Report: US, Russia quietly agreed to allow Israel airstrikes in Iraq

America and Russia have agreed to let Israel attack targets in Iraq, an Arabic news site says.

By World Israel News Staff

The U.S. and Russia have reached “understandings” allowing Israel to attack Iranian military targets based in Iraq, Asharq Al-Awsat reported Wednesday, citing unnamed Western diplomats. No official sources have confirmed the report.

According to the sources, the two superpowers agreed to allow Israel to carry out airstrikes against Iranian military installations in Iraq that could threaten Israel.

The Arabic paper, based in London, says that Israel has already carried out three strikes in Iraq. The latest was an attack on an arms depot belonging to an Iranian-backed militia faction north of Baghdad on Tuesday. Neither Israel nor Iraq commented on the attack.

Explosions took place in bases and warehouses belonging to militia groups under the umbrella of the mainly Iran-backed  Popular Mobilization Forces.

It is not clear if the explosions were caused by an attack. The Associated Press reports that some blame the occurrence on defective storage.

On July 19, an explosion took place at a base in Amirli, in Iraq’s northern Salaheddin province, killing two Iranians and causing a huge fire. That attack was blamed on an unmanned drone that dropped explosives. Some Shiite militias blaming it on ISIS.

However, it was the first attack on Iraqi territory also attributed to Israel. Israel was targeting an Iranian rocket depot at the base, according to reports.

Israel has admitted to carrying out numerous airstrikes in Syria with the goal of preventing Iranian entrenchment in that country. However, it has remained silent about targeting sites in Iraq.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested that Israel may be behind the attacks. “Iran has no immunity, anywhere,” he said on Monday during a visit to the Ukraine.

“We will act — and currently are acting — against them, wherever it is necessary,” he said.