Iraqi factions: Europe’s forces legitimate targets if they back US-Israel strikes on Iran
Shafaq News- Baghdad
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella for Iran-aligned armed factions, has warned that European countries supporting US and Israeli military operations against Iran could see their forces and interests in Iraq and across the region targeted.
In a statement on Thursday, the group described the United States and Israel as “mobilizing allies” against “the free people of the Islamic Republic and the region.” It warned that any European country participating in the military campaign “will be considered an enemy of our peoples and sanctities.”
The warning comes as fighting between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran on the other has intensified since Feb. 28, when joint strikes targeted sites inside Iran, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory missile and drone strikes on Israel and US military bases in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
In Iraq, factions aligned with Tehran have stepped up activity under the banner of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, claiming rocket and drone attacks against what they describe as “enemy bases” in Iraq and neighboring areas.
Several European countries have also taken steps tied to the conflict. The United Kingdom allowed the United States to use its military bases for what Prime Minister Keir Starmer described as “defensive strikes,” and deployed helicopters with anti-drone systems and a warship toward Cyprus after a drone struck a British base there earlier this week. France reinforced its presence on the island with a frigate and additional air defense assets, according to President Emmanuel Macron. Spain, however, rejected the US strikes, prompting US President Donald Trump to threaten a full American embargo on Madrid in response to the socialist government’s position.
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