BAGHDAD (Dispatches) – The Islamic Resistance in Iraq warned on Monday that it will become directly involved in the war if the United States expands its terrorist military aggression against Iran.
In a statement, the group said it will enter the war “directly” if the United States continues its aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The statement added that, in such a scenario, the group will target “all American interests and bases” in Iraq and across the region.
The umbrella group of Iraqi anti-terror fighters announced that it is strongly committed to solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran and retaliatory strikes should Washington decide to up the ante against Tehran. 
The resistance coalition emphasized it will forcefully and precisely target all American interests and military bases in Iraq and across the region in any future anti-Iran scenario.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq also stressed that its fighters have not carried out any military operations against American interests in Iraq or elsewhere in the region over the past few days.
The statement came as the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Sunday that a U.S. soldier had been killed in northern Iraq. 
According to CENTCOM, the soldier was killed on July 18 during the controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from what it described as an Iranian one-way attack drone. The command said a second U.S. service member sustained minor injuries and was receiving medical treatment.
In a statement, CENTCOM said: “A U.S. service member in northern Iraq was killed in action July 18 during a controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian one-way attack drone. A second service member was wounded and continues to receive medical treatment for a minor injury.”
The latest death brings the confirmed number of U.S. military personnel killed since the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran on February 28 to 17.
The New York Times (NYT) reported on Monday that the Pentagon did not disclose dozens of injuries to U.S. troops resulting from a barrage of Iranian ballistic missile strikes on US bases in Jordan last week.
On Saturday, CENTCOM said two U.S. service members had been killed and a third was missing following an Iranian strike on a military site in Jordan on Friday. In Sunday’s statement, the command said that after a thorough search, U.S. military personnel found unidentified human remains at the site earlier in the day. It said efforts are under way to identify the remains.
The command said U.S. forces later recovered the unidentified human remains at the site and that identification procedures were still underway.  
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has long demanded the expulsion of U.S. forces from Iraqi soil. The secretary general of the Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba resistance group has said that Iraqi resistance factions are fairly determined to expel U.S. forces and companies from the country’s soil.
The latest warning from the Islamic Resistance in Iraq signals a significant escalation in rhetoric, as the group positions itself to respond directly to any further U.S. military action against Iran. 
The group’s statement emphasized that it remains strongly committed to solidarity with Iran and would not hesitate to target American interests throughout the region if Washington expands its offensives.

that “thinking that diplomacy contradicts defense, or that defense is incompatible with diplomacy, is absolutely incorrect.”
He said Iran’s objective remained the protection of national interests, whether through diplomacy, defense, or both at the same time.
“Mediation and war are means; we must not lose sight of the goal. The goal is safeguarding Iran’s national interests,” he said.
Baghaei rejected claims that negotiations had been used as a deception, saying Iranian diplomats would not abandon the diplomatic arena because of concerns about the other side’s intentions.
“If you expect your diplomats to leave the field because they fear the enemy is deceptive, they will certainly not do so,” he said.
“Yes, the enemy is deceptive and brutal, but this is like saying those sitting at missile launchers defending Iran should leave their positions because the enemy has more advanced technology.”
He said military forces and diplomats were pursuing the same objective.
“Diplomacy and defense are two wings, and if either one fails for any reason to fulfill its duty in defending Iran’s sovereignty and safeguarding national interests, our governance responsibility will not be properly carried out,” Baghaei said.
The spokesman said the Islamabad memorandum was based on the principle of “commitment for commitment” and that Iran had never been the first side to violate an agreement.
“As long as the other side remained committed to its obligations, we also fulfilled our commitments,” he said.
“We were never the initiator of a breach of commitment. This is the principled basis of Iran’s conduct.”
Baghaei said the agreement had value only if both parties respected their obligations.
“A memorandum of understanding is valuable when its parties remain committed to their commitments; otherwise, it is just a piece of writing on paper,” he said.
He rejected arguments that ambiguity in the text of the agreement caused its collapse, saying such claims only served to justify Washington’s actions.
“This is absolutely incorrect,” Baghaei said. “The text of the memorandum is a short text with 14 clauses. Please read the text. Which clause is ambiguous?”
He added that Iran had never seen the United States claim that renewed attacks were the result of differences over interpretation.
“We did not see anywhere that they said because of disagreement over understanding or interpreting the text, they resumed attacks against Iran,” he said.
At the same time, Baghaei confirmed that Iran had received proposals and initiatives from mediators seeking to reduce tensions.
“The fact that mediators are active and trying to prevent escalation, and that we do not spare any effort to stop America’s crimes, are both true,” he said.
He added that Iran’s diplomatic apparatus continued its work alongside the country’s military response.
“Diplomacy knows its responsibilities well and will not spare any effort,” he said, adding that it was acting “alongside and in coordination with the defenders of the homeland in the armed forces.”
Baghaei confirmed that proposals had been delivered by mediators but declined to provide details.
“The proposals raised by mediators have been conveyed to us and we have received them, but allow me not to enter into details at this stage,” he said.
