Courtesy of JNS. Photo credit: Ahmad al-Rubaye/AFP via Getty Images
Members of Kata’ib Hezbollah attend the funeral in Baghdad of Fadel al-Maksusi, a terrorist who was also part of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, on Nov. 21, 2023
(JNS) — An Iranian-backed militia in Iraq is threatening to attack American bases in the country if it is determined that Israel used Iraqi territory in its retaliatory strike against Iran on Oct. 26.
Sheikh Ali al-Asadi, head of the Political Council of the Nujaba Movement, also known as Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, made the threat to Newsweek in an article published on Monday.
Iranian and Iraqi officials have claimed that Israel did use Iraqi airspace in its attack, but Asadi disputed this.
“The information we have is that the entity [Israel] used Syrian airspace over American bases and from the airspace of Jordan and Saudi Arabia,” Asadi told Newsweek, “and its story that it used Iraqi airspace is to save face and confuse the cards.”
“In general, the entire story is false, as it has been proven that it used ballistic missiles from Palestinian territories, most of which were shot down,” he said. “There were not more than 10 or 20 planes, and the strike was weak,” he added.
“More importantly, if it is proven to us that the Americans allowed the entity to use Iraqi airspace, we will respond to the American bases,” he added.
On Oct. 26, in response to a second Iranian ballistic missile attack, Israel targeted 20 sites in Iran in multiple waves of strikes involving over 100 aircraft, severely damaging Iran’s air defense system and missile production industry.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq is an umbrella organization composed of several Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias, including Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba as well as Kata’ib Hezbollah and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhadaa. These groups operate both in Iraq and Syria under Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command.
A U.S. defense official referred Newsweek to the Israel Defense Forces for details on the strike, saying that “for operational security reasons we do not discuss what air corridors are used by the U.S. or regional partners during missions.”
Following the Israeli strikes, Tehran has vowed a stronger attack against Israel than those in April and October.
The Biden administration has warned the Iraqi government that if it allows Iran to attack from its territory it risks Israeli counter-strikes.
The IRGC has moved drones and ballistic missiles to Shi’ite militias in Iraq as part of a planned joint strike against Israel, U.S. and Israeli officials told Axios this week.
As the Iranians haven’t shown readiness to de-escalate despite U.S. warnings, the United States has tried to influence Iraq. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Sunday, a U.S. official told Axios. Secretary of State Antony Blinken then spoke to al-Sudani on Monday.
Sullivan and Blinken reportedly pressed the Iraqi prime minister to stop Shi’ite militia attacks against U.S. forces and Israel, which have escalated in recent weeks.
The Biden administration’s message to the Iraqi prime minister: “If you don’t, we won’t be able to stop Israel from striking Iraq.”
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.
“The U.S. is postured to defend itself from any threat and we retain the right to defend ourselves against any attack that would target U.S. personnel, assets, and partners in the region,” the defense official told Newsweek.
