Iraq announced today that it has formally complained to the UN about Israel’s use of its airspace for its strikes against Iran, calling it a “blatant violation” of its sovereignty.

In a letter of protest to the UN secretary-general and the Security Council, Iraq condemned “the flagrant violation committed by the Zionist entity, whose aircraft violated Iraqi airspace and sovereignty by using Iraqi airspace to launch an attack against it Iran on October 26,” Iraqi government spokesman Basim Alawadi said in a statement.

Iraqi authorities will also contact the US, an ally of Israel, regarding “this violation”.

Israel struck military targets in Iran early Saturday in response to Iran’s October 1 missile attack, which was launched in retaliation for the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniya and Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah.

Iran’s military said Saturday that Israeli jets used Iraqi airspace, which is controlled by the US military, “to remotely launch a number of long-range missiles equipped with very light warheads.”

Allies of Iran and the US, Iraqi authorities are trying to maintain a fragile balance in order to avoid escalating tensions.

Although the Iraqi government is closely tied to Tehran, it maintains a strategic partnership with the US, which has troops in Iraq as part of the international coalition against the jihadists.

But armed pro-Iranian groups are also active on Iraqi soil, which have launched dozens of rocket and drone strikes against American troops in Iraq and Syria. They now launch drones against Israel as well, although they rarely cause damage.

Yesterday Sunday one of these groups, the Hezbollah Brigades, denounced Israel’s use of Iraqi airspace for its attack on Iran, saying it was setting a “dangerous precedent.”