A new report by the Wall Street Journal has exposed Israel’s covert military outpost hidden in Iraq’s western desert, built before the war with Iran. According to the Journal, special forces and rescue teams staffed the base, and it was used to support air operations against Iranian targets. Apparently, the base was only uncovered after a local shepherd noticed unusual military activity and notified Iraqi troops who were sent to investigate. One of the soldiers was killed by the resulting Israeli strike and two others were wounded, in order to protect the base’s secrecy.
The significance of this report goes beyond one undercover installation – it would mean the war against Iran was fought not just through long-range sorties and public threats, but using concealed infrastructure on foreign soil that dragged Iraq, unknowingly, into the conflict too.
Inside Israel’s Secret Base, Hidden in Iraq Desert
According to reports, the outpost was built in February near the Saudi border and served as a logistics hub for the Israeli Air Force during the Iran campaign. It was also home to special forces and search-and-rescue teams positioned to recover Israeli pilots if aircraft were downed over Iran (although none are reported to have needed rescuing), and meant attacks could secretly be launched on Iran from much closer range.
Crucially, it’s also claimed that Israel built the hidden base with US knowledge just before the war began. However, US officials maintain they were not involved in the March attack on Iraqi troops that nearly discovered the base following notification by the local shepherd.
Western Iraq’s vast and sparsely populated desert makes it especially suitable for temporary bases of this kind. American special forces also used the same region during operations against Saddam Hussein in 1991 and 2003, demonstrating its strategic value for covert military operations.
Covert Operations Uncovered by Local Shepherd, and the Strike That Followed
Coverage by Arab publication Asharq Al-Awsat says the revelation has “caused uproar in Iraq” and noted that the country’s top officials are yet to comment. Early in the war, which was ignited by US-Israeli attacks on Iran on 28 February, troops were detected operating in the Najaf desert. According to security officials, Israeli forces established a base in an abandoned airstrip. One confirmed, “there are no longer forces there, but they have have left equipment,” adding that the Israeli operation “was in coordination with the US”.
Iraq was drawn into the ongoing Iran war at the beginning, with strikes targeting Iran-backed armed groups, which in turn launched hundreds of attacks on US interests in Iraq and across the Gulf region. Original reports of foreign troops operating in the Najaf desert emerged early in the war when a shepherd reported unusual activity in the area. However, nothing was successfully revealed at the time because of the resulting strike.
Looking back on it, it may have inadvertently been addressed at the time. On 5 March, right after the first reported sightings, a statement was made by Qais al-Mohamadawi, Iraq’s deputy commander of joint operations. He had said that there were reports of “individuals or movement in the Najaf desert” and members of the military were sent to investigate. The troops came under heavy aerial fire, leaving one soldier dead and two others wounded, and the area was later searched although nothing was found. Mohamadawi confirmed no foreign troops were authorised to be in that location.
Another security official said on Sunday that there were “indications that the operation involved an Israeli technical team under American military protection”.
Illegal Foreign Military Presence, or Strategic Necessity?
Defenders of regional sovereignty argue that Israel building and operating a military base without Baghdad’s knowledge or permission constitutes an illegal foreign military presence. Qais al-Mohamadawi said, following the revelation, that “it appears there was a certain force on the ground before the strike, supported from the air, operating beyond the capabilities of our units”.
There’s also a demand for accountability for the Iraqi casualties, with Israeli forces alleged to have unlawfully killed one solider conducting legitimate security operations on Iraqi territory, warranting international condemnation and accountability. The role and responsibility of the US has been brought into question too, with claims that Washington enabled Israeli violations of Iraqi sovereignty by providing advance knowledge and tacit approval, making them complicit in the unauthorised operation and resulting casualties.
However, supporters are calling the covert outpost a legitimate wartime necessity that provided critical logistical support for operations against Iran while minimising regional escalation. The airstrikes are deemed necessary defensive measures by some, saying that protecting operational security and preventing the exposure of critical military assets during active combat operations was justified. The advocates for strategic security also argue that the US awareness of allied operations is a standard intelligence coordination between partners, and Washington is not automatically responsible for the March strikes on Iraqi forces.
