Iraq PM Orders Emergency Security Meeting After Saudi-US Airstrikes Hit Iranian-Backed Groups

29/07/2026

Iraq PM Orders Emergency Security Meeting After Saudi-US Airstrikes Hit Iranian-Backed Groups

BAGHDAD, July 29: Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has ordered an emergency meeting of the Ministerial Council for National Security following overnight Saudi-US airstrikes on Iraqi territory, the country’s Security Media Cell said on Wednesday.

The council was instructed to convene urgently over what the statement described as “security developments and the aerial bombardment the country was subjected to at dawn today.” A detailed statement on the situation and decisions taken during the meeting will be issued afterward, the Security Media Cell said.

The move followed an announcement by the US Central Command (CENTCOM) that American and Saudi forces conducted joint precision strikes against Iranian-aligned groups in Iraq. CENTCOM said the operation targeted logistics and weapons facilities linked to attacks on US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure.

According to CENTCOM, US and Saudi fighter jets struck multiple sites in eastern Iraq after more than 30 drone attacks allegedly carried out by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) over the previous 72 hours.

The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a coalition of mostly Iranian-backed Shiite armed groups, said several of its headquarters were targeted, causing deaths, injuries and damage to property.