Iraq files complaint against Iran to UN Security Council

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi foreign ministry on Wednesday announced it has officially submitted a complaint against Iran to the United Nations’ Security Council, following the recent attack on Erbil which claimed the lives of four civilians.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired 10 ballistic missiles towards different parts of Erbil province late Monday, under the pretext of targeting Mossad bases and headquarters of anti-Iran groups. The attacks left at least four killed, including an 11-month-old girl, and 17 others injured.

“The foreign ministry filed a complaint through two identical letters sent by Iraq’s permanent representative in New York to the UN Secretary-General and the president of the Security Council,” read a statement from the Iraqi ministry in the early hours of Wednesday.

The statement reiterated that the attack constitutes “a flagrant violation of Iraqi sovereignty” and threatens the security of its people as well as the peace and stability of the region as a whole.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told Rudaw’s Sinan Tuncdemir on Tuesday that they were “very concerned” about the Iranian attack, urging all parties to exercise maximum restraint and refrain from any escalation.

“We are, of course, against any attacks that violate the territorial integrity of any country. Every dispute needs to be dealt with through peaceful means, through dialogue, and within the ideals contained in the UN charter which are about sovereignty and territorial integrity of every country,” said Dujarric.

Monday’s deadly attack on Erbil was widely condemned by Kurdish and Iraqi officials and authorities, including the Iraqi foreign ministry which summoned Iran's charge d’affaires in Baghdad to protest the IRGC aggression.

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Tuesday said that the deadly attack is an indication that Iraq and the Region are still very prone to terrorist attacks and are therefore still in need of the assistance of the United States-led coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS), at a time when Baghdad has recently called for the expulsion of all foreign forces from the country.

While attending the 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos, Barzani spoke to US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken separately. Both renewed Washington’s condemnation of the Iranian attack on Erbil.

“The Kurdistan Regional Government is a close partner, and the United States unequivocally condemns Iran’s aggression,” wrote Blinken on X (formerly Twitter).