U.S. and Saudi warplanes launched coordinated strikes against Iran-aligned groups in Iraq accused of carrying out more than two dozen drone attacks in recent days, according to the US military.
Central Command, which oversees American operations in the Middle East, said the strikes hit “Iran-aligned terrorists that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) directed to attack U.S. forces and Saudi energy infrastructure.”
In a statement, Centcom warned that “the IRGC and its terrorist proxies must cease these attacks to avoid further US military response.”
The attacks took place amid a lull in the U.S.-Iran tit-for-tat strikes, which according to President Donald Trump Administration officials provides an opportunity for diplomacy to work out a solution to the crisis that broke out on February 28 and erupted again after a ceasefire this month.
“We’re going to beat the fuc*ing sh*t out of them,” President Trump told Fox News after Iran launched a surprise attack against U.S. forces. “We’ll be hitting them hard.”
The President says U.S. strikes overnight against Iran-backed militias in Iraq were coordinated with the… pic.twitter.com/AeLbEGFCFi
— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) July 29, 2026
Saudi Arabia Confirms Role and Claims Self-Defense
Saudi Arabia confirmed its participation in the strikes. According to Riyadh’s Defense Ministry, the Saudi forces struck “targets belonging to those militias present on Iraqi territory that are linked to attacks on the kingdom’s oil facilities.”
Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed several drones aimed at oil facilities in the Eastern Province, as per Reuters reporting. Defense ministry spokesperson Turki al-Maliki stated on X that the drones were launched from Iraqi territory by “Iran-backed terrorist militias.”
He added that Saudi Arabia reserves the legitimate right to defend itself and its national capabilities and retains the right to respond “at the appropriate time and place.”
Saudi Ministry of Defense:
“The Saudi Armed Forces, in coordination with the U.S. Central Command, conducted precise and targeted strikes against objectives belonging to militias located on the territory of Iraq and linked to the attacks on petroleum facilities in the Kingdom.” https://t.co/isGlB5UUjn
— ConflictLive (@conflict_live) July 29, 2026
Casualties Reported by Iraqi Groups
A coalition of pro-Iran former paramilitaries in Iraq said multiple people were killed and wounded in the strike. The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), known as Hashed al-Shaabi, stated: “These attacks resulted in the martyrdom of a number of personnel and injuries to others, as well as material damage to several buildings and properties.”
The number of casualties in Iraq remains unclear as news platforms report different numbers.
Citing sources, AFP news agency reported that at least 10 members of an Iraqi former paramilitary alliance were killed.
An official said the strikes hit Hashed al-Shaabi positions “across several provinces, with the deadliest attack in Nineveh province, where at least 10 members were killed,” adding that the toll would likely rise.
However, Reuters later quoted the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces as claiming that at least 20 of its members were killed and 32 wounded in strikes targeting several of its bases across Iraq.
Al Jazeera reported it had verified video clips that showed flames and smoke in northern Nineveh province. The videos also showed smoke rising in the southern Basra province after the coordinated strikes.
As per reporting, Iraq’s paramilitary Popular Mobilisation Forces said its headquarters across Iraq were targeted in the strikes. The group’ command in Nineveh said according to Al Jazeera that at least eight of its members were killed in the attacks.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense ( @modgovksa) said #air_defences intercepted and destroyed several drones launched from #Iraqi territory that attempted to target petroleum facilities in the Eastern Region and Riyadh.
Spokesperson Major General Turki Al-Maliki attributed the… pic.twitter.com/R2mHVo1Q0G
— Gulf Times (@GulfTimes_QATAR) July 27, 2026
Iraqi Government and Political Reactions
According to Al-Jazeera Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi called an emergency meeting of the Ministerial Council for National Security following the overnight air strikes.
An Iraqi government source said the prime minister’s planned visit to Saudi Arabia has been postponed. Al-Zaidi had been expected to arrive Thursday for an official visit to sign memoranda of understanding and discuss security coordination and regional developments.
