Iraq summons US, Iran representatives after deadly strikes

Iraq announced late on Tuesday that it would summon the US charge d’affaires and the Iranian ambassador following deadly strikes blamed on their countries, as Iraqi authorities granted targeted former paramilitary groups the “right to respond".

Iraq has been drawn into the war triggered by US and Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February, which has since spread across much of the region.

The former paramilitary Hashed al-Shaabi In the autonomous Kurdistan region, a ballistic missile attack killed six regional force fighters, known as the peshmerga. The Kurdish authorities accused Iran of carrying out the first deadly strike on Kurdish security forces since the war began.

Neither the US nor Iran immediately commented on the accusations. In a statement released late Tuesday, Iraq’s foreign ministry said it would summon both representatives to “deliver formal notes of protest regarding the attacks". It stressed the need to maintain balanced international and regional relations to prevent Iraq from being “drawn into areas of conflict".

Iraq has long been a proxy battleground for the US and Iran and has struggled to maintain ties with both. Since the war began, pro-Iran armed groups have claimed responsibility for attacks on US interests in Iraq and the region, while strikes have also targeted these groups, including state-linked positions.

The statement from the prime minister’s office, however, granted former paramilitaries within the official armed forces the right to “respond to military attacks” by drones and aircraft targeting their headquarters.

‘Decisions of war’

Late Tuesday, the Coordination Framework, Iraq’s coalition of Shia parties with varying links to Iran, endorsed the government’s decision but condemned “attacks against state institutions and diplomatic missions” and called for the perpetrators to be punished. The coalition emphasised that the government retained “the exclusive right of the state over decisions of war".

The Hashed al-Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), said those killed in the strike included a top provincial commander. It described the attack as a “treacherous American strike that targeted the operation headquarters” and later urged authorities to “confront these repeated American violations".

The overnight strike hit a base in western Anbar province, Iraq, bordering Syria, an area long active in operations against the Islamic State.

Since the Middle East war began, Baghdad has repeatedly condemned strikes on the Hashed al-Shaabi, formed in 2014 to fight IS. After the defeat of IS in 2017, the coalition gained influence within the security forces and expanded its political and economic roles.

Last week, the Pentagon acknowledged that combat helicopters had carried out strikes against pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq during the conflict. On Tuesday night, fighter jets were repeatedly heard over Baghdad.

Iraqi Kurdistan

Earlier, the PMF said a “Zionist-American strike” targeted their Mosul office in northern Iraq, which served as a second home for coalition leader Faleh al-Fayyad, though he was not present during the attack.

The Kurdish defence ministry reported separately that a strike targeting peshmerga forces killed six fighters and wounded 30, blaming Iran. “Six Iranian ballistic missiles targeted them,” said the Kurdish authorities, describing the attack as “hostile, treacherous".

Although closely allied with Washington, Iraq’s Kurds have sought to maintain neutrality in the Iran war after improving relations with the Islamic Republic in recent years.