Baghdad Denies Authorising US-Saudi Airstrikes as Tensions With Iran-Backed Groups Escalate

The Iraqi government says it neither authorised nor had prior knowledge of the US-Saudi military strikes that killed at least 20 members of Iran-backed armed groups, despite claims by US President Donald Trump that the operation was coordinated with Baghdad.

Government spokesperson Haider al-Aboudi dismissed the US assertion on Thursday, insisting Iraqi authorities were not involved in approving the attacks.

“The government did not have any knowledge” of the strikes and “did not approve any attacks on specific sites or groups in Iraq,” Aboudi said on state television.

According to the Hashed al-Shaabi alliance, which includes several pro-Iran militias, Wednesday’s strikes killed at least 20 fighters, among them five Iranians.

Trump, however, reportedly told Fox News that the operation had been carried out in coordination with the Iraqi government.

In the aftermath of the strikes, Aboudi announced that Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi had suspended his planned visit to Saudi Arabia.

The attacks followed Saudi Arabia’s announcement that it had intercepted drones aimed at its oil facilities, with Riyadh accusing Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq of being responsible.

The strikes also come amid mounting US demands for Baghdad to disarm the Iran-aligned factions, which supported Tehran during the Middle East war by attacking American facilities in Iraq and other parts of the region.

Zaidi, who took office earlier this year with the backing of President Trump, has promised to oversee the disarmament of the groups.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella organisation for Tehran-backed factions, denied involvement in attacks against Saudi Arabia and warned that a response to the latest strikes is “inevitable.”

Caught between its close ties with both Washington and Tehran, Iraq continues to navigate the competing interests of the two rivals as regional tensions remain high.

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