Anger is mounting across Iraq as pro-Iran militia groups have joined the regional conflict sparked by US-Israeli strikes on Iran, with warnings that the move will drag the nation into a war it cannot afford.
Since the conflict broke out on February 28, Iran-aligned militias have been launching drone and missile attacks towards US assets in Iraq, as well as economic infrastructure and civilian areas in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, and accusing the Kurds of co-operating with America and Israel.
The militias' main targets are Harir Air Base, which houses American troops and the US consulate in Erbil, capital of the Kurdistan region; the US embassy in Baghdad; and a logistics hub at Baghdad International Airport, used by US military personnel. In response, the US hit back with strikes on their headquarters in various parts of Iraq, killing and wounding fighters.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella for pro-Tehran armed groups, has also claimed responsibility for attacks on the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, saying it houses US military personnel and warplanes. Kuwait has also accused these militias of hitting a military base on its soil, summoning Iraq’s charge d’affaires to deliver an official protest.
“This is absurd,” said Baghdad resident and taxi driver Zaid Khalid, 34. “It's like wielding a pickaxe and demolishing your own house."
For him, joining the conflict is “wasting years of hard work to achieve security, stability and to build good relations with the people and governments of neighbouring countries”.
Iraq has achieved a hard-won stability after years of conflict. The US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein unleashed an unprecedented wave of violence and social, economic and political instability. It is only in recent years that Iraqis have had political and security stability, allowing the nation to gradually regain a sense of normality.
That has encouraged authorities to launch a series of infrastructure projects and introduce reforms to improve the business environment and public services. Successive governments have been boosting relations with neighbouring countries.
The recent attacks have intensified fears that Iraq, which is still recovering from decades of conflict and the brutal war against ISIS, could once again become a battlefield for regional powers.
"Iran is not fighting for our sake, but rather for its interests, especially its nuclear programme," Mr Khalid said. "We have our own priorities that we have to focus on – building hospitals and schools, improving public services and creating jobs for our youth."
Paying the price
Social media influencers are increasingly criticising militia actions, arguing that they are being carried out without the consent of the Iraqi state or the public.
“Why should Iraq pay the price for a war that isn't its own?” activist Ali Fadhil said in a video on TikTok. “Amid all this destruction, one clear fact remains: Iraq is not a party to this war. It's not Iraq's war.
“Iraqis are tired of wars, tired of bloodshed, tired of destruction, and tired of their country being turned into an arena for others' conflicts time and again,” he said.
These conflicts are “bigger than Iraq itself”, Mr Fadhil added. “Today, pro-Iran militias want to drag Iraq into a new war and to bring it into this conflict, as if Iraqis' blood is part of Iran’s war."
The government in Baghdad is walking a tightrope, trying to distance itself from the escalating conflict while urging all sides to avoid turning Iraq into a battlefield.
After emergency security meetings, officials warned that Iraq rejects any use of its territory to launch attacks on other countries and does not want to be drawn into a wider war.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani has instructed security forces to prevent destabilising actions within the country, as the government attempts to contain militia activity while maintaining delicate relations with Washington and Tehran.
Columnist Essam Al Yassiri said Iraq faces a difficult test as it emerges as the "most sensitive link in the escalation equation".
He wrote in Al Mada daily newspaper: "Either it succeeds in establishing a policy of neutrality and controlling the factions within the framework of the state, or it finds itself in the midst of a confrontation that exceeds its ability to control its course."
The involvement of the armed factions "weakens the central government's authority, and deepens the internal division between forces calling for de-escalation and others who see confrontation as a political and ideological obligation," he added.
"Given the fragility of the security balance, any limited escalation could transform into a wider wave of instability, reviving the scenes of anxiety that Iraqis experienced in previous years."
The militias' attacks on the Kurdistan region also threaten to ignite internal conflict.
On Sunday, veteran Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani described the attacks as "blatant aggression" and said the secular Peshmerga forces have never "submitted to injustice or aggression, and these provocations must stop".
"Everyone should be well aware that self-control has its limits," Mr Barzani said.
