Israel has obtained a "list of targets inside Iraqi territory," writes Arabic website Al-Jarida, as quoted and translated by The Jerusalem Post's Seth J. Frantzman. According to the Arabic website, Tel Aviv "has a list of Iranian military sites used to transport weapons, equipment and elements to Syria" and intends to bomb them to stop what it sees as Iran's military buildup.
The website also claims it obtained photos of several of those sites, which include border crossings with Iran near Mehran, east of Baghdad, and also another crossing near Basra. Frantzman's personal website provides some details.
"In the past two months, Al-Jarida obtained exclusive aerial photographs of the targets that Israel intends to hit, including border crossings with Iran, such as Mehran and Bashmak [??], along with the Shalamjah border with Basra and near Kuwait," Frantzman's translation of Al-Jarida reads, with question marks indicating where the translation is unclear.
The website notes that some of the sites in Iraq currently under the control of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were formerly under the control of the US military.
The sites include "H3 [air base], and the military site of Rutba, as well as locations on important roads near villages and towns, such as the Al-Burr [unclear translation] and other Iraqi military positions," Frantzman translates.
The website says that an Israeli bombing of targets in Iraq would "represent a change in the rules of the game, and perhaps an attempt by Tel Aviv to expand the map of confrontation with Iran, after the Syrian regime began to control the Quneitra border with the territory occupied by Israel from the Golan Heights."
"There have been reports that Washington could withdraw from Syria and most of the important points in Iraq in return for removing Iran from Syria, if a government is formed in Baghdad to maintain a balance between America and Iran," the translated text said.
