Halbousi tells Saudi counterpart Iraq rejects use of its territory against the kingdom

BAGHDAD — Parliament Speaker Haibat al-Halbousi condemned the attacks on Saudi Arabia in a call with the head of the kingdom’s Shura Council, saying the use of Iraqi territory or airspace to threaten Saudi Arabia or any neighbour would be inconsistent with Iraq’s policy.

He spoke to Abdullah bin Mohammed Aal al-Sheikh about relations between the two countries and regional developments, his media office said.

It is the fourth Iraqi institution to take a position since Friday. The government closed three crossings with Iran and dismissed the Maysan Operations commander after Saudi Arabia said drones launched from Iraqi territory struck its East-West pipeline, with Riyadh holding off retaliating at Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s request. The drones came from Maysan governorate, near the Iranian border, said Sabah al-Numan, spokesperson for the commander-in-chief. The Kurdistan Region Presidency condemned the attacks and backed the federal investigation.

The Badr parliamentary bloc took the opposite view, accusing the government of unjustified haste in accepting the Saudi account and praising the Islamic Resistance in Iraq for denying involvement — a break by a bloc whose leader has backed the weapons policy and sits on the committee handling it.