Iran plans to retaliate against Israel from Iraq, media reports

Israel’s national broadcasting authority, Kan, reported yesterday that “Iran is planning to retaliate from Iraq” following Israeli air strikes on Tehran last week which killed four soldiers and a civilian.

Iran intends to use drones and ballistic missiles launched from Iraq to strike Israel, Kan said, providing no further details. It quoted an unnamed political source who said that there are no signs Iran is preparing to strike Israel directly from its territory.

Neither Tehran nor Baghdad has commented on the claims. However, Iranian officials have affirmed that a response against Israel is “inevitable”.

Last Saturday, Iran announced that Israeli forces had targeted several military sites in the provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam, causing “limited damage”.

According to official Iranian statements, the Israeli attack resulted in the deaths of four Iranian soldiers and one civilian.

The assault followed Iran launching over 180 missiles at Israel at the beginning of October, action Tehran described as “revenge” for the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the former political bureau head of Hamas, in Tehran in late July, and Hassan Nasrallah, the former secretary-general of Hezbollah, in late September in Beirut.

Read: Iran claims Israel attack was launched through US-created air corridor in Iraq