Iraq Denies Iran’s Claims About Mossad Presence In Erbil
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein has denied Iran's allegations that The Israeli Mossad is present in Erbil, stressing that Iran must refrain from attacks on the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein has denied Iran's allegations that The Israeli Mossad is present in Erbil, stressing that Iran must refrain from attacks on the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.
In a televised interview on Saturday, Hussein said Baghdad did not find any evidence that a site Iran bombarded in March was being used by Israel’s Mossad.
Calling on the Islamic Republic to provide evidence regarding Israeli presence in Erbil, he said, "If Iran has evidence, it must show it. Iran suggested sending an investigation committee but it never came.”
He also rejected Iran’s claim that it provided information to the Iraqi intelligence before the bombardment, saying that Baghdad did not receive any information related to the presence of Israeli elements in the area.
The Iraqi foreign minister urged Iran not to repeat such attacks, highlighting that “We find it strange that Iran chose the Kurdistan region to respond to Israel.”
In March, Iran fired missiles at Erbil. No one was killed but missiles did damage to some residential buildings. Iran claimed it used 12 ballistic missiles in that attack and targeted an Israeli intelligence center. At the time it was seen as a response to an Israeli airstrike in Syria that had killed two IRGC officers or to a suspected Israeli attack in February on a drone base at an airfield in western Iran.
Last week on Wednesday, a drone exploded in Erbil injuring three people and damaging several cars, according to a statement by Kurdistan's counter-terrorism service. The explosive drone detonated on Pirmam road in Erbil's outskirts.
Arab countries such the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain that established full relations with Israel in 2020, have expanded ties, including close intelligence and security cooperation.
Admiral Alireza Tangsiri said, “Today there is satisfactory security with cooperation among neighboring countries in the geographical area of the Persian Gulf,” but if for whatever reason someone allows “the number one enemy” into the region, it will create “chaos and instability” both for itself and for the region.
Israel and Persian Gulf Arab states have long been concerned over Iran’s nuclear program and adventurist regional policies, as well as its rapid expansion of missile technology. They supported former US president Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Obama-era nuclear agreement and imposition of tough sanctions on Tehran.
But President Joe Biden’s entrance into the scene in 2021 changed the close coordination that existed during the Trump administration, especially between the US and Saudi Arabia, the main Arab power in the region souring.
Biden announced early on that he wanted to revive the nuclear deal with Iran known as the JCPOA and reduced support for Saudi Arabia in the Yemen war, a proxy war with Iran.
Tangisir’s speech on Saturday was not the first instance of warning issued to Arab states in the region. He had also made a similar statement in April, but since then Israel’s cooperation expanded with the Persian Gulf Arab states.
News also emerged on June 9, that a group of US lawmakers calling themselves supporters of the Abraham Accords, or the deal to establish ties between Israel and Arab countries, announced an initiative to create a united fron against Iran with Americans playing a central role.
The legislation proposes that the Pentagon works with Israel to integrate air defenses of six Gulf Cooperation Council countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates with Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq with the aim of thwarting threats from Iran and Iranian backed-militias across the region.
Reports also speak of secret talks to establish relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which has so far remained cool to the idea.
These efforts in effect would create what observers have long dubbed as an anti-Iran NATO and put further pressure on Tehran which remains largely isolated and under the pressure of US economic sanctions.
A year-long diplomatic process between Iran and world powers to revive the JCPOA and lift the sanctions stalled in March, as Tehran insisted on removing the IRGC from the US list of terrorist organizations.
In recent days other Iranian officials have also made statements emphasizing Iran’s military power and readiness to defend the Islamic Republic against threats.
