US-Saudi strikes in Iraq push region into ‘uncharted territory’, analysts warn
US and Saudi forces conducted joint airstrikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq, resulting in at least 20 deaths and escalating regional tensions. The move has drawn condemnation from Baghdad and prompted retaliatory strikes from Iran.
Why it matters
The direct involvement of Saudi Arabia alongside the US in Iraq marks a significant shift in regional alliances and increases the risk of a wider, unpredictable conflict.
Mourners in Mosul, Iraq, carry coffins draped in Iranian and Iraqi flags during a group funeral for Popular Mobilisation Forces fighters killed in US-Saudi airstrikes on Wednesday. Mourners in Mosul, Iraq, carry coffins draped in Iranian and Iraqi flags during a group funeral for Popular Mobilisation Forces fighters killed in US-Saudi airstrikes on Wednesday. Iraq US-Saudi strikes in Iraq push region into ‘uncharted territory’, analysts warn Riyadh’s decision to join US in strikes on Iran-backed militia further complicates widening and ‘unpredictable’ war
Prefer the Guardian on Google US-Saudi strikes on Iran-backed militia in Iraq have pushed the region into “uncharted territory”, analysts have warned.
Amid stark warnings of a widening and increasingly “unpredictable” conflict, Riyadh’s decision to publicly join the US in striking sites associated with Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), killing at least 20 fighters, has added another complicating dimension to the war.
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