Iraq’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday it rejected Iran’s missile attack on Iraqi military bases housing US troops and would summon Tehran’s ambassador in Baghdad to convey its protest.
“The foreign ministry rejects these attacks and considers them a violation of Iraqi sovereignty,” it said in a statement.
“It stresses that Iraq is an independent state and that its internal security is its priority. We will not allow it to become a battlefield. The foreign ministry will summon Iran’s ambassador and convey this to him.”
Earlier, caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi had condemned Tehran for violating Iraq’s sovereignty during the attack.
“Iraq refuses any violation of its sovereignty and any attacks on its territory,” his office said in a statement.
Iranian forces fired missiles at military bases housing US troops in Iraq on Wednesday in retaliation for the US killing Qassem Soleimani, raising the stakes in its conflict with Washington amid concern of a wider war in the Middle East.
Tehran's move drew sharp condemnation from the international community and calls for de-escalation and respecting Iraq's sovereignty.
Tehran's foreign minister said Iran took "proportionate measures" in self-defense and did not seek to escalate the confrontation.
US President Donald Trump said there were no American casualties in the strikes and that Tehran appeared to be standing down. He announced that the US will immediately place new sanctions on Tehran "until Iran changes its behavior."
