Washington and Riyadh accused pro-Iranian groups of targeting American forces and Saudi energy infrastructure
American and Saudi warplanes have carried out joint strikes against alleged Iran-aligned militia sites across eastern Iraq, according to US Central Command.
CENTCOM said on Tuesday that American and Saudi fighter aircraft had targeted multiple logistics and weapons facilities used by groups allegedly directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“US Central Command and the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces conducted precision strikes in Iraq, July 28, against Iran-aligned terrorists that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps directed to attack US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure,” the command said.
Washington claimed that the operation was launched in response to more than 30 IRGC-directed drone attacks over the previous 72 hours. It said the attempted strikes on American forces had been unsuccessful, but did not provide evidence linking the targeted Iraqi groups to the attacks or identify them by name.
Footage circulating online reportedly showed the aftermath of an airstrike on a Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) base in Iraq’s Wasit province. Iraqi media also reported multiple explosions in the Al-Deir and Al-Haritha areas of southern Basra province, although the full extent of the damage and any casualties remained unclear.
The joint operation came amid a broader Saudi confrontation with Iran-aligned forces across the region.
A Saudi-led coalition struck alleged Houthi military sites in Yemen’s Hodeidah Governorate on Saturday after the group attacked Saudi-owned vessels in the Red Sea and declared a naval blockade of the kingdom.
Shortly after the Saudi strikes, the industrial city of Jazan was reportedly targeted in an apparent Houthi retaliation, with a large fire breaking out at a facility operated by the state-owned oil company Aramco. The Houthis had also claimed attacks on two Saudi tankers, one of which caught fire, while another sustained minor hull damage.
Saudi Arabia previously led a military intervention in Yemen in 2015 against the Houthis, who had captured the capital, Sanaa. The years-long bombing campaign failed to defeat the group and deepened Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.
The strikes in Iraq also followed allegations by Iraqi National Security Adviser Qasim al-Aboudi that authorities had dismantled several militant cells whose members confessed to working for Ukraine and carrying out false-flag attacks. He did not identify those facilities or link the detainees to attacks on Saudi Arabia. Kiev rejected the accusations as “unfounded and unsubstantiated.”
Saudi Arabia has blamed recent drone attacks against its oil facilities on Iran-linked militias operating from Iraqi territory. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella organization for several Iran-aligned groups, denied involvement and accused Riyadh of attempting to divert attention from attacks carried out by the Houthis. It warned that Saudi military action against Iraqi factions would trigger retaliation.
