Gulf countries urge Iraq to stop pro-Iran armed group attacks

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Gulf countries on Wednesday called on Baghdad to halt attacks launched from Iraqi territory by pro-Iran armed groups, condemning strikes targeting regional countries, their facilities, and infrastructure.

In a joint statement issued by Kuwait’s foreign ministry, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Jordan said they “renew their condemnation in the strongest terms of the blatant Iranian aggressions… in particular, the attacks launched by armed factions loyal to Iran from the Republic of Iraq on a number of regional countries, their facilities and infrastructure.”

Iraqi pro-Iran armed groups operating under the Islamic Resistance in Iraq umbrella have repeatedly targeted what they claim are US interests in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, with several strikes on Gulf countries believed to have been launched from Iraqi territory. In early March, the Iraq-based Saraya Awliya al-Dam group - which has claimed attacks against the Kurdistan Region - said it has fired one-way drones into Jordan in support of Iran in the war against the United States and Israel.

The countries said that while they “value their fraternal relations” with Iraq, they “call on the Iraqi government to take the necessary measures to immediately stop the attacks launched by factions, militias, and armed groups” from its territory toward neighboring countries “in order to preserve fraternal relations and avoid further escalation.”

Tehran has carried out a series of retaliatory missile and drone strikes against energy and civilian sites in Gulf countries, citing their alleged support for US and Israeli military operations.

The countries reaffirmed “their full and inherent right to self-defense against these criminal attacks.”

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told Rudaw on Sunday that Baghdad has been unable to curb pro-Iran armed groups, citing their military and political influence. “They also have power; they have military power, organizational power, and parliamentary power,” he said.