Iran strike triggers Iraq row, fears of regional turmoil rise

STORY: Kurds protested on Tuesday (January 16) after an Iranian missile struck targets in northern Iraq.

The attack has sparked an unusual row between the neighboring allies.

Tehran insists the strike was intended to deter threats from Israeli spies.

But an outraged Baghdad has responded by recalling its ambassador and summoning Iran's charge d'affaires in Iraq's capital.

Several civilians were killed and injured in what is Iran's first direct military attack in the region linked to the Gaza war.

State media said Iran's Revolutionary Guards hit what they called an Israeli espionage center in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, near the U.S. consulate in the capital Erbil.

The Guards said the late Monday assault was in response to Israeli "atrocities" against several of its commanders, and on Iranian-allied forces around the Middle East since the conflict started.

Israeli government spokesperson Avi Hayman said he would not speculate, when asked at a press briefing about Iran's assertion that it struck a Mossad site.

Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani spoke on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.

"What's surprising is we are not a part of this conflict, we don't know why Iran is retaliating against civilians of Kurdistan, especially in Erbil. We have no animosity towards any of our neighbors, especially Iran. This has been another attack that... in the past few years, there have been other attacks also against Kurdistan. We don't know what the reasons are, but all of the allegations that they have made are baseless."

The strike deepens concerns about widening and worsening instability across the Middle East.

The war between Israel and Hamas, which started on October 7, has seen Iran's allies enter the fray from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

There's also worry that Iraq could once again become a theater for regional conflict.

That's after a series of U.S. strikes on Iran-linked militant groups that also form part of Iraq's formal security forces in response to dozens of attacks on U.S. forces in the region carried out since Oct. 7.

Iraq's foreign ministry said Baghdad would take all legal steps against what it called a violation of sovereignty.

Tehran said it respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries.

But it was its "legitimate right to deter national security threats."

Iran, which supports Hamas in its war with Israel, accuses the U.S. of backing what it calls Israeli crimes in Gaza.

The U.S. has said it backs Israel in its campaign.

But has raised concerns about the number of Palestinian civilians killed.