– U.S. reportedly knew of at least one Israeli base since June 2025 but likely withheld information from Iraq.
– Iraq was compelled to shut down its radar to protect U.S. aircraft during both the 12-day war and the 2026 conflict.
– The concealment of Israeli operations intensified scrutiny over Iraq’s sovereignty and coalition transparency.
– Iraqi political figures called for full transparency and stronger oversight mechanisms to prevent foreign intrusion.
In a deeply embarrassing development for Baghdad, Israel established two forward-operating bases (FOBs) for supporting air campaigns against Iran on federal Iraqi territory in a flagrant violation of Iraq’s already fragile sovereignty.
The Wall Street Journal reported the first base’s existence, in the barren Nukhaib desert southwest of the Shia shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala, on 9 May. The New York Times further revealed Sunday that Israel also set up a second base somewhere else in the country’s western desert regions that it operated for over a year and even used during the June 2025 12-day war.
(May 16, 2026)
The physical record is not seriously in dispute, and it begins with a shepherd. On March 4, a local herder in the remote desert southwest of Najaf and Karbala reported unusual helicopter activity to military authorities in Najaf. Iraqi forces were dispatched. They came under fire from the air. One soldier was killed, and two were wounded. Baghdad submitted a protest note to the Global Coalition without naming who had fired, and the incident was quietly classified —until the Wall Street Journal named the party responsible on May 9.
(January 31, 2025)
The U.S. and Iraq announced an agreement last year to wind down the military mission in Iraq of an American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group by September 2025, with U.S. forces departing some bases where they have stationed troops during a two-decade-long military presence in the country. (…)
But the fall of Assad in a lightning offensive led by Sunni Islamist rebels in December led some to reassess that stance, including members of the Coordination Framework, a coalition of mainly Shiite, Iran-allied political parties that brought current Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani to power in late 2022.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani blasted Israeli “efforts to expand the war” in West Asia on 19 November, after Israel’s foreign minister sent a letter to the UN Security Council urging action against the Iraqi resistance and stressing Tel Aviv’s right to “protect itself.”
In a cabinet session on Tuesday, Sudani said that “the message sent by the Zionist entity to the UN Security Council represents a pretext and argument to attack Iraq, and to achieve the entity‘s ongoing efforts to expand the war in the region.”
Al-Mandlawi warned, according to the statement, of „the attempts of the Zionist occupation to expand the scope of the conflict in the region and the continuation of the bloodshed and targeting the killing of civilians, to escape the bitter reality and repeated defeats after more than a year of Operation Flood of Al-Aqsa,“ stressing „the need to take courageous positions in addressing and resolving the issue of Iraqi airspace.“
In a statement, Al-Sumaida‘i condemned „Zionist violations,“ stressing the need for “a firm response.” He expressed surprise at the Iraqi government’s stance and the air defense forces‘ spokesman‘s declaration that they are „on alert and under full Iraqi control.“
“Such statements cast doubt on Iraq’s position,” the Mufti announced, affirming that the current situation makes the country seem “weak and hesitant.”
He further called on Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani to intervene immediately to prevent any leniency in dealing with these violations, stressing that “Iraq must take decisive measures to preserve its dignity and sovereignty against any aggression.”
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani made a phone call on Tuesday, to the King Jordan, King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein, stressing the importance of coordination between Iraq and Jordan to deliver humanitarian aid and enhance international efforts to stop these attacks.
Speaker Name
AL-SUDANI, MOHAMMED SHIA
Speaker Role
Head of Government
Speaker Geographic
IRAQ
The Prime Minister reiterated Iraq’s solidarity with Lebanon, stating that both the government and people of Iraq, guided by religious authority, stand with Lebanon against what he termed “aggression aimed at plunging the region into conflicts.” Al-Sudani also condemned the targeting of international and humanitarian organizations, including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Gaza.
He expressed concern over the broader global implications of the ongoing conflicts, warning that recent actions by Israel could „ignite a large-scale regional war“ and destabilize the entire region.
The two leaders expressed their commitment to the ongoing Higher Military Commission (HMC) process and its results, and the three working groups that will assess: the continued threat from ISIS, operational and environmental requirements, and bolstering Iraq’s security force capabilities. The two leaders affirmed they would review these factors to determine when and how the mission of the Global Coalition in Iraq would end, and transition in an orderly manner to enduring bilateral security partnerships, in accordance with Iraq’s Constitution and the U.S.-Iraq Strategic Framework Agreement.
