Arabic media report: Israel obtained list of Iranian targets in Iraq

Israel has obtained a “list of targets inside Iraqi territory,” according to the Arabic website Al-Jarida. The media outlet claims it learned from “informed sources” that Jerusalem has a list of “Iranian military sites used to transport weapons and equipment to Syria.”

Al-Jarida says it obtained exclusive photos of some of these targets, including border crossings with Iran near Mehran, east of Baghdad, and another near Basra. “Israel has monitored these sites. The sources pointed out that Iran was attempting to create a land corridor from Tehran via Baghdad to Syria.”

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps controlled some of these sites, including a base at Rutba, and other sections of roads leading to Syria.

“The implementation of this threat would represent a change in the rules and an attempt by Tel Aviv to expand the map of the game,” the website wrote. It linked the new focus of Israel on Iraq to the southern offensive by the Syrian regime near Quneitra. Israel has warned that Iran must withdraw its forces from Syria.

In June, a US official alleged Israel had carried out an air strike near Albukamal in Syria that targeted an Iraqi Shi’ite militia. The militia, although it was Iraqi, was in Syria supporting the Syrian regime as part of the IRGC’s support for Bashar Assad. Israel has expressed concern about Tehran’s attempt to build a corridor of influence, including the training of tens of thousands of militias in Syria. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin about Syria on Friday.