ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United States ambassador to the United Nations said on Wednesday that Washington is protecting the skies of the Kurdistan Region and across the Gulf from drone and missile attacks carried out by Iran and its proxy groups.
“The Iranian regime has held this region hostage and terrorized it for nearly 50 years. It is the American military that is now addressing this issue in a responsible way, so that Kurdistan, the United Arab Emirates, Dubai, Bahrain, and the wider region no longer have to live under threats from the Iranian regime,” Mike Waltz told Rudaw’s Namo Abdulla on Wednesday.
The Kurdistan Region has faced a wave of drone and missile attacks since the conflict that began on February 28, when the United States and Israel launched a joint military campaign against Iran. Iraqi armed groups aligned with Tehran have claimed responsibility for some of the attacks.
The Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga Ministry said on Wednesday that three fighters were wounded in drone attacks in Erbil and Sulaimani provinces, calling on the Iraqi prime minister to “assume his legal duty” and curb “internal assaults.”
According to Rudaw’s tracking, Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq have claimed responsibility for many of the strikes on the Region, saying they targeted US diplomatic missions and military bases. Most of the attacks were intercepted by air defense systems.
Rudaw data shows that since the start of the conflict, the Region has come under 352 drone and missile attacks.
Waltz added that Washington would take “appropriate action” against Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq.
“I think we will take appropriate action against both the Shiite militias in Iraq and the root cause of the problem. The source of it all is the Iranian regime in Tehran,” he said. “Enough is enough with a regime that is attacking its neighbors, targeting the Gulf, and striking civilians, hotels, ports, and airports.”
Iran has launched near-daily missile and drone attacks on several Gulf Arab states, many of which have been intercepted, as the conflict sparked by US-Israel strikes on Iran continues to escalate, fueling widespread destruction, casualties, and a growing regional energy crisis.
Namo Abdulla contributed to this article from New York