Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday accused Israel of attacking the Iraqi army, in the wake of a series of attacks on bases belonging to the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).
In an interview with CBS Sunday discussing the massive Sept. 14 attack on Saudi oil facilities which the United States, Britain, France and Germany have blamed on Iran, Zarif blamed Israel for a series of recent attacks on Syrian and Iraqi bases, saying that these were effectively attacks on the Iraqi military.
“These militias that you talk about are part of the Iraqi government. The Israelis are attacking parts of Iraqi military, official military,” said Zarif.
Eight arms depots and training camps belonging to the umbrella group of mostly Shi’ite, Iranian-backed militias have been hit in aerial attacks in Syria and Iraq since mid-July.
The PMF has blamed Israel and the United States for the attacks, though the allegations have not been confirmed by either country.
Syria has not publicly accused Israel or the United States of committing the attacks, although a Syrian security official said Israeli jets were behind a Sept. 9 attack in the country’s Boukamal region which killed 18 fighters and destroyed at least eight storehouses.