Block Israel’s use of airspace, Iran asks Iraq

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian urged Iraq on Sunday to block Israel from using its airspace and territory to launch attacks on the Islamic republic.

“We emphasise that the Iraqi government must exercise greater vigilance and protection of its borders and airspace so that Iraqi territory is not misused against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” said Pezeshkian in a call with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani, according to the Iranian presidency website.

Two drones launched from Iran towards Israel were shot down over Iraq by the US-led international coalition to defeat the Daesh group, two Iraqi military officials told reporters on Sunday.

“The international coalition at Ain Al Asad (military base) shot down two Iranian drones that were en route to Israel,” one official said, referring to an Iraqi airbase housing foreign troops in western Iraq.

The drones were shot down overnight on Saturday to Sunday, he added, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter.

The other official said the drones were targeted because they entered the defensive perimeter of the anti-Daesh coalition, where troops are instructed to engage any potential threat.

Israel on Friday launched unprecedented strikes on Iran, hitting military and nuclear sites as well as residential areas. In response, the Islamic republic has fired hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles at Israel.

Several missiles and drones have fallen in Iraqi territory, mostly in the desert, without causing casualties.

An “explosive drone” was shot down by the coalition at Ain Al Asad on Friday, according to an Iraqi official.

Meanwhile, Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group Kataib Hizbollah warned on Sunday it would resume attacks on US troops in the region if the United States intervenes in the conflict between Israel and Iran.

“We are closely monitoring the movements of the American enemy’s army in the region,” Kataib Hizbollah Secretary-General Abu Hussein Al Hamidawi said in a statement.

“If America intervenes in the war, we will act directly against its interests and bases spread across the region without hesitation.”

Founded in the aftermath of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, Kataib Hizbollah is one of the elite Iraqi armed factions closest to Iran.

The group, a key pillar of Iran’s network of regional proxy forces, has claimed responsibility for dozens of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US forces in both Iraq and Syria.

Agencies