German Paper Says Iraqi Nujaba’s Missile Arsenal Poses Serious Threat to Israel
According to the Communication and Media Affairs Centre of al-Nujaba in Iran, the German newspaper has published a detailed report with the headline “Iraqi militia threatens Israel with rockets” and the caption “Palestinian, Iraqi and Iranian Islamist leaders swear to the common struggle against Israel” along with a picture of the meeting of the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-Quds Force with the secretaries-general of Iraq’s al-Nujaba movement and Palestine’s Hamas and Islamic Jihad, writing, “A photo that was distributed on Iraqi social media channels a week ago shows four Islamist leaders smiling together, all members of the ‘Axis of Resistance’….”
Bild, known as a conservative publication in Germany, continued, “It is unclear whether the photo is actually up-to-date or has only just been published but the most important figure in it is Brigadier-General Esmail Qaani, the commander of the foreign forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who has replaced [General Shahid] Qassem Soleimani. Iraqi groups, especially the movement known as the al-Nujaba Islamic resistance movement, provide maximum support and guidance.”
According to Bild, “This network of militias, which Iran created all over the region, has one ideological goal in common: the destruction of Israel.”
The report further refers to the interview of the spokesman of al-Nujaba with Iran’s Mehr News Agency and quotes Nasr al-Shammari as saying, “al-Nujaba will support the Palestinian resistance. It will not be limited to delivering weapons and exchanging experiences. They also have weapons that could hit Israel directly.”
The German newspaper then refers to “a significantly higher risk to the missile arsenal of Iraqi groups, especially al-Nujaba, for Israel,” quoting Fabian Hinz, an independent expert focused on missile proliferation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, “The Iron Dome system has been more or less compatible with Hamas’ and Islamic Jihad’s missiles but the missiles that Iran has provided to its regional allies can hit military and economic targets with very little error. The fact that the strategic value of these missiles has increased exponentially.”
The weapons expert stated in another part of his remarks, “Regardless of speculation about the ability or inability of the al-Nujaba movement to attack Israel directly from Iraqi territory, we must keep in mind that such groups typically retain detailed information with confidential classification. Note that some time ago, the news of the delivery of precision-guided Zolfaqar missiles with a range of 700 kilometers to the Iraqi forces was revealed in a press report.”
Referring to Iran’s efforts to transfer its military technology and localize it in Iraq, Bild added, “Another possibility is that Iraqi groups are using long-range drones with Iranian technology against Israel. American intelligence agencies have confirmed that they may have used the same method to destroy a pipeline in Saudi Arabia.”
The report concludes that the reason for the Israeli airstrikes on Syrian territory is “Tel Aviv’s concern about the threat posed by Iraqi groups” and added, “Large numbers of Iraqi forces have already set up bases and weapons depots in neighboring lands, making the two countries’ border a safe haven for Israel’s enemies.”
