US-Saudi strikes test Iraq's balancing act between Riyadh and Tehran

US-Saudi strikes test Iraq's balancing act between Riyadh and Tehran Zahra Ladha The attacks complicate Baghdad’s efforts to reform security and attract foreign investment Members of Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) stand guard outside the Basra Operations Command headquarters, following US-Saudi air strikes in Basra, Iraq on 29 July 2026 (Reuters) The unprecedented joint US-Saudi strikes on Iran-linked militias inIraq last week have done more than raise the prospect of retaliation. They have exposed the fragile foundations of Baghdad's effort to balance closer ties with Riyadh and Washington while containing powerful armed groups aligned with Tehran, potentially forcing Iraq to make difficult choices that it has long sought to avoid. On 29 July, US and Saudi forces launched joint strikes on bases belonging to Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), killing at least 20 members of the paramilitary and four advisers from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to Iraqi and Iranian media. The strikes, which marked the first time Riyadh has publicly joined strikes alongside the US, were in retaliation for drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities launched from Iraqi territory. However, neither Riyadh nor Iraq's Iran-linked militias currently appear to want a sustained military confrontation. Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry described the joint attacks as an act of "self-defence" while signalling that the kingdom would carry out further strikes if attacks on its soil resumed. These strikes also come at a sensitive moment for Iraq as it moves to bring weapons held by non-state armed groups under state control and deepen political and economic ties with the US and Saudi Arabia, placing renewed pressure on Baghdad to balance internal security with regional relations. Saudi deterrence Riyadh’s statement suggests it is seeking to avoid opening a new front with Iran-linked militias in Iraq while continuing to face Houthi threats from Yemen targeting its oil facilities and maritime trade. The strikes therefore appear aimed primarily at restoring deterrence against Tehran and its Iraqi allies, rather than opening a new front. middleeasteye.net Iraq's new PM wants business deals with Trump, but militias cloud visit “The strikes were targeted at specific militia sites linked directly to drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities, to deter these groups,” Dr Hesham Alghannam, a Carnegie Middle East scholar based in Riyadh, told Middle East Eye. “But killing Iranian military advisers alongside militia fighters was not accidental. This was a message to Tehran that Saudi Arabia holds Iran responsible for what its personnel direct from Iraqi soil, regardless of which formation pulls the trigger.” Similarly, while the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias that includes the PMF, has vowed retaliation for the strikes, its rhetoric towards Riyadh has been more measured than its stance towards Washington. In a statement released on its Telegram channel on 29 July, the IRI said its “response to the American enemy is inevitable” while adding that it may target Saudi Arabia “if circumstances require”. Sending a message The IRI has given Baghdad until 7 August to respond to the US-Saudi strikes, but the deadline and threats of further escalation may also be aimed at influencing the government’s domestic policy. Some IRI-linked groups, including Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba and Saraya Awliya al-Dam, have called on Baghdad to sever ties with Saudi Arabia, suggesting that the pressure is also intended at shaping Iraq’s broade