Security forces and emergency teams respond at the site of a strike in the north of the al-Miqdadiya district, in Iraq’s Diyala province, on July 29, after American-Saudi strikes that killed at least 20 pro-Iranian Iraqi militiamen. (Credit: Younis al-Bayati/AFP)
BEIRUT — Hezbollah condemned Friday the “brutal U.S. aggression against brotherly Iraq and its resilient people,” which resulted in the deaths of several people and injuries to others, calling it a “blatant and flagrant violation of international law and of Iraq’s sovereignty and independence.”
Earlier this week, the U.S. military and Saudi forces carried out coordinated air raids on logistics and weapons sites across seven Iraqi provinces. At least 20 members of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and several Iranian military advisers were killed.
In a statement, the group said: “This blatant and dangerous aggression against an official Iraqi entity, with the participation of an Arab state, opens the door to extremely serious repercussions for the entire region. It serves only the interests of the U.S.-Israeli project aimed at destabilizing the region, fragmenting the nation, and dragging it into a cycle of tensions, disputes, and fighting.”
Hezbollah urged Saudi Arabia to" resort to dialogue and open diplomatic channels with the Iraqi government.. rather than being drawn into the policies of the American and Israeli enemy and becoming entangled in their projects to destabilize the region and undermine its unity.”
The group added that “the U.S. enemy’s continued shedding of Iraqi blood once again reveals its hostile intentions toward Iraq and its people, and its persistent efforts to prevent Iraq’s stability and recovery, weaken its national and regional role at this sensitive stage facing the region, and confirms the continuation of its ambitions regarding Iraq’s resources and wealth.”
Hezbollah also announced that it “stands alongside Iraq and its dear people,” stressing that “this aggression requires an urgent, firm, and responsible Arab, Islamic, and international position to put an end to aggressive U.S. policies, safeguard the sovereignty of states, and uphold respect for international law.”
Riyadh and Washington stated the strikes were self-defense following recent drone attacks from Iraqi territory on Saudi oil facilities. Baghdad strongly condemned the operation as a violation of national sovereignty, stating it had no prior knowledge or involvement
