Iraq delivered a strong reprimand to Iran by summoning its envoy in Baghdad and recalling its ambassador from Tehran on Tuesday. The move was in response to the deadly missile strikes on Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region. Contrary to Iran’s assertion that the strikes targeted Israel’s intelligence services in retaliation for recent Israeli assassinations of Iranian and pro-Iranian commanders, Iraq denounced the attacks as a violation of its sovereignty. Iraq announced its intention to file a complaint with the United Nations Security Council regarding the Iranian “attack on its sovereignty.”
The missile strikes by Iran, which also reportedly hit alleged Islamic State group targets in Syria, took place amidst heightened tensions in the Middle East, with Israel engaged in conflict against Iran ally Hamas. The United States also condemned Iran’s actions. The strikes resulted in four deaths and six injuries in Iraqi Kurdistan, including notable real estate magnate Peshraw Dizayee, his wife, and other family members, who were struck in their home, as reported by the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the leading party in the region.
Iran defended its missile strikes in both Iraq and Syria, characterizing them as a “targeted operation” and a “just punishment” against those threatening the Islamic republic’s security. Foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani emphasized Iran’s precision in identifying and hitting the alleged criminals’ headquarters with advanced weapons. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards claimed to have destroyed the “Zionist regime’s spy headquarters in the Kurdistan region of Iraq,” linking the strikes to Israel’s actions that resulted in the deaths of Revolutionary Guards commander Razi Moussavi in Syria and Hamas No. 2 Saleh al-Aruri in Beirut.
The Revolutionary Guards vowed to continue their reprisals “until the last drops of blood of the martyrs are avenged,” stating that they targeted a “gathering of anti-Iranian groups” in the Kurdish regional capital Arbil. In response, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry pledged to publish the findings of its official investigation, aiming to disprove the “falseness of the allegations” made by those responsible for the “reprehensible actions.”