Influential Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and armed militias to refrain from attacks involving Iraqi territory, warning against dragging the country into another war, according to Al Jazeera.
In a statement on X, Sadr said Iraq had not been used as a launching pad for attacks on Iran and that the Revolutionary Guards should therefore keep away from Iraqi soil. He added that “rogue militias must not give our brothers in the Gulf states a pretext to target our sacred land.”
Overnight US-Saudi strikes across Iraq left at least 20 PMF fighters dead and 32 wounded, per an initial toll released in a PMF statement. pic.twitter.com/LfpRjAR5w7
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) July 29, 2026
Sadr urged all sides not to “be drawn into the schemes of the Zionist-American enemy to incite brothers to fight and kill one another.” He condemned violations of Iraq’s sovereignty and attempts by militias to “drag Iraq into a pointless war,” called on the government to establish security and enforce state authority, and cautioned against “dormant terrorist cells” that could exploit sectarianism.
Iraq’s former prime minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani condemned the US-Saudi strikes on Hashd al-Shaabi as a “blatant violation of Iraqi sovereignty,” according to Press TV. He warned that Iraq would “not stay silent” on attacks against its security.
The Iraqi presidency also condemned the strikes that targeted the Popular Mobilization Forces, Anadolu Agency reported. Without naming the United States and Saudi Arabia, the presidency said it “denounces the bombing that targeted the Hashed al-Shaabi bases and it considers it an unacceptable attack and a blatant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty, targeting its official institutions.” It also rejected the use of Iraqi territory to launch attacks on neighboring countries.
US Approves Nearly $2 Billion Arms Package for Saudi Air Defenses Amid Rising Middle East Tensions
GCC Solidarity with Saudi Arabia
The Gulf Cooperation Council secretary-general denounced the “continued terrorist attacks” on Saudi Arabia by militias in Iraq. Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi said the violence represents a “dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of the kingdom’s sovereignty, and [is] a direct threat to its security and stability and to regional security and peace.”
Pakistan, the chief mediator on U.S.-Iran conflict, which also has a mutual defense agreement with Riyadh, has condemned the volley of attacks directed against Saudi Arabia.
Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry condemned the strikes on oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia as “a dangerous escalation that threatens regional security and stability.” It said the attacks by Iran-aligned armed groups undermine “efforts aimed at reducing escalation in the region.” Bahrain reaffirmed its “full solidarity” with Saudi Arabia and backed any measures it takes to protect its sovereignty, security and stability. GCC countries stand alongside Saudi Arabia and fully support the decisions it takes to protect its “security, sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Iranian state television said the United States had struck a city in the country’s northwest on the border with Iraq, according to AFP. “A few minutes ago, an area in the Piranshahr border area was attacked by American enemy airstrikes,” state television reported, after Fars news agency quoted an official in West Azerbaijan province as saying a missile hit an uninhabited area, leaving no casualties.
Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the US-Saudi strikes in Iraq, saying such attacks are part of US-Israeli attempts to expand the war in the region.
“These attacks … are in line with the aspirations of the United States and the Zionist regime to expand the scope of war and conflict in the West Asian region,” the ministry said, calling them a “gross violation” of the UN Charter and international law.
An Iranian military official denied Tehran’s involvement in projectiles launched from Iraq toward Saudi Arabia, rejecting accusations that Iran was behind recent attacks on the kingdom, according to Anadolu.
Responding to a statement by the Saudi defense minister, the official told Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB that attributing attacks against U.S. interests in the region to Tehran is “a grave mistake stemming from ignorance of the situation in the region.”
The official also “strongly denied any connection between projectiles fired from other countries toward targets in Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Kiran Asim is a writer who covers the U.S., Europe, South Asia, and the Middle East. Her reports and analyses look at the geostrategic issues and contemporary developments and their economic and political implications. She also writes about society and education.
Muhammad Luqman is Associate Editor at Views News Now. He writes on wide-ranging issues including economy, South Asia, the Middle East, agriculture, economy and innovation. Luqman has worked some of the leading news organizations and won acclaim for his original and research-based works.
