Can Iran threaten US interests from Iraqi territories?
Iran has established a strong military foundation among its allies in Iraq, which allows it to threaten the United States and its allies everywhere in Iraq and neighboring countries.
Reuters’ recent article on Iran moving ballistic missiles to Iraq created a buzz in Arab and international media over the seriousness of the information.
Reuters quoted on Aug. 31 three Iranian officials, two Iraqi intelligence sources and two Western intelligence sources as saying that “Tehran has given ballistic missiles to Shiite proxies in Iraq.”
“Iran is developing the capacity to build more [missiles in Iraq] to deter attacks on its interests in the Middle East and to give it the means to hit regional foes,” the article reported.
Such an Iranian move would cause great harm to Iraq, which is trying to restore its diplomatic relations with neighboring countries. This is particularly true when it comes to the Gulf states, with which Iraq has had many differences since the Iraq invasion of Kuwait in 1990 — but the relationship has since slightly improved.
