The Gaza war has over the past year expanded to include Israeli attacks on Iranian and Syrian territory, and on Iran-allied Hezbollah in Lebanon. In recent months, this has raised significant concerns that a potential wider conflict could extend to Iraq—particularly since the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq”, an umbrella entity aligned with the Tehran-led ‘Axis of Resistance’, has claimed numerous strikes on Israel.

These concerns ballooned following reports in Oct. 2024 of a drone attack on a military base in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. The strike reportedly resulted in the deaths of four Israeli soldiers and wounded dozens of...