Shafaq News- Baghdad
Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi is leading an intensiveeffort to prevent Iran-aligned Iraqi armed factions from becoming involved inthe escalating conflict between Tehran and Tel Aviv, informed sources toldShafaq News on Monday.
Government contacts began on Sunday evening and remainongoing, targeting leaders of major factions and affiliated groups operatingunder alternative names. During the discussions, Al-Zaidi stressed that nomilitary or security action should be taken that could drag Iraq into thecrisis, even if the United States resumes direct involvement alongside Israel.
: Al-Zaidi's incomplete cabinet faces Iraqi armed factions test
Baghdad, the sources revealed, has warned it couldtake legal and security action against any party that launches operations fromIraqi territory or takes steps that risk widening the conflict.
Most parties within the ruling Shiite CoordinationFramework have backed the effort, viewing it as necessary to protect the countryfrom the consequences of the escalation.
A day earlier, Kataib Hezbollah, one of Iraq's mostpowerful Iran-aligned armed groups, cautioned that it would target US militaryinstallations across the region if Washington joins the fighting alongside TelAviv after Iran launched four successive waves of ballistic missiles at Israel,which it described as a retaliation for Israeli bombardment of Beirut'ssouthern suburbs.
Israeli forces also carried out airstrikes targetingmilitary facilities, air-defense systems, and other sites inside Iran,prompting another retaliation from Tehran.
: Iraq after regional ceasefire: US bases and unresolved political questions
