Symbolic imageIraq-Gulf ties strained after US-Saudi strikes on Iran-aligned militias
US and Saudi aircraft bombed bases of Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces on Wednesday, killing at least 20 fighters by the PMF's own count and marking the first joint Saudi-American operation of the five-month war with Iran. Hours later US Central Command opened what it called a heavy wave of strikes on dozens of IRGC targets inside Iran, retaliating for Iranian missile fire on US bases in Jordan. Baghdad has since postponed a planned prime ministerial visit to Riyadh.
What happened
On Wednesday, 29 July, US and Saudi jets struck bases of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), the umbrella of state-sanctioned paramilitary factions in Iraq. The PMF says the raids killed 20 of its fighters. Saudi Arabia's military had said a day earlier that it intercepted drone attacks on its oil facilities launched by Iran-aligned militias in Iraq, and Riyadh justified the operation as self-defence under the UN Charter; a Saudi defence ministry spokesman said the kingdom does not seek escalation but will respond decisively to aggression. It was the first time in the five-month war with Iran that Saudi forces acted militarily alongside the United States. At 8 p.m. Washington time the same day, CENTCOM began what it called a heavy wave of strikes on dozens of Revolutionary Guard targets in Iran, including command centres, missile and drone facilities and coastal defence sites, in response to Iran's ballistic missile attacks on US bases in Jordan on Tuesday, 28 July; agencies reported explosions in Bushehr and Bandar Abbas. Iraq's prime minister postponed a planned visit to Saudi Arabia the following day.
The view from outside
The National in Abu Dhabi frames the strikes as one of two fronts closing in on Saudi Arabia, alongside Yemen, where the Houthis have attacked Saudi shipping and claimed hits on oil sites at Jizan and Yanbu. It notes that Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE and Jordan have all been struck by Iranian missiles and drones and that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. Analysts it cites argue Baghdad opposes militia attacks on its neighbours but lacks the sovereignty to stop them.
What could happen next
The postponed Riyadh trip signals damage to Baghdad's years-long effort to build Gulf ties, including its role in mediating between Saudi Arabia and Iran. An official close to the Iraqi prime minister told The National the visit will still happen at some point, and Iraqi officials insist the country is not an arena for settling scores. Saudi Arabia's defence minister discussed the strikes with the US president and vice president at the White House hours after they were carried out, according to a regional source.
United States: CENTCOM says the strikes reduce threats from Iran and its proxies to American forces, commercial shipping and Gulf neighbours.
Saudi Arabia: Riyadh calls the raids self-defence under the UN Charter after drone attacks on its oil facilities and says it does not seek escalation.
Iran and allied militias: Tehran struck US bases in Jordan first, and the PMF reports 20 of its fighters killed and 32 wounded in the Iraqi raids.
Iraq: Baghdad says it is not an arena for settling scores, postponed its prime minister's Riyadh visit, and concedes it cannot stop militias launching from its soil.
Also involved