Israel built two secret military bases in Iraq to aid Iran war, New York Times reports

Iraqi officials confirmed the existence of a second base to the Times, though didn't disclose a location other than it is also in a western desert region.

According to the report, the site's existence came to light after 29 year old Awad al-Shammari was killed in early March, after stumbling upon the base and reporting unusual military activity in the area to Iraqi authorities. His family believe his discovery cost him his life, after a helicopter opened fire on his truck, riddling it with bullets.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that an Israeli military base was established before Tel Aviv and Washington's war with Iran, serving as a logistical hub for the Israeli air force and operated with US knowledge. It alleged the Israeli military launched air strikes at Iraqi forces who almost discovered the site in March.

The new report claims Washington knew about at least one of the bases since June 2025, possibly earlier, implying this is information concealed from strategic partner Baghdad. Considering Israel and Iraq have no diplomatic relations, this has, according to a lawmaker quoted in the article, shown “a blatant disregard for Iraqi sovereignty."

Iraq's government has not officially recognised nor commented on the outposts' existence, and the Israeli military declined to comment to the New York Times' repeated request for comment on both the existence of the bases and the killing of Mr al-Shammari.

Since these reports of covert military outposts were made public, there's also been misleading photos that have circulated online, claiming to show the Israeli sites using AI-generated imagery.

Vedika Bahl talks through the story in Truth or Fake.