Iraq Parliament To Discuss Iranian, Turkish Threats To Territory

The Iraqi parliament was set to hold a meeting Sunday to discuss the recent attacks by the Iranian and Turkish militaries in the country.

The media office of the parliament's first deputy speaker, Hakem al-Zameli, said in a statement on Saturday that the deliberative meeting will also include Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and the senior undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry, Nizar al-Khairallah.

The session was planned upon an official correspondence submitted by the head of the Sadrist bloc, and more than 50 lawmakers also signed it.

Last Monday, Turkey carried out air and land operations -- dubbed Operation Claw Lock – against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq that targeted camps and ammunition stores.

The military action was part of a long-running Turkish campaign in Iraq and Syria against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, both regarded as terrorist groups by Ankara.

The PKK took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which in the past was mainly focused on southeast Turkey.

Iran also has armed Kurdish opposition in Iraq, although they are distinct from the PKK, which mainly operates in Turkey and Iraq.

On March 13, Iran itself attacked sites in the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan Erbil with a dozen ballistic missiles, with reports saying the unprecedented assault was meant to derail a plan to pump Kurdish gas to Turkey and Europe.

Iran says the attack targeted Israeli intelligence sites operating in the autonomous Kurdish region.