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Two covert bases in Iraq
A New York Times investigation, cited by multiple outlets, says Israel built two covert military bases in Iraq’s western desert to support wars with Iran, and that an Iraqi shepherd’s death followed after he discovered one of the sites.
“predated the current war between the United States, Israel, and Iran”
The Times of Israel said the first base was discovered on March 3 by a Bedouin shepherd in Iraq’s western desert, and it added that the report came after a Wall Street Journal report on a first secret base built to support an airstrike in the war against Iran.
The Middle East Eye report said the Wall Street Journal reported last week that Israel set up a covert outpost in Iraq’s western desert during the conflict with Iran, and it described the site as being used to support air operations and housing special forces units.
The Times of Israel also reported that the second base “predated the current war between the United States, Israel, and Iran” and was used during the June 2025 war with Iran, with Israel beginning preparations in late 2024.
Kurdistan24 said the New York Times reported Israel spent more than a year preparing a secret site inside Iraqi territory intended to support operations against Iran, and it referenced an incident on March 3, 2026 involving a truck driver traveling toward the town of Nukhaib in western Iraq.
Anger, accountability, and denials
Iraqi officials and lawmakers quoted by the Times of Israel and ynetnews framed the incident as a sovereignty breach, with Waad al-Kadu saying, “It shows a blatant disregard for Iraqi sovereignty, its government and its forces, as well as for the dignity of the Iraqi people,” after a classified parliamentary briefing.
ynetnews reported that the report sparked anger in Iraq and quoted Waad al-Kadu again, while it also said Iraqi armed forces chief of staff Gen. Abdul-Amir Yarallah was told by U.S. counterparts that the force operating in the Iraqi desert “is not an American force.”
The Times of Israel reported that the IDF nearly launched strikes against Iraqi troops that had almost discovered the secret base, and it said one Iraqi soldier was killed in the incident.
Kurdistan24 said neither Israeli officials nor the Iraqi government publicly commented on the New York Times report at the time of publication, while it described the death as tied to a shepherd’s alleged stumble upon the site.
The Jerusalem Post said the New York Times report cited unnamed Iraqi officials and described how, on March 4, a local shepherd spotted unusual activity including helicopter flights and tipped off the Iraqi military.
What happens next in Iraq
The reporting described a political and security dilemma for Baghdad, with Al-Jazeera Net saying the Iraqi government faces a delicate political and security dilemma as it officially denies knowledge of any foreign military bases on its soil that are not American.
“Iraqi MPs stated in closed briefings that there is at least a second site”
Al-Jazeera Net also said Iraqi MPs stated in closed briefings that there is at least a second site in another desert area whose precise location has not been disclosed, while it added that the site discovered by Awad al-Shamri is no longer active at present.
The Times of Israel reported that Iraq and Israel do not have diplomatic relations, and it said the report described how local Bedouins had contacted local military officials with reports of suspicious activity for weeks.
Middle East Eye said officials told the New York Times there was a second Israeli base in the same desert, which predated the current war and was used during the war against Iran in June 2025.
Türkiye Today said Iraq’s Joint Operations Command announced “foreign” forces had attacked its soldiers and filed a complaint with the U.N. Security Council, and it quoted Lt. Gen. Saad Maan saying Iraq “has no information regarding the locations of any Israeli military bases.”
