Iraq’s Sunni bloc: Coordination with Israel ‘high treason’

Cooperation between Israel and the so-called “quadruple alliance” – which includes Iraq, Syria, Iran and Russia – is tantamount to “high treason”, the Union of Forces, the main Sunni bloc in Iraq’s parliament, has said.

In a letter sent Sunday to Hakim al-Zamli, chairman of Iraq’s Security and Defence Commission, Union of Forces leader Zafer al-Ani voiced the bloc’s “concern” over burgeoning cooperation “between the four-party alliance and the Zionist entity, particularly in regards to Syria”.

This cooperation, he added, was being carried out “on the pretext of military coordination, which may eventually be extended to include Iraq”.

The letter went on to assert that coordination with the self-proclaimed Jewish state – at least for Iraq – was “tantamount to the crime of high treason”.

“Iraq’s accession to a military alliance that the Zionist entity is also a part of violates both the laws of the Iraqi state and the Iraqi national conscience – especially these days, when our brothers in Palestine are being martyred [by Israeli security forces] while defending Islamic holy sites,” al-Ani asserted in the letter.

In a statement released earlier, the Russian Defence Ministry said that both the Russian and Israeli air forces were conducting joint training exercises with a view to avoiding possible accidents in Syrian airspace.

Stepped-up coordination, the ministry said, also included the establishment of a direct line between Russian officers based in Syria’s Humaimim air base and Israeli Air Force commanders.

Earlier this month, Iraq’s Joint Operations Command announced that security and intelligence coordination between Iraq, Syria, Iran and Russia was being stepped up with the ultimate aim of targeting the Daesh militant group.