Iraqi Official Rejects Reuters’ Report On Iranian Missiles

A senior Iraqi official said that the Reuters’ claims that Iran has transferred ballistic missiles to Iraq are imprecise as Hashd al-Shaabi (popular forces) have produced the missiles themselves.

“Such reports are not precise. There is a mistake in what has been said. The missiles are produced by Hashd al-Shaabi and they were unveiled during ceremonies to celebrate victory over the ISIL,” an unnamed Iraqi official told the Arabic-language al-Hayat newspaper on Saturday.

He added that the range of the missiles is no more than 50km, stressing that they are no threat to the neighbors.

The Iraqi official voiced concern that such allegations could pave the ground for targeting certain Iraqi groups or figures who opposed the US deployment in Iraq.

A report by Reuters on Friday claimed that ballistic missiles had been transferred from Iran to Iraq over the past few months to threaten Iran’s enemies in the region.

The report claimed the missiles had a range of between 200 and 700 kilometers, putting Riyadh or the Israeli city of Tel Aviv within striking distance if the weapons were deployed in Southern or Western Iraq.