ISRAEL issued a veiled threat today to strike Iraq in response to recent attacks by militant groups based in that country.

In a letter to the United Nations security council posted on the X social media platform, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar claimed that his country had the right to “take all necessary measures to protect itself and its citizens against the ongoing acts of hostilities by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.”

Militants in Iraq have launched several air attacks against both Israel and US forces since Hamas attacked southern Israel from Gaza on October 7 2023.

An October 3 drone attack launched from Iraq hit an army base in northern Israel, killing two Israeli soldiers and wounding 24, Mr Saar said.

In his letter, Mr Saar calls on the UN to take “immediate action” to address the situation.

Meanwhile, US Middle East envoy Amos Hochstein spoke of having “very constructive talks” in Lebanon, adding that reaching an agreement to end the Israel-Hezbollah war “is now within our grasp.

“Specifically today, we have continued to significantly narrow the gaps. The meeting was very constructive and very helpful,” Mr Hochstein told reporters.

The emerging agreement would apparently restore a UN buffer zone patrolled by international peacekeepers and Lebanese troops in southern Lebanon, with Israel withdrawing its ground forces and Hezbollah militants pulling back to the north.

“I am committed to do everything I can to work with the government here in Lebanon and in Israel to bring this conflict to a close,” Mr Hochstein said.

As the ceasefire talks continued, the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, known as Unifil, said that Argentina had asked three of its officers in the contingent to return home, though all other contributing countries are maintaining their commitments despite dangers stemming from Israeli military operations.

Spokesman Andrea Tenenti of Unifil said that the force’s “operational capabilities have not changed” after the decision by Argentina and that UN forces have not withdrawn from their positions, despite the Israeli military asking them to move away from the “blue line” along the Lebanon-Israel border about a month ago.

“The posture of our more than 10,000 peacekeepers from nearly 50 countries remain unchanged,” he told a UN briefing in Geneva by video conference from Beirut. 

Mr Tenenti said that Unifil had limited means to monitor the situation as the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continues. 

While Israeli forces have, at times, moved deeper into Lebanon, they have not done so “permanently,” he added, but the level of destruction in Unifil zones was “huge” and “shocking.”