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Foreign warnings urge Iraqis to avoid escalation against US-Led Coalition

Foreign warnings urge Iraqis to avoid escalation against US-Led Coalition

Shafaq Newsa day ago
Shafaq News – Baghdad
Several Iraqi politicians have received warning messages from international sources urging them not to support or facilitate attacks against the US-led Global Coalition forces, a security expert told Shafaq News on Thursday.
Saif Raad, a security and strategic affairs analyst, said that beginning last Saturday, a select group of Iraqi political figures received text messages on their personal phones warning of serious consequences if any attacks were carried out against coalition troops operating in Iraq.
According to Raad, the messages included statements such as: 'Warning to Iranian militias. Any attacks on coalition forces will be met with a swift and decisive response,' and 'Iranian militias continue to endanger Iraqis… do not become puppets in Iran's hands.' He added that the texts were followed by voice calls repeating similar warnings.
The term 'Iranian militias' commonly refers to Iraqi armed factions aligned with or backed by Iran, many of which are part of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an umbrella organization officially affiliated with the Iraqi state but composed of various groups with differing loyalties.
Iraqi authorities have yet to issue any official response to the reported messages.
These developments follow a wave of simultaneous drone attacks across multiple areas in Iraq — including Kirkuk, Baiji, Duhok, and al-Sulaymaniyah — as regional tensions intensified after a 12-day escalation between Iran and Israel. While no direct attacks were recorded on US military installations in Iraq during that period, US forces intercepted drones targeting the Ain al-Asad Air Base in al-Anbar Province.
Despite their vocal support for Iran during the recent conflict, Iran-aligned Iraqi groups did not escalate their military posture significantly, maintaining a relatively restrained stance amid the regional standoff.
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