Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced on Tuesday evening that Iraq would be taking steps to prevent attacks carried out from its territory, Kan 11 News reported.
The announcement comes after months in which drones have been fired from Iraqi territory towards Israel by Shiite militias which are acting on behalf of Iran.
"Decisions on war and peace are reserved solely for the Iraqi government, and the Iraqi government continues its steps that culminated in the seizure of weapons that were about to be launched," al-Sudani said in a statement.
"We will hold accountable anyone who participates in this type of activity, which threatens Iraq's security and territorial integrity," he added.
Al-Sudani’s announcement came one day after Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar sent a letter to the President of the UN Security Council, calling on the Council to take immediate action regarding the activity of the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, whose territory is being used to attack Israel.
The Iraqi Prime Minister’s statement also marks a change of tone as, hours earlier, he dismissed Sa’ar’s complaint to the Security Council as a “pretext and argument to attack Iraq” and to “expand the war in the region.”
Al-Sudani said in a statement that Iraq has refused to enter into the regional conflict while “seeking to provide relief to the Palestinian and Lebanese people.”
Earlier this month, Kan 11 News reported that Israel is considering strikes on Iraq in order to harm the activities of the Iranian militias that are being carried out from Iraqi territory.
Meanwhile, an Axios report from earlier this month said that the Biden administration has warned the Iraqi government that failure to prevent any Iranian-led attack on Israel from Iraqi territory could prompt Israel to launch a retaliatory strike on Iraq.