„The two leaders affirmed they would review these factors to determine when and how the mission of the Global Coalition in Iraq would end,“ the statement noted.
According to AP, the objective would be to transform talks into a bilateral agreement that could still keep a few US troops in Iraq, which already exist as 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria as part of the coalition, knowing that in Syria they are officially considered occupation forces.
Iraq said on Sunday that it had resumed talks with the United States on the future of the anti-Islamic State coalition, expressing hope that they would not be disrupted and lead to an outcome soon.
A first round of talks opened on 27 January but was swiftly suspended after a drone attack killed three US military personnel at a base in Jordan the following day.
According to a statement from the Parliament, the deliberative session is set to take place at 5:00 PM next Saturday. The focus will be on the repeated US assaults on Iraqi sovereignty.
Earlier today, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani reiterated his government‘s determination to end the mission of the US-led coalition in Iraq in response to the US attacks on Iraqi areas.
By this act, the American forces jeopardize civil peace, violate Iraqi sovereignty, and disregard the safety and lives of our citizens. Even more concerning is that the coalition consistently deviates from the reasons and objectives for its presence on our territory.
This trajectory compels the Iraqi government more than ever to terminate the mission of this coalition, which has become a factor for instability and threatens to entangle Iraq in the cycle of conflict, and our armed forces cannot neglect their constitutional duties and responsibilities, which demand safeguarding the security of Iraqis and the land of Iraq from all threats.
God‘s mercy and honor to the martyrs of this attack and to all martyrs of Iraq.
Major General Special Forces
Yehia Rasool
The Spokesperson for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
The meeting took place in the wake of the US airstrikes on Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) in Iraq and Syria on Saturday. The US said the strikes were in retaliation for a drone attack that killed three American soldiers at a US base in Jordan last weekend. The Iraqi government condemned the US attacks as a violation of its sovereignty and a threat to regional stability.
(10.01.2024)
„There is a need to re-organize [our] relationship [with Washington] so that it is not a target or justification for any party, internal or foreign, to tamper with stability in Iraq and the region,“ Sudani said, partly in reference to attacks by the Iraqi resistance on US bases.
The Iraqi prime minister has repeatedly said that Baghdad will neither accept foreign troops nor armed factions operating on its soil.
Iraqi and US officials met a day before the deadly drone attack to discuss the future of the US presence in Iraq under the framework of the US-Iraq Higher Military Commission (HMC).
The meeting aimed at “Reviewing the mission of the US-led international coalition against ISIS, following Iraq’s victory over one of the most formidable terrorist groups in the world.”
“Following this review, a specific timetable will be formulated to end the military mission of the Coalition and transition to bilateral security relations between Iraq, the United States, and partner countries in the Coalition.”
Al-Hamidawi announced the suspension of military and security operations „against the occupation forces to prevent embarrassment to the Iraqi government.“
The group pledged to continue supporting the people of Gaza through other means and recommended „passive defense“ if the group‘s fighters „faced any hostile American action.“
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Ending the mission of the United States-led global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq will be achieved during the current cabinet, said a government spokesperson on Sunday, noting that the process has already been set in motion.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, today begins a tour of the Middle East that will first take him to Lebanon, then to Iraq, where he will hold meetings at the highest level with the aim of boosting the chances of achieving a regional de-escalation that will result in greater stability in the area.
All Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, have issued many statements condemning Israel‘s assault on Gaza, but they did not take any further action. Saudi Arabia and the Arab League waited for more than a month of onslaught in Gaza to hold a summit in Riyadh to discuss the issue.
The summit decided to break the siege and blockade, but Arab countries never turned this resolution into action. Instead, Egypt obeyed Israeli commands and refused to give access to move injured civilians for treatment outside of Gaza unless Israel approved their names.
(21.01.2024)
„The end of the US-led coalition mission is a necessity for the security and stability of Iraq. It is also a necessity for preserving constructive bilateral relations between Iraq and the coalition countries,“ Sudani stated during a televised event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
(10.01.2024)
„There is a need to reorganise this relationship so that it is not a target or justification for any party, internal or foreign, to tamper with stability in Iraq and the region,“ Sudani told Reuters in an interview in Baghdad on Tuesday.
Giving the first details of his thinking about the future of the coalition since his Jan. 5 announcement that Iraq would begin the process of closing it down, Sudani said the exit should be negotiated under „a process of understanding and dialogue“.