Iraq PM tells US preventing regional escalation tied to stopping Israeli aggression in Gaza

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani said on Sunday that preventing escalation in the region is “solely dependent on stopping Israel’s aggression against Gaza and preventing its expansion to Lebanon.” Al-Sudani made his comment during a phone call received from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss regional and international developments, according to the prime minister’s media office as reported by the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

“Preventing escalation also depends on deterring and curbing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government, stopping the Israeli occupation authorities from attacking regional countries, ending repeated breaches of international law and sovereignty and halting attempts to spread conflicts and widen crises,” added the Iraqi official.

Al-Sudani and Blinken also discussed Iraq’s role in supporting international peace and stability, and preventing further escalation of current events. Blinken was quoted as saying that Washington wants Iraq to play such a role “in continuation of its efforts to support regional stability and regional peace.”

The secretary of state’s call came amid expectations of an escalation in attacks between Iran and Hezbollah on one hand, and Israel on the other, after the Israelis assassinated prominent Hezbollah leader Fuad Shukr in Beirut last Tuesday, and Hamas and Iran accused it of assassinating the head of the resistance movements political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran on Wednesday.

Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas have vowed to respond to the two assassinations, while international contacts and efforts to calm the situation continue, amid fears that the conflict will spread across the region.

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