Saudi Arabian aviation struck pro

Several sources cited by Reuters say that Saudi fighter jets bombed positions linked to powerful Shiite militias supported by Tehran in Iraq during the war against Iran. These strikes, largely unnoticed until now, are part of a broader series of military responses in the Gulf following the Israeli-American strikes on Iran on February 28, which triggered a major regional escalation.

According to Iraqi officials, a Western official, and several informed individuals, Saudi planes targeted sites near the northern border of the kingdom with Iraq. These positions were used to launch drones and missiles against Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. Some strikes took place around the US-Iranian ceasefire on April 7.

Reuters also reports that retaliatory strikes have been launched from Kuwait to Iraq. According to Iraqi military assessments, rockets hit militia positions in southern Iraq at least twice, including in April, killing several fighters and destroying an installation used by Kataeb Hezbollah for communications and drone operations. The agency, however, could not determine if these shots came from Kuwaiti forces or the US military, which is very present in the country.

These revelations shed light on the extent of a long-overlooked Iraqi front. According to Reuters sources, hundreds of drones that targeted Gulf states originated from Iraq. Telegram channels linked to militias have claimed responsibility for attacks on Saudi and Kuwaiti targets several times, although Reuters could not verify their authenticity.

For Riyadh and Kuwait, the increase in shots from Iraq eventually made the situation untenable. Both capitals protested to Baghdad, accusing it of not containing pro-Iranian armed groups with significant autonomy. This sequence confirms that the war has deeply destabilized the détente initiated in 2023 between Iran and Saudi Arabia, while exposing the limits of the Iraqi state in dealing with militias linked to Tehran.