Iraq – Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein confirmed, on Sunday, his country’s refusal to use its territory to target neighboring countries, amid anticipation of an Israeli attack on Iran.
This came during a press conference with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, as part of an official visit of an unannounced duration that the latter is conducting to Baghdad, followed by Anadolu’s correspondent.
Hussein said, “The Iraqi government warned of the expansion of the war,” stressing that his country refuses to use its territory to target neighboring countries.
He pointed out that “preparing to target specific sites in Iran by the Zionist entity is dangerous.”
He stressed that “the decision on war and peace is subject to the Iraqi state, and the occurrence of war in the region threatens international civil peace.”
He warned that “the outbreak of war may lead to an energy crisis and threaten shipping traffic.”
For his part, Araqchi stated that “the region faces serious challenges,” noting that “there is a possibility of escalation in the region, caused by the Zionist entity.”
He added: “We are consulting with friends to stop the Zionist aggression against Lebanon and the Gaza Strip,” stressing the necessity of “stopping the aggression.”
He called on the international community to “pay attention to the displaced in Lebanon and Gaza.”
He said, “Tehran is not looking for war or escalation, and we seek to achieve peace in the region.”
Araqchi thanked the Iraqi government “for not allowing Iraqi airspace to be exploited to attack his country.”
On October 1, Iran launched its second attack on Israel during the year 2024, and used more than 180 missiles, “in response to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, and Israel’s massacres in Gaza and Lebanon.”
The first attack was on April 13, when Iran launched the first direct attack in its history on Israel, called “The True Promise,” during which it launched marches and ballistic missiles from its territory, in response to the targeting of its consulate in the Syrian capital, Damascus, resulting in the killing of leaders and members of the Guard. Revolutionary at the beginning of the same month.
Since last September 23, Israel has expanded the scope of the genocide it has been committing in Gaza since October 7, 2023, to include most of Lebanon’s regions, including the capital, Beirut, through air strikes.
As of Saturday evening, the raids resulted in 1,437 dead and 4,123 wounded, including a large number of women and children, and more than 1,340,000 displaced people, according to Anatolia’s monitoring of official Lebanese data.
Hezbollah responds daily with missiles, drones, and artillery shells targeting military sites and settlements, and while Israel announces some of its human and material losses, military censorship imposes a strict blackout on most of the losses, according to observers.
With American support, the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza for a year has left more than 140,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, and more than 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and famine that killed dozens of children and the elderly.
Anatolia
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