Washington and Riyadh accused pro-Iranian groups of targeting US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure
US and Saudi warplanes have carried out joint airstrikes against areas allegedly harboring Iranian-linked militants across eastern Iraq, according to US Central Command.
CENTCOM said on Tuesday that US and Saudi warplanes targeted numerous transport and weapons facilities used by groups allegedly directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“U.S. Central Command and Saudi Arabian Armed Forces conducted precision strikes in Iraq, July 28, against Iran-aligned terrorists that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps directed to attack U.S. forces and Saudi energy infrastructure.” the order said.
Washington claimed that the operation was launched in response to more than 30 drone attacks directed by the IRGC in the past 72 hours. It said the attempted attacks against US troops were unsuccessful, but did not provide evidence linking the targeted Iraqi groups to the attacks or identify them by name.
Video footage circulating online has reportedly shown the results of an airstrike on a Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) base in Iraq’s Wasit province. Iraqi media also reported multiple explosions in the areas of Al-Deir and Al-Haritha in southern Basra province, although the full extent of the damage and any casualties remain unclear.
The joint operation came amid a wider Saudi standoff with Iran-aligned forces across the region.
The Saudi-led coalition attacked alleged Houthi military positions in Yemen’s Hodeidah Province on Saturday after the group attacked Saudi-owned ships in the Red Sea and announced a naval blockade of the kingdom.
Shortly after the Saudi attack, the industrial city of Jazan was reportedly targeted in apparent Houthi retaliation, and a major fire broke out at a facility operated by state-owned oil company Aramco. The Houthi rebels have also claimed to have attacked two Saudi oil tankers, one of which caught fire, and the other sustained minor damage.
Saudi Arabia previously led a military intervention in Yemen in 2015 against the Houthis, who had captured the capital, Sanaa. A years-long bombing campaign failed to defeat the group and exacerbated Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.
The attacks in Iraq also followed claims by Iraq’s National Security Adviser Qasim al-Aboudi that the authorities dismantled several militant cells whose members admitted to working for Ukraine and carrying out false flag attacks. He did not recognize the facilities or associate the prisoners with attacks against Saudi Arabia. Kiev rejected such accusations as “baseless and unsubstantiated.”
Saudi Arabia has blamed recent drone attacks on its oil facilities on Iran-linked militants operating from Iraqi territory. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella organization of several groups linked to Iran, denied involvement and accused Riyadh of trying to divert attention from attacks carried out by the Houthis. It has warned that Saudi military action against Iraqi forces will provoke retaliation.