How It Changes the Dynamic of Ongoing Conflict
The base being exposed changes the overall complexion because it puts Iraqi territory inside the operational chain, rather than just on the fringes. This isn’t a case of missiles passing overhead, or regional fallout spilling across a border: the allegation is that Israeli forces established a concealed wartime hub on Iraqi soil, with US permission, and not only used it to support attacks on neighbouring Iran, but even sacrificed Iraqi troops to maintain cover. In short, Iraq’s own land was being secretly used to advance a war it was not aware it was actively participating in.
It also sharpens the political relationship and how Iraq fits between Washington and Tehran. The Financial Times reported Baghdad condemning a separate US strike as a “heinous crime” and summoned the US envoy in protest, before later blaming Israel instead. It means that while the Iraqi government was trying to respond to lethal attacks on its own forces, it lacked a clear picture of who was really operating on its territory and with whose knowledge.
Final Thought
If Washington really knew about the secret base apparently set up by Israel, then Iraq must confront the possibility that its chief security partner knew Iraqi soil was being used for the Iran campaign, while its own government did not. As a country already pulled between US power, Iranian influence, militia pressure and chronic instability, this kind of revelation doesn’t just embarrass a government; it exposes how little control they really have over their own land.
Asharq Al-Awsat quoted a source close to the government saying the revelations about the Israeli base underscore the “grave flaws in the Iraqi security forces’ ability in protecting the country and securing its borders”, continuing that “Iraq boasts over 1.5 million security forces and over 6 billion dollars a year are spent on them, and yet, they failed in protecting the country.”
The Expose Urgently Needs Your Help…
Can you please help to keep the lights on with The Expose’s honest, reliable, powerful and truthful journalism?
Your Government & Big Tech organisations
try to silence & shut down The Expose.
So we need your help to ensure
we can continue to bring you the
facts the mainstream refuses to.
The government does not fund us
to publish lies and propaganda on their
behalf like the Mainstream Media.
Instead, we rely solely on your support. So
please support us in our efforts to bring
you honest, reliable, investigative journalism
today. It’s secure, quick and easy.
Please choose your preferred method below to show your support.
Categories: World News
It doesnt alter the war, Israel is cooked either way. The end of globalism is near.
In your dreams jew hater…
Well, good for the Israelis. Without them we would all be bending to Mecca today. They’re the only ones who keep them at bay, nothing else, which is pretty scary. The Islamist problem should be a number 1 priority for every government, and it’s not. In the UK alone 70% of ALL intel services are spent on the islamisation problem.
“They’re the only ones who keep them at bay”: I’m guessing you mean the Israelis are the only ones keeping the muslims at bay.
What about the US and it’s other allies ? The only reason the Israelis could set up this base is because the US military is still operating in Iraq and next door neighbours, the Saudis may have helped.
And what about the US bases in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi, UAE, and others, perhaps they have done something to “keep them at bay” ? The most likely reason that the US is gunning for Iran is simply because it allows no US bases on its soil.
You clearly have a dislike or perhaps an apprehension, towards muslims or islam, and maybe because you feel your country has allowed a lot of them to come over and settle but I would just say to you that Israel and the US are doing nothing at all to “keep them at bay”, they are in fact giving them a very good reason to want to come to your country.
So if you support bombing muslims in their homes, you support them coming to your country.
Hi John Hubbard, the words we use are important.
Islamist does not equate to Muslim. And Islamism does not equate to Islam. Islamism/Islamists are a totalitarian, technocratic political ideology/political ideologues that use the religion of Islam as a tool to further their aims. As with all terrorist organisations, Islamism recruits mainly young men. And it is easier for Islamists to recruit Muslims (adherents of Islam) who they incrementally indoctrinate into Islamism. So, Islamists are predominantly Muslim, or at least they start out as a Muslim – however, relatively few Muslims become Islamists. Bizarre as it sounds, some Islamists are not, nor ever were, Muslims.
Israel is not trying to stop Muslims. About 20% of the Israeli population are Muslims – Muslims, Jews, Christians, atheists, agnostics etc are able to, and in many countries do, live peacefully side by side. The problem, the world over, is Islamists – from Africa, to the Middle East to the West. Islamists do not want peace, where ever they are, they want to conquer it and impose Islamism on the population. Israel is trying to stop Islamists from constantly attacking Israel.
Hi Rhoda, I won’t argue with your definitions of Islam/Muslim/Islamist but I wouldn’t want you to forget that the majority, the vast majority, of military violence in this world is coming from the west (nominally Christian) towards the east (nominally Muslim).
