Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi cancelled a planned visit to Saudi Arabia hours after joint US-Saudi airstrikes targeted Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) positions in at least eight provinces overnight on 28 July, according to a government source cited by Daraj. The visit was to include signing memorandums of understanding and discussing security coordination, Hamshahri Online reported. No official explanation for the cancellation has been issued by either Baghdad or Riyadh, and no alternative date has been set, Daraj noted; Donya-e Eqtesad said the news was not yet confirmed by the Iraqi government.

The airstrikes, confirmed by US Central Command (CENTCOM) and the Saudi Defence Ministry, hit PMF facilities in Wasit, Basra, Babil, Ninewa, Karbala, Kirkuk, Salah al-Din and Diyala provinces, according to Daraj and PMF statements. The PMF reported at least 20 fighters killed and 32 wounded, plus material damage. CENTCOM said the strikes were a response to more than 30 drone attacks against US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure over the preceding 72 hours, which it attributed to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Saudi Defence Ministry spokesperson Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki said the strikes were carried out in coordination with CENTCOM, following interception of two waves of drones targeting oil facilities in the Eastern Province and Riyadh. He invoked Article 51 of the UN Charter on self-defence and said Saudi Arabia does not seek escalation but will respond to any aggression.

The Iraqi government, which convened an emergency National Security Council meeting chaired by al-Zaidi, said it would not allow its territory to be used for attacks on neighbouring countries and announced an investigation into Saudi evidence linking Iraqi-based groups to the drone strikes, Daraj reported. The National Security Council also reaffirmed rejection of using Iraqi territory or airspace to threaten neighbours and established a high committee to investigate, according to Voice of America Persian. Al-Zaidi, in the first Security Council meeting after earlier drone attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE, stressed that weapons must remain under state control and warned he would not tolerate any group threatening Iraq’s security or its neighbours.

The cancellation of the visit marks the first direct political consequence of the airstrikes, which analysts cited by Daraj said risk opening a wider escalation. The PMF described the strikes as a “very dangerous escalation” and a violation of Iraqi sovereignty. The Iraqi government has not yet issued a detailed statement on the Security Council’s decisions, which was expected after the meeting concluded, according to Iraqi security media cell statements. The state of the dossier remains fluid, with no further military action reported as of the time of publication.