The spokesman also condemned U.S. attacks on southern areas of Iran, saying strikes against civilian infrastructure and medical centers represented attacks on people’s lives rather than merely attacks on locations.
“Attacks by America against infrastructure, medical centers and what people rely on to continue their lives are not attacks on several points on a map; they are attacks on life and human dignity,” he said.
Baghaei said Iran was continuing to document what it described as U.S. war crimes and would pursue accountability.
“There is no doubt that the Minab crime was intentional and carried out by America,” he said. “The Minab crime is only one of thousands of war crimes that America has committed against the Iranian people over the past year.”
He said Iran would continue documenting such incidents and that Washington would have to answer for them.
Responding to threats by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding the occupation of Kharg Island, Baghaei said Washington would face consequences. “They will see the consequences,” he said.
“I think there are people in those same areas, and their number is not small, who are counting the moments to welcome these individuals.”
Baghaei also rejected U.S. claims of readiness for diplomacy, saying Tehran has repeatedly tested Washington’s approach.
“We have seen their readiness many times and tested it,” he said. “When America speaks of diplomacy, it means imposing intimidation, threats and sanctions.”
He said Iran’s response would remain based on defending national dignity and sovereignty.
“As long as they remain in this environment and seek to impose their demands on the Iranian nation, our response will also be mutual defense of Iran’s dignity and national sovereignty,” he said.
On the Strait of Hormuz, Baghaei said Iran would not allow the strategic waterway to become a tool against its interests. “Regardless of article five of the memorandum, as a coastal state of the Strait of Hormuz, we have rights,” he said.
He said Iran has learned lessons from U.S. and Israeli military actions and from the involvement of some regional countries.
“We must not allow this waterway to once again be misused and turned into a tool for threatening Iran’s security and national interests,” he said.
Baghaei said Iran has been consulting with Oman, another coastal state of the strait, since the beginning of the ceasefire. “We have been in contact and consultation with Oman from the first days of the ceasefire,” he said.
“Our effort has been to establish the necessary mechanisms and adopt the required measures together with Oman as the two coastal states.”
On nuclear issues, Baghaei said Iran remains a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and is not currently withdrawing from the agreement. “At present, Iran remains a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty,” he said.
“We know our commitments in this regard and we have also clearly expressed our expectations.”
He condemned the attack on the Darakhovin nuclear facility, calling it a violation of international law.
“The recent attack on the Darakhovin facility is a blatant violation of all principles and rules of international law related to non-proliferation,” he said.
Baghaei called on the International Atomic Energy Agency and its director general to condemn the attack, saying the facility was under international supervision and intended for peaceful energy production.
He also addressed regional issues, rejecting claims of an Iranian air blockade against Yemen and defending Iran’s flight to Sanaa by Mahan Air.
“We do not believe there is an air blockade against Yemen, and such an interpretation of the Security Council resolution is incorrect,” he said.
He said the flight carried a Yemeni delegation that had traveled to Iran to attend the funeral ceremony of Iran’s late leader, as well as injured Yemenis who had received medical treatment in Iran.
Baghaei also welcomed an upcoming Iraqi delegation visit to Tehran, describing relations between the two countries as important. “Our relations with Iraq are extremely important,” he said.
He said discussions would cover economic, trade, border cooperation and security issues, with several agreements and memoranda expected to be signed.
Rejecting U.S. allegations about Iranian military advisers and drones in Cuba, Baghaei said Washington’s claims were false. “They know, we know, and they know that they are lying,” he said.
He described Cuba as a country that had faced decades of U.S. pressure, sanctions and intimidation, adding that Iran-Cuba relations are legitimate and based on international law.
Baghaei also rejected reports that Pakistan has delivered a message to Iran regarding Saudi Arabia, saying no such message had been received.
On regional military escalation, Baghaei said Iran does not seek conflict with neighboring countries and blamed the United States for expanding tensions.
“We have no hostility or enmity toward any of the countries in the region,” he said. “We are permanent neighbors of these countries, we recognize our common interests and ties with them and value them.”
He said Iran’s actions were based on the right of self-defense. “What we are doing is defending ourselves under the inherent right of legitimate defense,” he said.
Baghaei added that Iran’s response would continue as long as what he described as US aggression continued. “We did not start the war,” he said. “We were the ones who tried until the final moments to advance diplomacy.”
He rejected the idea that Iranians were divided between those seeking war and those seeking peace. “There is no benefit in this,” he said. “I do not know any Iranian who is a warmonger. Our people are known for their love of peace.”
Baghaei said peace requirs effort and sacrifice. “Peace is not a luxury item placed on a shelf in international relations and handed to you,” he said. “Peace is not presented to you on an ornate tray.”
He added that Iran had paid a heavy price in pursuit of lasting peace and security. “We must abandon romantic and unrealistic ideas about war and peace,” he said.
“War is a reality; we did not welcome war. It was imposed on us through different excuses.”
Baghaei said Iran will continue defending its sovereignty while using diplomacy where necessary.
“Every step taken by the diplomatic apparatus and the armed forces of Iran is in the direction of defending the country and achieving an honorable peace,” he said.