Saudi planes hit pro-Iranian militias in Iraq during war (Reuters)

Saudi warplanes bombed positions linked to powerful Tehran-backed Shiite militias in Iraq during the war against Iran, according to several sources cited by Reuters. These strikes, which have remained largely discreet until now, would be part of a broader series of military responses carried out in the Gulf after the Israeli-American strikes on February 28 against Iran, which triggered a major regional escalation.

According to Iraqi officials, a Western official and several people briefed on the matter, the Saudi planes would have targeted sites close to the kingdom’s northern border with Iraq. These positions were allegedly used to launch drones and missiles against Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. Some strikes would have taken place around the American-Iranian ceasefire of April 7.

Reuters also reports that retaliatory strikes were launched from Kuwait towards Iraq. According to Iraqi military assessments, rockets hit militia positions in southern Iraq at least twice, notably in April, killing several fighters and destroying a facility used by Kataeb Hezbollah for communications and drone operations. The agency specifies, however, that it was unable to determine whether these shots came from Kuwaiti forces or the American army, which is very present in the country.

These revelations shed light on the scale of an Iraqi front that has long remained in the background. According to Reuters sources, hundreds of drones that targeted the Gulf States left Iraq. Telegram channels linked to the militias have also repeatedly claimed attacks against Saudi and Kuwaiti targets, without Reuters being able to verify their authenticity.

For Riyadh and Kuwait, the increase in fire from Iraq would have ended up making the situation untenable. The two capitals protested against Baghdad, accused of not containing pro-Iranian armed groups with broad autonomy. This sequence above all confirms that the war has profoundly weakened the detente initiated in 2023 between Iran and Saudi Arabia, while exposing the limits of the Iraqi state in the face of militias linked to Tehran.