Iran calls Iraq’s president to slam Israel

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi called Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid to call for a “collective effort” against Israel, according to a report in the pro-Iranian Al-Mayadeen media.

"Stopping the genocide carried out by the Israeli occupation against the people of Gaza is an important legal and humanitarian responsibility for all Muslims and free people of the world,” Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said.

Iraq’s presidency is not the central power in Iraq. It is largely a ceremonial role, and it has been held by Kurdish politicians since 2003. As such the phone call is more symbolic of Iran’s messaging, than having any real weight in Iraq’s policies.

Iranian-backed militias in Iraq target Israel

Iraq’s Prime Minister, who is more powerful, is also closely tied to Iran and has let Iranian-backed militias in Iraq target Israel and US forces. Iran uses Iraq as a kind of “near abroad,” a country that it exploits for its regional policies. Iran has also carried out attacks on the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

US forces are based in Erbil in the Kurdistan region, and the US has forces in other places in Iraq.

The Iraqi president told his Iranian counterpart that the two countries should foster friendly relations. The report also said the support “work jointly between Islamic countries to find a practical program to realize the rights of the Palestinian people.” Rashid said, “Some countries do not seek to solve the roots of the crisis in the Palestinian issue, but rather work to complicate it.”

The Iranian call to Iraq’s president comes after Iraqi-based militias have increasingly said they are targeting Israel with kamikaze drones. For instance, the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq,” a proxy of Iran, continued to claim it has targeted Israel this week. It also targeted Eilat with a drone in the early hours of April 1.