Yes I agree all military organisations, whether labelled as “terrorists” or not, recruit predominantly young males, nothing new or unusual about that at all I’m sure you will agree.
The problem that the globalists have with Islam in paricular is that it seems that the religion of Islam encourages its adherents to rise up, to fight and they are therefore a bit of a thorn in the side of the power elite who want total global domination. They prefer to have the leaders of all nations very compliant. This they have achieved in most countires, Muslim ones included: take Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE and others. Some had to be destroyed first, Libya, Iraq, Syria, etc. but those countries may reemerge onto the international scene once the “right” regimes are in place.
I don’t think the globalists care how many deaths occur in achieving their goals, I think they are probably quite happy with the spilling of blood especially aound certain times of the year.
To those who do not have a “side”, the US and Israel are the aggressors here. The US travels half-way round the world, bombing, to “defend” it’s people. Repeatedly.
Israel bombs Iran to stop them having what it, Israel, already has. What utter hypocrisy, what dishonesty. What kind of tree could bear these bad fruits ? Only a bad tree.
Hi John Hubbuard, you say,”I wouldn’t want you to forget that the majority, the vast majority, of military violence in this world is coming from the west (nominally Christian) towards the east (nominally Muslim).”
You are being selective about what has happened and what is happening in the world. The vast majority of violence and killings against unarmed civilians are not done by what you call “military violence” – they are done by ideologues. Throughout this century, Communism, Islamism, Nazism and Globalism have been/are the major culprits.
Look up how many people have died due to policies imposed by communist regimes, for example. Communism doesn’t favour one religion over the other nor does it target a single religion; Communism targets all religions because it imposes the ideology that the state is the religion, and the leader of the state is a god. So victims of Communist regimes come from all religions, including Christians and Muslims. How many people has Nazism killed (including Christians, Jews, Muslims, atheists, agnostics etc)? How many people has Islamism killed (from the East to the West and from the North to the South, including Christians, Muslims, Hindus, pagans, atheists, agnostics etc)? How many have Globalists killed (vaccines in this decade alone will be in the hundreds of millions, and its victims include Christians, Jews, Muslims, pagans, atheists, agnostics etc.)?
What’s concerning about the selective nature of your statement is it indicates you’re following one of these ideologies – and I can guess which one. You are using the usual buzzwords, mantras and ideas that Islamists use. “I wouldn’t want you to forget” that Islamism – particularly the toxic mix of Islamism and Communism (Islamo-communism) that is being nurtured in Western nations by nefarious actors – is the new Nazism.
Hi Rhoda, you cannot guess which ideology I am following for the simple reason that I am not following one and I am certainly not interested in any of the ones that you mention, I am following what is right, morally and humanistically. And you know it’s true. If it wasn’t for your belief along the lines of “Israel can do no wrong because they are the chosen people of God – it says so in the bible” then you would have your eyes opened enough to see.
Your heros of the moment Mr.Trump, Mr Hegseth etc.spout their “prayers” as if they were followers of Christ whilst okaying the next round of aerial bombing. Mr. Netanyahu talks of God’s plan as he bombs his neighbours.
On the subject of being selective, I wasn’t at all selective but you most certainly are:
Are you aware that you completely ignored christians in your list of ideologies or religions who caused mass murder events ? I suppose not. The fact that you made this omission, with ot without being aware, proves that you are incapable of being unbiased in your thinking.
You dispute that the vast majority of killings are by the militaries of this world, well who did most of the Nazi’s killings ? Who did Stalin’s killings ? Is Hezbollah military of civilian ? The IDF ? Who’s killing the people of West Papua ? Who’s bombing Iran ? All these mass murder events are carried out predominantly by the military.
As I said to another poster, if you don’t want a load of muslims coming to the UK full of hate and anger, then stop bombing their countries ! To come to this realisation is in your’s and everybody else’s best interests in a very practical way, never mind the morality of supporting highly violent acts.
Hi George,
The US and Israel are just killers of Children, and Journalists.
They seem to delight in killing children, who have not been guilty of anything.
There has been several reports of young children with just one bullet in the head. Obviously done by israeli snipers.
The israelis are so sick, they kill them whilst waiting for food.
And they expect us to believe the Nazi’s were terrible to them.
i am so fed up with Israel! why they think is allowed to set up base on a foreign country without any permission? who do they think they are? i cannot even think what they would do if it was the other way around! they are the real terrorist!