DUBAI, UAE – Iraq on Friday submitted a formal complaint to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) accusing Israel of violating Iraqi airspace during an extensive aerial bombardment it orchestrated on Iran.

Israel, in the early hours of Friday morning, initiated a devastating campaign of airstrikes against targets across Iran, with the attacks hitting myriad military facilities and nuclear sites across the country, killing at least six nuclear scientists and numerous high-ranking Iranian military figures.

A multitude of Israeli aircrafts transited through Iraqi airspace en route to their targets in neighboring Iran.

Iraq’s complaint asserts that the use of Iraqi airspace by Israel in conducting strikes against Iran constitutes “a flagrant violation of Iraq's sovereignty and a violation of the provisions of international law and the UN Charter.”

“These actions are unacceptable and dangerous,” the complaint stated. Iraq urged the Security Council to take immediate steps to stop such violations and help preserve regional peace and stability.

The Iraqi formal complaint comes ahead of an emergency session of the UN Security Council set to be held on Friday, wherein council members will discuss the attacks and formulate a response.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addressed a letter to the UN in which he expressed Tehran’s condemnation of Israel’s “brazen and unlawful act of aggression,” reaffirmed Iran’s right to self-defense per Article 51 of the UN Charter, and stated that Iran “will respond decisively and proportionately to these unlawful and cowardly acts.”

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani also expressed his discontent with the Israeli strikes to top US officials in Baghdad on Friday, receiving Steven Fagin, the US chargé d’affaires in Baghdad, and Gen. Kevin Leahy, commander of the Global Coalition against ISIS, for a meeting.

During the meeting, the prime minister strongly condemned the Israeli attack on Iran, calling it an “act of aggression” that violated international law and undermined diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions.

Sudani warned that the strike risked dragging the region into a wider conflict and emphasized that Iraq refuses to let its territory or airspace be used for any military action against neighboring countries.

The Iraqi premier continued by saying that Iraq would take all legal steps to protect its sovereignty and urged all international partners to respect this position.

Washington appeared keen to distance itself from the attack on Friday morning, portraying it as a unilateral Israeli action that should not invite retaliation against US targets in the Middle East.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a statement said, “We are not involved in strikes against Iran” and that “Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel.”

Earlier in the week, the US State Department reduced personnel in its facilities across the Middle East, citing regional security threats.

The large-scale bombardment came just days ahead of a sixth round of nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran that were pegged for Sunday, with Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a member of the Iranian Parliament, saying that the upcoming negotiations have been canceled and that he does not think that “any other round of talks will take place” in light of the attack.