The revelation of the secret base established by the Israeli army inside Iraqi territory sparked a wave of embarrassment and political and security alert in Baghdad, amid movements within the Iraqi parliament to summon security officials and ministers against the backdrop of what was considered a “serious violation of Iraqi sovereignty.”
According to a report by journalists Roi Kayes and Itay Blumenthal on the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (Kan), the Iraqi politician and former member of parliament, Mathal Al-Alusi, known for his anti-Iranian stances, said, “It is wise for the Iraqis to hear an explanation from Netanyahu that what happened was a preventive step that does not aim to harm the Iraqi people.”
Al-Alusi added that it is necessary to clarify that “there is a misunderstanding, and that Israel seeks normal relations with the Iraqi people.”
In parallel, the Iraqi security forces issued their first official account of the incident, confirming that the Iraqi army was indeed attacked by an “unidentified foreign force” in early March in the Najaf region, in an incident that was previously revealed.
But the Iraqi authorities clarified that “during the past two months, no indications of the permanent presence of that foreign force were observed,” considering that the matter was not related to a fixed base, but rather to a temporary military landing and movement that was later contained.
Despite this, the political storm inside Iraq has not subsided, as reports revealed that the Iraqi Parliament intends to summon a number of senior security officials to provide clarifications regarding “the foreign military presence and the violations that affected Iraqi sovereignty.” The summons may also include ministers in the Iraqi government.
According to the report, the secret base established by Israel was revealed through a report published by the Wall Street Journal, far from Israeli military censorship, even though it had been managed in complete secrecy for months.
The information indicated that the base was established before the start of the war with Iran inside the Iraqi desert, about 180 kilometers west of the city of Najaf, and about 400 kilometers from Iran, near the Saudi border.
The report pointed out that the base was built within the course of a desert valley with the aim of reducing the possibility of monitoring it from the air or via satellite.
Satellite images taken in early March, during the first week of Operation “Lion’s Roar,” also showed the presence of a take-off and landing runway about 1.5 kilometers long that allows “Hercules” military transport planes to land, in addition to “Yanshof” helicopters and tents designated for commando forces.
According to the data, the base was mainly intended to prepare for the scenario of an Israeli warplane falling inside Iran, and the need to carry out urgent rescue operations for its crew by special units such as “Shaldagh” and “669.”
The report also revealed that an American spy plane was constantly flying over Iraqi airspace near the base, indicating that the United States was aware of the details.
Although Israel refused to officially comment on the reports, Kan quoted an Israeli security official as saying that revealing the details of the base “caused great harm to Israel’s security,” considering that behind the leak was “an entity seeking to prevent the resumption of war with Iran once and for all.”
