U.S. and Saudi airstrikes hit Iran-backed groups in Iraq

U.S. and Saudi forces carried out precision airstrikes on multiple sites in eastern Iraq late Tuesday, hitting Iran-aligned groups after more than 30 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-directed drone attacks in the previous 72 hours, U.S. Central Command said. CENTCOM said the attacks on U.S. forces were unsuccessful, but the strikes marked a sharp escalation in a cycle that has increasingly pulled Iraq into the center of the U.S.-Iran confrontation.

The targets were described by U.S. officials as sites used by Iran-backed groups that had carried out drone attacks against American forces and Saudi energy infrastructure. That linkage matters because it ties Iraq to two flash points at once, attacks on U.S. troops and pressure on Saudi assets, and it gives Riyadh a direct role in military action on Iraqi soil that is unusual in recent years.

Reuters said the U.S. and Saudi action threatened to intensify the conflict. The strikes also came against the backdrop of earlier retaliation in Iraq. In November 2023, Iraq condemned U.S. strikes after Kataib Hezbollah said five of its members were killed. In December 2023, Iraq’s government condemned overnight U.S. airstrikes on Iraqi military positions, saying one serviceman was killed and 18 people were wounded.

The sequence has deepened the legal and diplomatic strain for Baghdad, which has repeatedly objected to foreign military strikes on its territory. A direct Saudi military role adds another layer of tension, especially as Saudi officials have also faced drone threats launched from Iraq toward oil facilities. That has widened the conflict beyond the U.S.-Iran rivalry into a regional contest touching Saudi Arabia’s energy security and Iraq’s sovereignty.

The latest strikes suggest that Iraq is becoming the main arena for a broader exchange of fire between U.S.-aligned forces and Iran-backed groups, even as neither Washington nor Riyadh has shown any sign of backing away from the use of force. The result is a more dangerous and more crowded battlefield, with Iraqi territory absorbing the impact of attacks aimed far beyond its borders.