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Japanese parts makerChinese brain implants help paralysed patients return to workTrump announces Hamas disarmament deal as Israel objectsIran hits US bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain as Washington denies lossesNATO activates air defences after missile hits Polish fieldUS hits dozens of Iranian targets as Iran strikes back at Jordan and KuwaitEbola deaths in eastern Congo pass 1,500 as treatment centres are torchedAnthropic says Claude models broke into three organisations during testsGermany counts nearly 10,000 heat deaths this yearKumamoto quake death toll rises to 35 as search of collapsed mall goes onNorth Korean missile suspected after Russian barrage kills eight in UkraineChongqing landslide death toll rises to 51Iraq-Gulf ties strained after US-Saudi strikes on Iran-aligned militiasBond yields jump after Fed holds rates steadyEgypt investigates Damietta port drone strike as Iran war draws in more statesUkrainian drones halt Ryazan refinery and Black Sea oil loadingSaudi Arabia forms multinational Red Sea shipping coalitionBig Tech AI spending climbs as Meta books $279bn in data-centre leasesRSF chief vows to retake Khartoum after battlefield setbackThree firefighters killed as blazes burn across Greece, France and SpainFirst tankers move through Hormuz again after Pakistani-brokered dealRussian missile destroys US-owned drone factory in KyivChina's Politburo promises more spending but no broad stimulusUS Senate narrowly rejects bid to halt Trump's war on IranUS signs $58.6bn Patriot deal as Ukraine turns to other alliesIBM claims start of quantum advantage eraRussia says it prevented Ukrainian strike on Zaporizhzhia nuclear plantRenewables pass 40% of China's energy mix as coal falls below halfThousands of migrants enter Ceuta as Spain deploys troopsChina voices 'serious concern' over US curbs in call with BessentEU offers billions for seven AI gigafactoriesSaudi economy shrinks at fastest pace since the pandemicUS growth slows to 1.5% in the second quarterBeijing threatens countermeasures over US robot and inverter bansPakistan says it is pressing US and Iran back to the tableOil prices swing as the US-Iran war widensPLA says it is combat-ready against Taiwan independence at its 99th anniversaryIsraeli strikes kill four in Gaza, including two childrenRussia claims capture of villages in Sumy and Kharkiv regionsUS tech companies push back on proposed curbs on Chinese chips and AISamsung chip profit jumps 250-fold as AI memory runs shortChinese navy and coast guard patrol Scarborough Shoal and warn off Philippine craftKorean stocks rebound 15 percent after record routSecurity Council holds first secret straw poll on next UN chiefJapan buys yen as India sells dollars to defend the rupeeZoox wins US clearance for paid robotaxi ridesMicrosoft sets record for biggest one-day gain in market valueSaudi Arabia pushes new regional order after Iran warWildfire near Sizewell nuclear plant forces evacuations in SuffolkTrump restricts exports of waste containing critical materialsCar supply chains disrupted after quake damages Japanese parts makerChinese brain implants help paralysed patients return to work
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Symbolic image: Iraq-Gulf ties strained after US-Saudi strikes on Iran-aligned militiasSymbolic image

Iraq-Gulf ties strained after US-Saudi strikes on Iran-aligned militias

2 sources

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.

Iraq Iran Saudi Arabia United StatesHouthi movementIslamic Revolutionary Guard CorpsPopular Mobilisation ForcesUnited States Central Command

US-Iran warUS-Saudi strikes in Iraq

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.

How the camps see it

  • 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

Gulf states and JordanHouthis in Yemen

Worth reading

Sources

The NationalEl PaísThe National

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