India, July 29 -- As the tensions escalate in the Middle East, the influence of the US-Israel-Iran conflict is spreading to the neighbouring countries. Kataib Hezbollah, a paramilitary battalion in Iraq and an ally of Iran, admonished the Iraqi authorities to maintain the sovereignty of Iraq, warning about the inevitability of a response to the US-Saudi assault. The group also gave a deadline of 6 August to Baghdad to show its capability to defend Iraqi territory, with Saudi Arabia accusing the Iran-based militias of using drones launched from Iraq to attack oil installations, putting additional pressure on the Iraqi authorities in terms of the spreading regional crisis.

Iraqi paramilitary group Kataib Hezbollah urges government to defen...