Shafaq News- Baghdad

Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi is leading an intensive effort to prevent Iran-aligned Iraqi armed factions from becoming involved in the escalating conflict between Tehran and Tel Aviv, informed sources told Shafaq News on Monday.

Government contacts began on Sunday evening and remain ongoing, targeting leaders of major factions and affiliated groups operating under alternative names. During the discussions, Al-Zaidi stressed that no military or security action should be taken that could drag Iraq into the crisis, even if the United States resumes direct involvement alongside Israel.

Read more: Al-Zaidi's incomplete cabinet faces Iraqi armed factions test

Baghdad, the sources revealed, has warned it could take legal and security action against any party that launches operations from Iraqi territory or takes steps that risk widening the conflict.

Most parties within the ruling Shiite Coordination Framework have backed the effort, viewing it as necessary to protect the country from the consequences of the escalation.

A day earlier, Kataib Hezbollah, one of Iraq's most powerful Iran-aligned armed groups, cautioned that it would target US military installations across the region if Washington joins the fighting alongside Tel Aviv after Iran launched four successive waves of ballistic missiles at Israel, which it described as a retaliation for Israeli bombardment of Beirut's southern suburbs.

Israeli forces also carried out airstrikes targeting military facilities, air-defense systems, and other sites inside Iran, prompting another retaliation from Tehran.

Read more: Iraq after regional ceasefire: US bases and unresolved political questions