KDP calls on Iraq to avoid regional conflict

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) on Saturday called on the Iraqi government to avoid involvement in Middle East tensions.

The KDP Central Committee, led by leader Masoud Barzani, met on Saturday to discuss the parliamentary elections in the Kurdistan Region, as well as recent developments in the region.

“We hope that the ongoing problems and conflicts of the region, which are developing daily, can be resolved through dialogue without the use of threats or weapons. We also urge Iraq to stay away and avoid involvement in tensions, as the situation in Iraq is extremely sensitive with serious challenges ahead,” a statement issued after the meeting said.

Early Saturday morning, Israel launched pre-fall airstrikes against Iranian military sites. Iran claimed that Israel’s missiles targeting the capital Tehran, the western province of Ilam and the southwestern province of Khuzestan had been “intercepted” and that the damage had been “limited”, state news agency IRNA reported.

Four soldiers were killed, according to the Iranian military.

The General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces claimed that Israel used the airspace provided by the United States inside Iraq to carry out some of its strikes.

Iraq condemned the attack.

“The occupying Zionist entity continues its aggressive policies and expands the conflict in the region through blatant attacks that it carries out with impunity,” Iraqi government spokesman Basem al-Awadi said in a statement.

He chided the international community for its “silence” on Israel’s “brutal actions” and called for “comprehensive regional and international efforts to support stability in the region.”

Israel said the strikes were in response to Iran’s past attacks.

Iran has directly attacked Israel twice. The first time was in April, when Iran fired hundreds of missiles and drones in retaliation for a deadly strike on its embassy that Tehran blamed on Israel. The second time was on October 1, in retaliation for Israel’s killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and an IRGC commander.

Following that attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Iran had made a “big mistake and will pay for it.”

Tensions between the arch-rivals escalated after the Palestinian movement Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7 last year, sparking an ongoing war that has spilled over into Lebanon.