(Worthy Insights) – The war between Iran and Israel is now in its second week, with no clear signs of an off-ramp—despite the United States bombing several key Iranian nuclear sites and President Donald Trump declaring that “now is the time for peace.” As the war continues, many of Iran’s proxies in the region have been notably quiet, including multiple Iran-backed militias in Iraq that have declared their neutrality. Immediately after the initial Israeli airstrikes, Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr posted a statement on X calling on Iraqis “not to be drawn into this war, as it is not their war, and Iraq does not need more wars.”
The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an Iraqi-based militia group originally established by Iran to combat the Islamic State (IS) group, canceled its 11th-anniversary celebrations in solidarity with the Iranian military commanders killed in the Israeli airstrike on Tehran. But the PMF has made no announced intention of taking military action against Israel, or of using its drones in Iraq to target Israel.
Iraq’s top Shiite cleric, Ali al-Sistani, who 11 years ago called for the creation of the PMF and for jihad against IS, released a statement calling on the international community “to stop the Israeli aggression against Iran,” but made no call for any military operations against Israel. [ Source (Read More…) ]