The Iraqi Islamic resistance group Saraya Awliya al-Dam, aligned with Iran, declared on February 28 that all US military bases in Iraq and beyond were legitimate targets, pledging to stand alongside Iran and launch attacks against American forces across the region, Fars News Agency reported.

The group said it had been raising its operational readiness to maximum levels from the first moments of what it called the US-Israeli aggression against Iran, Donya-e Eqtesad reported on February 28.

"Our fighters are now fingers on the trigger, preparing to fire all available weapons at all American military bases in Iraq and beyond," the group said in a statement, adding that the attacks would be carried out without restriction or conditions.

Saraya Awliya al-Dam warned that what the US and Israel had started would not be ended on their terms. "What they have begun, its end will no longer be in their hands, but in the hands of the Islamic fighters," the statement said.

The group pledged allegiance to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose fate remained unconfirmed following Israeli strikes on his Tehran compound earlier in the day.

"We pledge to fight under his banner until our last breath," the statement said, describing the holy month of Ramadan as "a new Karbala" and saying the group sought either victory or martyrdom.

The declaration marks a significant broadening of the conflict beyond Iran's borders, with Iraqi militia groups now formally committing to operations against US forces stationed in Iraq, where thousands of American troops remain deployed.

Iran had earlier closed the Strait of Hormuz, struck the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain and launched missiles at Qatar, the UAE and Israel as part of Operation True Promise 4.

The UN Security Council convened an emergency session as the conflict continued to spread.