Israel says won't allow Iran to entrench in Iraq

Israel will not allow Iran to entrench in Iraq, Israeli army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a conference in Herzliya, Kochavi accused Iran's Quds Force of moving weapons into Iraq on a monthly basis, according to Yedioth Aharonoth newspaper.

“Advanced weapons are being smuggled by the Quds Force in Iraq on a daily basis and we can’t allow that,” he said.

"Iraq is undergoing a civil war, where the Quds Force is operating on a daily basis, where the country itself has turned into an ungoverned area."

Kochavi's remarks are the first implied admission by an Israeli official of carrying out attacks against Iranian targets in Iraq.

In July and August, the Hashd al-Shaabi group blamed Israeli drones for attacks that targeted the group's military bases and ammunition warehouses in Iraq.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu had earlier hinted that Israel was behind the airstrikes in Iraq, warning that “Iran has no immunity, anywhere".

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara