Iraq summons US charge d’affaires over military base attacks

The Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali Alhakim summoned the US charge d’affaires Brian McFeeters on Friday evening. (Twitter: @Iraqimofa)

• Alhakim stressed that Iraq is committed to maintaining good relations with its neighbors
• Added that Iraq was not an “arena for conflict and disagreement”

BAGHDAD: Iraq's Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali Alhakim summoned the US charge d’affaires Brian McFeeters on Friday evening.
The two discussed the latest developments in Iraq and across the wider region, as well as cooperation on intelligence and military matters and the fight against terrorism.
According to a statement from the foreign ministry, Alhakim stressed that Iraq is committed to maintaining good relations with its neighbors and preserving security within its borders.
The charge d’affaires at the US embassy in Baghdad had been summoned hours after US officials disclosed to the New York Times intelligence that Israel had attacked a military base belonging to an Iraqi armed faction in July and bombed three makeshift warehouses inside the base in northern Baghdad.
Alhakim urged the US to commit to “implementing the terms of the strategic partnership agreement with Iraq in the security and economic spheres and to enhance joint cooperation between the two countries in various sectors,” the statement read.
He added that Iraq was not an “arena for conflict and disagreement,” but rather for “building and growth.”
Alhakim made it clear that Iraq places the “utmost importance on diplomatic and legal options to prevent any external interference in its internal affairs and to safeguard the security and sovereignty of the country,” according to the statement.

Leaders of armed factions in the country accuse Israel and the US of carrying out attacks using armed drones, but the Iraqi government denies that there is currently any evidence of the involvement of external parties.
US officials earlier this week uncovered intelligence indicating that Israel was involved in at least one of the attacks, which Iraqi officials told Arab News had embarrassed the Iraqi government and increased local and regional pressure on officials to take a clear position on the American forces and their control of Iraqi airspace.