Israel urges UN to push Iraq to take ‘immediate action’ against Iran-backed militias
FM Gideo Sa’ar calls on Iraqi government to rein in the paramilitaries, warns Israel ready will take ‘all necessary measures to protect itself and its citizens
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Monday called on the UN Security Council to pressure Iraq’s government to end attacks by Iran-backed paramilitaries against Israel.
“This evening I sent a letter to the president of the UN Security Council in which I called for immediate action regarding the activity of the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, whose territory is being used to attack Israel,” Sa’ar said in a post on X that featured a copy of the letter.
Warning that Israel has the right to defend itself under the UN charter, Sa’ar said that Iraq “is responsible under international law to prevent the use of its territory as a base for attacks against other nations.”
“Israel calls on the Iraqi government to fulfill this obligation and to take immediate action to halt and prevent these attacks,” Sa’ar added.
Sa’ar said Israel would take “all necessary measures to protect itself and its citizens” from Iran-backed militias.
Shia paramilitary groups created in the chaos following the 2003 US invasion have forged an alliance called the Islamic Resistance of Iraq, part of what Iran calls the “Axis of Resistance” to the United States and Israel.
שיגרתי הערב מכתב לנשיאת מועצת הבטחון של האו״ם בו קראתי למהלך מיידי בנושא הפעילות של המיליציות הפרו-איראניות בעיראק, ששיטחה משמש להתקפות על ישראל.
הדגשתי כי ממשלת עיראק אחראית לכל הנעשה בשטחה ומשטחה ושלישראל עומדת הזכות להגנה עצמית, המעוגנת באמנת האו״ם, כדי להגן על עצמה ועל… pic.twitter.com/yawpJsaEGv— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) November 18, 2024
This alliance regularly claims to have launched drone strikes on Israel, many of which are intercepted by Israeli air defenses.
In early October a drone strike claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded 24 others at a military base in the Golan Heights.
