Prior To Israel's Killing Of Hizbullah's Nasrallah, Iran-Backed Iraqi Militia Commanders Declare UAE 'First Line To Be Targeted' In Event Of Escalation, Threaten To Send Forces To Lebanon, Attack U.S. Bases And Other 'Sites'

The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.

On September 26, 2024, Abu Alaa Al-Walae, the commander of the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Sayyid Al-Shuhada' Brigades, issued a brief statement threatening the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Al-Walae wrote: "The Islamic Resistance in Iraq views the Emirates as the Zionist entity's forward operating base in the Gulf and as the first line to be targeted by the resistance's fire in the event that full-scale war erupts." He added: "The missiles and drones of the Islamic Resistance, which have nearly reached deep inside the Zionist entity, will have a very easy time reaching the entity's alternate positions in the region."[1]

On the following day, Al-Walae spoke in Baghdad at a "stand-in of solidarity with Lebanon," in which he reiterated the Iraqi resistance's support for Lebanese Hizbullah – as well as Hamas and Yemen's Ansar Allah movement (the Houthis) – and threatened to attack interests of the U.S., Israel, and UAE in the event of escalation in Israel's ongoing conflict against Hamas and various Iran-backed groups.[2] The speech occurred one day before Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's Dahieh.[3]

Noting that the stand-in was organized at the request of senior Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Ali Al-Sistani, Al-Walae declared his group's "complete solidarity with the resistance nations in the region, to defend Gaza, Lebanon, and Yemen" from the attacks of "the Zionist gangs, with the backing and cover of evil, terrorist America." Chanting: "No, no, America. No, no, Israel. Yes, yes, Hizbullah. Yes, yes, Palestine," he declared that the Iraqi resistance will not stand aside in the face of growing escalation in the region and will continue to participate in the battle against "Zionist-American barbarity and criminality." The Iraqi militia leader further asserted that all evidence points to "the inevitable disappearance of the cancerous tumor, Israel, and the defeat of America, the Great Satan, from West Asia."

Al-Walae noted that over the years, the Iraqi resistance has sacrificed "caravans of martyrs" in its conflict with Israel and has achieved "many victories," predicting that "the ummah [Islamic nation] and all free people of the world will achieve a great victory in this battle." Noting that the Iraqi resistance has "defended holy sites in Syria and Iraq," he declared that it will "liberate Al-Aqsa" and "all our usurped lands in beloved Palestine."

The militia leader reiterated the promise he had made to Nasrallah,[4] vowing: "If you lose 1,000 martyrs, we will provide you with 100,000 heroes. This is not an exaggeration or illogical." Declaring that the "Zionist-American enemy" will not succeed in "separating the unity of arenas," Al-Walae reiterated the Iraqi resistance's support for Gaza, Yemen, and Lebanon. He warned regional states and all Muslims that "the danger of Zionist expansion will not stop," and rejected claims that "the resistance wants to draw fire to itself," insisting that "it is actually trying to keep fire away from our country." Insisting that the Iraqi resistance has so far used only 5% of its capabilities, he asserted that the Iraqi militias have the same capacities as Hizbullah and the Houthis.

Al-Walae added: "We expelled the Americans from Iraq in humiliation and failure after ten years of fighting, and we will expel them again from Iraq, Syria, and West Asia … If full-scale war erupts, we stress what we previously said that the Americans are hostages to the resistance factions in Iraq, and that the resistance's capabilities can reach their bases in the Gulf and elsewhere… American and Israeli interests in the region will all be legitimate targets for the resistance factions, especially the Emirates, which we consider the forward operating base of the usurping [Israeli] entity and the first line to be targeted."

The end of a summary of Al-Walae's speech

Iraqi Resistance Commander Threatens To Send Forces To Lebanon, Attack U.S. Bases And Other Sites

In a September 28 article,[5] the pro-Hizbullah Lebanese Al-Akhbar daily quoted 'Ali Al-Mahdi, a commander in the Iraqi resistance, who declared: "The armed factions have full ability and readiness, with respect to fighters, weapons, and drones, to enter a long, regional war. Therefore, any development in Hizbullah's war with the [Israeli] entity will bring the factions directly into an open war with no red lines." Al-Mahdi added that the Iraqi factions are ready to send forces to Lebanon or to continue targeting Israel with long-range missiles. Accusing Israel of covering up the effects of the Iraqi resistance attacks on the country – 44 in the past two weeks according to Al-Akhbar – he asserted that the operations have targeted Israeli soldiers, headquarters of the Mossad, and "other sensitive facilities."

A source close to the Iran-backed Iraqi Hizbullah Brigades told Al-Akhbar that the Iraqi resistance has the ability to "open other additional fronts" if Israel escalates its attacks in Lebanon or attacks Iraq. Accusing American and Israeli aircraft of carrying out reconnaissance flights in Iraqi airspace, the source threatened to respond by targeting "sites belonging to the aggression," as well as U.S. bases, in the event of airstrikes targeting resistance positions or commanders.

Iraqi Shi'ite Political Party Forms Brigade To Fight In Lebanon, Provide Aid

On September 27, the Basra Governorate office of the Iraqi Shi'ite political party the Jihad and Construction Movement, also known as the Hizbullah Movement in Iraq, issued a brief video statement announcing that it had formed a brigade called "Jihadiyoun" [Jihadis] and "opened the door to volunteer to join the battles in Lebanon and provide aid for it."[6]