Iran, more specifically Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) has claimed responsibility on Sunday, for a missile attack that struck Northern Iraq in Arbil. Twelve missiles were counted striking Arbil at 1:30 in the morning, lighting up the dark sky. No causalities were reported from the attack, but both buildings and vehicles were damaged. An Iranian statement has indicated that the missiles were linked to Israel’s intelligence services, calling these “strategic centres for conspiracy.” Kurdish authorities have denied that these sites existed, but there have been no published images of where the missiles struck. The attack also occurs a week after the IRGC vowed to avenge the death of two of their officers killed in a rocket attack in Syria, which they have blamed on Israel.
The missiles landed several kilometres away from a United States Consulate compound, but it is unclear whether the attack was a message to the United States. The U.S. State Department has condemned the attacks as “outrageous,” while Ned Price, spokesman for the State Department has stated no United States facilities were damaged, and “we have no indications the attack was directed at the United States.” The attack occurred after talks of resurrecting the 2015 nuclear deal was suspended indefinitely due to Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
While it is unclear if this was a message for the United States, it is a clear escalation of the Iran and Israel proxy war. Iran and Israel were once allies. In 1979, the Islamic revolution of Iran took place, and the new leaders took an anti-Israel stance. They believed the Jewish state of Israel was an imperialist of the Middle East. Iran began supporting groups that regularly fight against Israel such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Hamas in Gaza, providing funding, weapons, and training to these groups. Israel sees Iran as a dangerous threat due to Iran’s potential for nuclear weapons.
Proxy wars occur when major powers play a role in supporting and directing a party to conflict but do not do much of the actual fighting themselves. States have different motivations for proxy wars, some include the cost of war or wanting to influence events far from their borders. Iran’s proxies, like the Hezbollah in Lebanon, are because they are ideological soulmates. Another reason is that by Iran supporting Hezbollah, they can advance their own revolutionary agenda.
Proxy wars have numerous risks. The greatest being that proxies and their sponsors are likely acting in their own interests and impulses, as previously stated, Iran is supporting Hezbollah and Hamas because they regularly fight Israel, and Iran’s interests are causing conflict with Israel because they have an anti-Israel stance. Proxies may also abuse their power and commit human rights atrocities with the funding and weapons granted by the support of a major power. Iran, having also violated human rights, presumably does not care about the human rights atrocities of their proxies, like Hezbollah and Hamas.
The proxy war between Iran and Israel has occurred throughout the Middle East, affecting states like Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. Civilians need to be aware of the costs and risks in both money and human causalities that their governments have incurred to fight wars in other countries. While Iran’s recent missile attack did not result in any causalities, proxy wars continue to be plagued with human casualties, and human rights atrocities.
