Iraq orders legal action after US-Saudi airstrikes
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraq’s Ministerial Council for National Security on Wednesday instructed the Foreign Ministry to pursue legal action under international law and the UN Charter over the US-Saudi airstrikes on Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) sites, condemning the attacks as a violation of the country’s sovereignty.
Spokesman for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Sabah Al-Numan stated that the emergency meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi, examined the strikes, which the government said killed and wounded several “innocent Iraqis."
The council criticized the operation for taking place while Baghdad was engaged with Washington and Riyadh over attacks targeting Saudi territory, calling for tighter security measures to prevent further violations of Iraqi sovereignty and stop the country’s territory from being used to threaten neighboring states. It also stressed that only the Iraqi government and its constitutional institutions have the authority to respond to such incidents.
It affirmed plans to complete the withdrawal of the Global Coalition by the end of September 2026 and place all weapons under state control.
Saudi Arabia and US Central Command (CENTCOM) earlier today maintained that the operation responded to drone attacks on US forces and Saudi energy facilities attributed to Iran-linked factions operating from Iraqi territory. CENTCOM said US and Saudi aircraft struck weapons depots and logistics sites in eastern Iraq.
Abdullah Al-Numi, a member of the political bureau of Yemen’s Houthi movement (Ansarallah), rejected that account, telling Shafaq News his group —not the PMF, a state-sanctioned umbrella of predominantly Shiite armed factions— had carried out the earlier attacks on Saudi Arabia. Ansarallah had openly claimed operations targeting Yanbu and Jizan, he argued, accusing Riyadh of blaming Iraqi factions for attacks they did not conduct.
Read more: Exclusive: Houthis claim Saudi attacks, offer PMF cooperation
The PMF reported that the bombardment killed at least 20 of its members and wounded 32 others in seven provinces.
US President Donald Trump later told Fox News that the strikes had been coordinated with the Iraqi government. He called Iran-backed armed groups “a cancer on the world” and warned that further action against Tehran’s allies remained under consideration.
The Ministerial Council for National Security’s statement made no reference to whether Iraqi authorities had coordinated the operation.
