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Iran slams US-Saudi strikes on Iraq as attempt to widen regional war
The Iranian Foreign Ministry strongly condemned deadly airstrikes by the United States and Saudi Arabia on Iraq, saying that the attacks were a blatant violation of Baghdad’s sovereignty and a deliberate attempt by Washington and Israel to widen the regional war.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry specifically highlighted the “criminal and anti-human” targeting of official state facilities and service stations dedicated to the millions of pilgrims participating in the sacred Arbaeen procession.
The ministry described the bombardment as a “blatant aggression against the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq” and a “flagrant violation of Article 2, Paragraph 4 of the UN Charter and fundamental rules of international law.”
It held the "warmongering US regime and its accomplices in the region" fully responsible for the dangerous consequences of these "criminal, inhumane, and provocative actions."
The joint airstrikes, launched in the early hours of Wednesday, targeted positions belonging to the Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) across several Iraqi provinces.
According to the Hashd al-Shaabi media office, the unprovoked aggression has so far resulted in the killing of at least 20 Iraqi people, including personnel and civilians, with 32 others wounded.
The resistance group said the strikes hit bases in seven provinces, including Baghdad, Nineveh in the north and Basra in the south, causing material damage as well.
It denounced the attacks as a "dangerous escalation" against an "official security institution".
The strikes came after Riyadh claimed its forces had intercepted drones targeting oil facilities, blaming resistance groups in Iraq.
US Central Command and the Saudi Ministry of Defense said that the strikes were "precise" retaliations for drone attacks on American occupation forces and Saudi energy infrastructure.
Riyadh has repeatedly accused Iraqi resistance factions of targeting its petroleum facilities, without providing any evidence.
The Iraqi presidency denounced the strikes as "a blatant violation of Iraq's sovereignty".
The presidency, which did not name the United States and Saudi Arabia, said it "denounces the bombing that targeted the Hashed al-Shaabi bases and it considers it an unacceptable attack and a blatant violation of Iraq's sovereignty, targeting its official institutions".
It also said it rejects the use of Iraqi territory to launch attacks on neighboring countries.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi also canceled his planned visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday claimed that the bombing had been coordinated with the authorities in Baghdad, Fox News reported.