Iraq's National Security Council has strongly condemned the joint Saudi-US airstrikes on Wednesday against the Iran-backed Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), which killed at least 20 members of the Iraqi paramilitary group.
The council meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, called the attacks on PMF bases in seven Iraqi provinces “a flagrant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and the sanctity of its lands”. A statement described the action as “an aggression in contravention of the principles of international law and the United Nations Charter”.
“Any transgression or compromise of Iraq’s security and sovereignty will not be tolerated under any circumstances”, the statement added. Saudi Arabia and US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the strikes targeted Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq allegedly responsible for attacks on American troops and Saudi energy infrastructure.
The Saudi Ministry of Defence said the strikes were “in response to recent drone attacks” and that Saudi air defenses had “intercepted and destroyed several drones that attempted to target petroleum facilities in the Eastern Province and Riyadh regions… launched from Iraqi territory and carried out by Iran-aligned terrorist militias”.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella coalition of Iran-backed groups, denied any role in the attacks on Saudi Arabia, calling the Saudi claims “fabrications” and warning that “any foolish Saudi action will be met with a harsh response”.
According to Iranian and Iraqi media, the joint strikes hit cities from Kirkuk in the north to Basra in the south, killing at least 20 PMF members and at least four advisers from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Iraqi Prime Minister al-Zaidi was scheduled to visit the Saudi capital on Thursday, his first since taking office, but the visit was cancelled following the strikes. Baghdad complained that the US-Saudi “aggression has hindered investigation efforts regarding the alleged targeting of Saudi Arabia”.
“We demand evidence and proof regarding the launch of attacks from Iraq, and no party has provided any evidence,” the spokesperson for the commander-in-chief of Iraq’s armed forces told the Iraqi News Agency. Funerals were held in Mosul for some of the killed PMF fighters, with mourners calling for revenge. In Baghdad, PMF supporters rallied, demanding the expulsion of the Saudi ambassador.
The Iran-backed Iraqi paramilitary group Kataib Hezbollah said it would give the Iraqi government until August 6 to demonstrate it can defend Iraq’s sovereignty, warning that an immediate response to the US-Saudi attack is “inevitable”.
Source: www.aljazeera.com