A senior Saudi official said the Kingdom resorted to military action in Iraq only after exhausting all diplomatic and political avenues, insisting the strikes targeted Iran-backed militias responsible for attacks on Saudi territory rather than the Iraqi state.
In an interview with Al Arabiya, the official said the operation targeted military warehouses and facilities belonging to Iran-backed militias allegedly linked to the recent drone attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities and other critical infrastructure.
The official said the military action was undertaken only after Saudi Arabia had exercised what he described as the utmost restraint over recent months and after diplomatic and political efforts failed to halt attacks against the Kingdom.
According to the official, the Iran-backed militias were undermining Iraq’s national interests and damaging its relations with Arab and Islamic countries by using Iraqi territory and resources to launch attacks against neighboring states.
The official reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s commitment to maintaining strong relations with Iraq and its people, emphasizing that the operation was aimed solely at degrading the operational capabilities of the militias responsible for threatening the Kingdom’s security and targeting its civilian and economic infrastructure.
Rejecting attempts to portray the strikes as an attack on Iraq, the official said the Kingdom’s actions were directed exclusively against armed groups allegedly involved in cross-border attacks and not against the Iraqi government or its citizens.
The official also dismissed attempts by some parties inside and outside Iraq to inflame sectarian tensions following the operation, saying such efforts were intended to undermine Iraq’s security, stability and regional relations and would not mislead the Iraqi people.
On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense announced that the Kingdom’s armed forces, in coordination with the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), had carried out precision strikes against Iran-backed militia targets in Iraq linked to recent attacks on Saudi oil facilities.
Saudi authorities said the operation followed drone attacks intercepted by the Kingdom’s air defenses earlier this week targeting oil installations in the Eastern Province and the Riyadh region. They reiterated that Saudi Arabia does not seek escalation but would respond to any aggression threatening its sovereignty, civilians and critical infrastructure.
