BAGHDAD, Mar 10 (AFP/AP): Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio Tuesday that Iraq should not be used as a launch pad for attacks in the Middle East war.
Iraq neighbours Iran, against which the United States and Israel launched massive strikes on February 28, as well as the Gulf, which the Islamic republic has hit with missile and drone attacks.
Within hours of the start of the war, fighter jets and missiles coming from every direction filled Iraq's airspace.
Sudani stressed in a phone call with Rubio "the importance of ensuring that Iraqi airspace, territory, and waters are not used for any military action targeting neighbouring countries or the region," the prime minister's media office said.
Trump says Iran had a new site for developing nuclear weapons
U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that the war with Iran began because that country was starting work on a new site for developing material for nuclear weapons. Trump also told reporters at a news conference that Iran was "going to take over the Middle East" if he hadn't acted and that he was disappointed with the selection of Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Iran's supreme leader. Ali Khamenei was killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes. Trump also had a call Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the war and other issues. The Kremlin says the two leaders had a "frank and businesslike" conversation that lasted about an hour.
Qatar's emir, German leader
emphasise 'diplomatic
solutions' to end war
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar, held a phone conversation with Friedrich Merz, the chancellor of Germany, to discuss the escalating situation in the Middle East.
According to a statement from the Qatari ruler's office, the two leaders reviewed the latest developments amid what was described as continued Iranian aggression against Qatar and other countries in the region. They also discussed regional and international initiatives aimed at containing the tensions and strengthening security and stability.
Both leaders stressed the need to intensify global efforts to de-escalate the situation and prioritise diplomatic solutions to halt further escalation and preserve peace.
The statement added that these de-escalation efforts are consistent with the principles of the United Nations Charter, which calls for resolving disputes through peaceful means and respecting the territorial integrity of states.
Iran launches drones at
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait
Iranian fired drones towards Saudi Arabia and Kuwait early Tuesday as U.S. President Donald Trump sent contradictory signals about how long the war could last, fueling uncertainty that's causing markets to swing.
The Saudi Defense Ministry said it has destroyed drones over the kingdom's oil-rich eastern region, while in Kuwait, the National Guard said it shot some down in the county's northern and southern areas.
Iran's latest attacks on neighboring Gulf States come as Trump late Monday told Republican lawmakers that the war was likely to be a "short excursion," but hours later threatened in a post on social media that the U.S. would dramatically increase attacks if Iran tried to close the Strait of Hormuz.
In an apparent response to Trump's remarks published in Iranian state media, a spokesperson for the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Ali Mohammad Naini, said "Iran will determine when the war ends."
Sirens sound in Jerusalem after Israel
military warns of missiles from Iran
Sirens sounded in Jerusalem and central Israel on Tuesday, after the military warned of incoming missiles from Iran on the 11th day of the US-Israeli war against the Islamic republic.
"Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat," the military said in a statement, shortly before AFP journalists heard at least one blast from Jerusalem.
Israel's Magen David Adom emergency services reported no immediate injuries following the missile fire, but said its teams were treating "a small number of people who were injured on their way to protected areas, as well as individuals suffering from anxiety."
