Iraq Becomes Battleground in US-Iran Conflict

Iraq has become a direct battleground in the escalating conflict between the United States and Iran, experiencing retaliatory attacks on U.S. assets and pro-Iran groups since March 11, 2026. This development follows U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, leading to a wider regional conflict. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein stated on Monday that Iraq is facing attacks from "both sides of the conflict," with U.S. assets and Iranian-backed groups exchanging strikes.

Recent incidents include a suicide drone intercepted near the U.S. Consulate in Erbil on Wednesday, and a drone attack in Iraq's Kurdistan region that killed a member of the Iranian Kurdish opposition Komala Party.

On Tuesday, a drone strike, attributed to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, hit a U.S. diplomatic support center near Baghdad airport, with one drone impacting the facility and five others shot down.

Separately, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for a missile attack on the U.S. Al-Harir Air Base in Kurdistan, while the Iran-backed Kataib Imam Ali group reported four members killed and 12 injured in air attacks in northern Iraq, which they blamed on the U.S.

Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani urged U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday not to use Iraq as a launchpad for regional attacks. Approximately 2,500 U.S. soldiers remain in Iraq, primarily at Ain al-Asad Air Base and Erbil Air Base, supporting Iraqi security forces and NATO missions. The ongoing hostilities have also seen Iran attack Iranian Kurdish groups in Iraqi Kurdistan, following reports of potential U.S. arming of these groups.