Nervously watching Israel's destructive campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon, Iraq is working to avoid being drawn into the growing regional conflict as Iran-backed armed groups launch attacks on Israel from Iraqi soil, sources familiar with the matter say.
Two decades after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, Iraq is experiencing relative stability with high revenue from oil sales funding a service-based agenda that has turned much of the country into a construction site.
Iraq does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's government is wary of regional conflicts that could affect its delicate balancing act between Washington and Tehran, both states it is allied with.
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