ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Former Iraqi prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Monday warned that Iraq would face a “grave breach” of its sovereignty if reports about the establishment of a secret Israeli military base in the southern Najaf desert prove true, calling for transparency and accountability from the authorities.
“If the circulating reports regarding the establishment of a secret military base in Najaf desert are accurate, thus; Iraq will be facing a grave breach that directly undermines its sovereignty,” Kadhimi, who served as the Iraqi prime minister from 2020 to 2022, said in a statement posted on X.
“It is a matter that necessitates full transparency to the Iraqi people and a clear determination of responsibilities without equivocation or justification,” he added.
Kadhimi criticized what he described as weak state control and governance through “media optics and propagandistic victories,” warning that the reality on the ground points to “dangerous fragility in control, decision making, and oversight.”
The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that “Israel set up a clandestine military outpost in the Iraqi desert to support its air campaign against Iran and launched airstrikes against Iraqi troops who almost discovered it early in the war,” citing “people familiar with the matter including U.