After drone strikes on Saudi oil sites, US and Saudi forces kill 20 Iran-backed fighters in Iraq, reigniting Middle East war

Joint strikes shatter lull

US and Saudi forces launched overnight precision strikes on multiple facilities of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), a coalition of mostly Shia militias, in eastern Iraq. The PMF reported 20 of its members killed and 32 wounded, with several headquarters damaged. The strikes were a direct response to what the US Central Command said were more than 30 drone attacks in the previous 72 hours directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps against American forces and Saudi energy infrastructure. The action ended a fragile five-day pause in hostilities that had raised hopes of a renewal of the ceasefire memorandum signed last month.

The Kingdom underscores that it does not seek an escalation, but will respond to any aggression it suffers. The drones were launched from Iraqi territory by terrorist militias aligned with Iran and were intercepted and destroyed.

Saudi Arabia’s first open intervention

The joint operation marks the first time since the war began on 28 February that Saudi Arabia has openly joined the US in striking Iran-backed groups. Riyadh had previously absorbed Iranian and Houthi attacks without direct reprisal, hosting American bases and relying on diplomacy to shield its vast oil infrastructure. That posture changed after drones targeted oil facilities in the Eastern Province and Riyadh on Monday, and Houthi rebels struck a refinery in Jazan, causing a fire at a plant that produces some 400,000 barrels per day. Saudi Arabia said the strikes were an exercise of its right to self-defence under international law.

Baghdad denounces ‘flagrant violation’

Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi convened an emergency session of the National Security Council on Wednesday and a detailed statement is expected. The presidency earlier described the airstrikes as an unacceptable attack and a flagrant violation of Iraqi sovereignty. The PMF, created in 2014 by government decree to fight the Islamic State and legally integrated into Iraq’s security apparatus, condemned what it called a dangerous escalation against an official state institution. The group noted that between February and April 2026 there were more than 600 attempted attacks by Iran-aligned militias on US citizens and facilities in Iraq.

Trump threatens Iran, oil spikes

President Donald Trump vowed a harsh response to Iran’s own missile attack on US bases in Jordan on Tuesday, which was repelled by air defences. “We are going to hit them hard. They are going to get a beating,” Trump said, according to a Fox News correspondent. On global markets, Brent crude rose more than 5% on fears that the widening war could further choke supply, already disrupted by Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Arabia had been exporting roughly four million barrels per day via the Red Sea alternative, but its position as the world’s top crude exporter is now under direct threat.