Prime Minister Sudani warns war poses risk of ‘serious consequences’ for Iraq

BAGHDAD — Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani warned Saturday that the regional war has expanded and now threatens Iraq’s infrastructure, energy supplies and supply chains, while insisting that decisions on war and peace rest solely with the state.

“The war has expanded and all parties are now facing an imminent danger,” Sudani said during a meeting with Shia and Sunni religious figures, adding that Iraq faces “major challenges” his government is working to address.

“The state, through its institutions, is the authority concerned with the decision of war,” he said. Iran-aligned armed groups, some of which are formally incorporated into Iraq’s security forces, have already entered the conflict, launching drone and rocket attacks on targets across federal Iraq, the Kurdistan Region and elsewhere in the region.

Sudani condemned attacks on diplomatic missions and coalition forces headquarters in Iraq, warning they expose the country to “serious consequences.” The U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad’s Green Zone was struck early Saturday, with thick smoke seen rising from the compound. The UAE Consulate General in Erbil was hit the same day, the second attack on it in a week, wounding two security guards.

“The state, through its constitutional institutions, will continue pursuing those involved in this condemned and rejected act,” he said.

He also condemned strikes on PMF members within Iraq’s security forces. “We will not accept our service members being exposed to such threats and we will do everything within our power to protect them,” Sudani said — hours after warplanes struck several PMF positions in Tuz Khurmatu district, wounding four fighters, two seriously.

Neither the United States nor Israel has claimed responsibility for strikes on PMF positions in Iraq. The PMF said Thursday that 32 airstrikes have hit its positions across seven governorates since the war began Feb. 28.

Iran-aligned factions under the Islamic Resistance in Iraq umbrella, including Kataib Hezbollah, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Kataib Imam Ali and Harakat al-Nujaba, have claimed responsibility for numerous drone and rocket attacks on alleged U.S.-linked targets since the war began.