IRAQ – LEBANON – ISRAEL Iraqi militias ready to support Hezbollah. Al-Sistani calls for an end to “aggression”.

In recent days, there have been attacks by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq against Israel, the latest one in the evening with drones intercepted and shot down by the air force. In the event of a ground invasion of Lebanon, the militants are ready to join the conflict. The 94-year-old Shiite leader is calling for help for the Lebanese civilian population. Among Iraqis, there are fears of an escalation that would also favour the return of Isis.

Baghdad () – In the war launched by Israel against Hezbollah in Lebanon, which is dragging the entire country into a conflict with potentially catastrophic consequences, the risk of a regional escalation is more than a possibility, as demonstrated by the involvement of pro-Shiite militias in Iraq. In these hours, in fact, the Islamic Resistance movement in Iraq has launched an attack against Jewish State targets, using Al’Arqab cruise missiles. Similar operations had already taken place in the recent past, in response to the ongoing war in Gaza, but have now been expanded to defend “the oppressed peoples of Palestine and Lebanon,” according to a note from the group relayed by the Iranian agency Mehr News Agency (MNA).

“We are targeting a vital target in the north of the occupied territories,” the statement continued, “with an Arqab cruise missile.” During the night, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq attacked Israel with two drones that had crossed Syrian airspace and penetrated Israeli territory from the Golan Heights, sounding sirens in Ein Zivan and Merom Golan at around 3 a.m. The hits – due to the probable downing of Israeli army (IDF) fighter planes – caused fires in open areas, without causing damage to infrastructure or people. The main groups that make up the Islamic Resistance in Iraq have finally warned that, in the event of a ground invasion of Lebanon by Israel, they are ready to enter “directly” into the conflict alongside Hezbollah and confront IDF troops.

For the moment, these are minor operations compared to the attacks on Lebanon or the war in Gaza, but they bear witness to the expansion of the conflict, if not to the nations in the region, at least to Shiite groups or movements linked to the Iranian galaxy (and Hezbollah). Hence the growing concern among Iraqis about a possible large-scale involvement of the country in the war between Israel and Lebanon, which would risk derailing the fragile recovery after years of war and instability, also linked to the jihadists of the Islamic State, a threat that is still present.

“Going to war would be madness,” says Basil, a 40-year-old taxi driver from Salah al-Din. “We still fear the return of the Islamic State.” “Going to war would give this organisation the opportunity to reappear again,” he writes in an editorial published yesterday in al-Mashhad. Elham, a 44-year-old Arabic teacher from south Baghdad, warns: “War means the end of the educational process, which continues to suffer serious crises. We are trying to revive the entire educational process, but wars seem to haunt us, preventing us from moving forward.” Another Iraqi, Saif al-Azzawi, warned that the country’s involvement in the war in Lebanon could lead to the collapse of the current political system. “What we will see in 2025 will be a different Iraq from the previous one, and foreign intervention in Iraq’s internal affairs will begin if it gets involved in the war against Israel.”

In a context of growing concern – and tension – regarding the regional framework, comes the – rare and unusual – appeal in favour of a Lebanon that is becoming “another Gaza” by the highest Shiite authority in Iraq, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani. In the note, the 94-year-old religious leader calls for an end to the “barbaric aggression and the protection of the Lebanese people” and, addressing the faithful, asks them to “help alleviate suffering” and “meet humanitarian needs”. At the same time, he calls for “every possible effort” to be made to put an end to the Israeli “aggression” against Lebanon, which for days has been the subject of an incessant bombing campaign against Hezbollah exponents and targets, but which ends up targeting and killing civilians.

Al-Sistani’s statement is a further confirmation of the concern with which the Middle East region, governments, and religious and civil authorities view the escalation. After all, Baghdad is one of the most attentive observers, and one of the most interested, in current events: the government is in fact dominated by pro-Tehran parties and factions with strong ties to Beirut and, above all, to the Shiite militia Hezbollah. Hence the intervention of the Iraqi Prime Minister, Shia al-Sudani, who would have given “instructions” on actions to support the Lebanese people, as well as instructions to the head of the army to: extend or renew entry visas for Lebanese citizens present on the territory; exempt Lebanese who are currently in an irregular situation from encountering expulsion orders; continue to guarantee visa-free entry to Lebanese who are at the border or at entry points. The Foreign Ministry in Baghdad also called for a summit of the Arab League and Muslim nations, calling for coordinated and united action to end the Israeli “aggression” and to strengthen airlifts to deliver aid to the population.