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.