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3. Iraq PM Tells U.S. Rubio Iraqi Airspace Must Not Be Used Against Neighbors

Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio Tuesday that Iraq should not be used as a launchpad for attacks in the Middle East war.

Iraq neighbors Iran, against which the United States and Israel launched massive strikes on February 28, as well as the Gulf, which the Islamic republic has hit with missile and drone attacks.

Within hours of the start of the war, fighter jets and missiles coming from every direction filled Iraq's airspace.

Sudani stressed in a phone call with Rubio "the importance of ensuring that Iraqi airspace, territory, and waters are not used for any military action targeting neighboring countries or the region," the prime minister's media office said.

Sudani rejected "any attempt to drag the country into ongoing conflicts," as well as "violations of its airspace by any party."

Iraq, long a proxy battleground between Washington and Tehran, was drawn into the war from the outset, with strikes blamed on the U.S. and Israel targeting Iran-backed groups, which in turn have since claimed attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and the wider region.

State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said that Rubio "strongly condemned terrorist attacks by Iran and Iran-aligned terrorist militia groups in Iraq," including the Kurdistan region.

He urged Iraq to take "all possible measures to safeguard U.S. diplomatic personnel and facilities."

On Saturday, air defense systems intercepted rockets fired at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.

U.S. air defenses now intercept drones almost daily over Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan, which also hosts a U.S. consulate complex.

AFP