output passes. With Iran threatening US bases in the Middle East, the State Department issued a worldwide alert cautioning Americans abroad. 'The conflict between Israel and Iran has resulted in disruptions to travel and periodic closure of airspace across the Middle East. There is the potential for demonstrations against US citizens and interests abroad,' the department's security alert said. It made no mention of the US strikes on a key underground uranium enrichment site at Fordo, along with nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz. – 'Regime change' – In central Tehran on Sunday, protesters waved flags and chanted slogans against US and Israeli attacks. In the province of Semnan east of the capital, 46-year-old housewife Samireh told AFP she was 'truly shocked' by the strikes. 'Semnan province is very far from the nuclear facilities targeted, but I'm very concerned for the people who live near,' she said. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said the US strikes revealed Washington was 'behind' Israel's campaign against the Islamic republic and vowed a response. After the Pentagon stressed that the goal of American intervention was not to topple the Iranian government, Trump openly toyed with the idea. 'It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. 'But if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!' Hours later he doubled down on emphasising the success of his strikes. 'Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term!' Trump wrote, without sharing the images he was referencing. 'The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!' he added. At a Pentagon press briefing earlier in the day, top US general Dan Caine said that while it would be 'way too early' for him to determine the level of destruction, 'initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage.' Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, said his country's bombardments will 'finish' once the stated objectives of destroying Iran's nuclear and missile capabilities have been achieved. 'We are very, very close to completing them,' he told reporters. – 'Grave consequences' – In response to the US attack, which used over a dozen massive 'bunker buster' bombs, Iran's armed forces targeted sites in Israel including Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, with at least 23 people wounded. Nine members of the Revolutionary Guards were killed Sunday in Israeli attacks on central Iran, local media reported, while three people were killed after an ambulance was struck. Israeli strikes on Iran have killed more than 400 people, Iran's health ministry said. Iran's attacks on Israel have killed 24 people, according to official figures. Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that craters were visible at the Fordo facility, but it had not been possible to assess the underground damage. He added that 'armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place and could result in radioactive releases with grave consequences within and beyond the boundaries of the State which has been attacked.' The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, which had been mediating Iran-US nuclear talks, criticised the US strikes and called for de-escalation, while France, Germany and Britain called on Tehran 'not to take any further action that could destabilise the region.' North Korea, which is also at odds with Washington over its own nuclear weapons, condemned the US strikes as a violation of the United Nations charter. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States of deciding to 'blow up' nuclear diplomacy with its intervention in the war. He headed to Moscow on Sunday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. On Sunday, Russia, China and Pakistan circulated a draft resolution with other Security Council members that calls for an 'immediate ceasefire' in Iran.
Iraqi News
an hour ago
- Iraqi News
US bases in the Middle East
Washington – Iran on Sunday threatened military bases used by US forces to launch attacks on the country's nuclear sites, saying such facilities would be considered legitimate targets. The United States has thousands of troops deployed on bases across the Middle East. Below, AFP examines countries with major concentrations of US forces in the Middle East, which falls under the US military's Central Command (CENTCOM). – Bahrain – The tiny Gulf kingdom hosts an installation known as Naval Support Activity Bahrain, where the US Navy's Fifth Fleet and US Naval Forces Central Command headquarters are based. Bahrain's deep-water port can accommodate the largest US military vessels, such as aircraft carriers, and the US Navy has used the base in the country since 1948, when the facility was operated by Britain's Royal Navy. Several US ships have their home port in Bahrain, including four anti-mine vessels and two logistical support ships. The US Coast Guard also has vessels in the country, including six fast response cutters. – Iraq – The United States has troops at various installations in Iraq, including Al-Asad and Arbil air bases. The Iraqi government is a close ally of Iran, but also a strategic partner of Tehran's arch-foe the United States. There are some 2,500 US troops in Iraq as part of the international coalition against the Islamic State jihadist group. Baghdad and Washington have agreed on a timetable for the gradual withdrawal of the coalition's forces from the country. US forces in Iraq and Syria were repeatedly targeted by pro-Iran militants following the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, but responded with heavy strikes on Tehran-linked targets, and the attacks largely subsided. – Kuwait – Kuwait has several US bases, including Camp Arifjan, the location of the forward headquarters for the US Army component of CENTCOM. The US Army also has stocks of prepositioned materiel in the country. Ali al-Salem Air Base hosts the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, which the military describes as the 'primary airlift hub and gateway for delivering combat power to joint and coalition forces' in the region. Additionally, the United States has drones including MQ-9 Reapers in Kuwait. – Qatar – Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar includes the forward components of CENTCOM, as well as of its air forces and special operation forces in the region. It also hosts rotating combat aircraft, as well as the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, which the military says includes 'airlift, aerial refueling intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, and aeromedical evacuation assets.' – Syria – The United States has for years maintained troop presences at a series of installations in Syria as part of international efforts against the Islamic State group, which rose out of the country's civil war to overrun large parts of Syria and neighboring Iraq. The Pentagon announced in April that it would roughly halve the number of its forces in the country to less than 1,000 in the coming months as part of a 'consolidation' of US troops in the country. – United Arab Emirates – Al Dhafra Air Base in the UAE hosts the US 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, a force that is composed of 10 squadrons of aircraft and also includes drones such as MQ-9 Reapers. Combat aircraft have rotated through Al Dhafra, which also hosts the Gulf Air Warfare Center for air and missile defense training.
Shafaq News
2 hours ago
- Shafaq News
Iran confirms continued uranium enrichment after US strikes
Shafaq News/ Iran will continue enriching uranium, rejecting any external pressure over its nuclear program, Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Majid Takht-Ravanchi confirmed on Monday. 'We will continue enrichment, and no one can dictate what we should or should not do, as long as we operate within the framework of our obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT),' Takht-Ravanchi stated in remarks to Germany's ARD television network. His comments came after the US targeted Iranian nuclear facilities in Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan. President Donald Trump later confirmed the strikes, describing them as 'precision attacks on deep underground targets' and warning of 'more severe consequences' if Tehran does not end the ongoing war. Takht-Ravanchi denounced the attack as a 'breach of international law'' underscoring Iran's right to self-defense and dismissing renewed calls from the United States and Germany to return to negotiations. 'We were talking on June 13th when we were attacked,' he said. 'We do not negotiate just for the sake of negotiation.' The exchange marks a sharp escalation in regional tensions following the breakdown of indirect talks earlier this year. On June 13, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, an offensive aimed at dismantling key components of Iran's nuclear, military, and intelligence infrastructure.
