A senior Saudi official on condition not to be named said the Kingdom’s recent military strikes in Iraq were directed exclusively at Iran-backed militias allegedly responsible for attacks on Saudi territory and were not aimed at the Iraqi government or its people.
Speaking to Al Arabiya on Friday, the official said the operation targeted military warehouses belonging to militias linked to recent drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities and other critical infrastructure.
The official maintained that the military action came only after all diplomatic and political options had been exhausted and after Saudi Arabia had exercised what he described as maximum restraint over recent months.
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 to launch attacks against neighboring states.
He reiterated Saudi Arabia’s commitment to maintaining close ties with Iraq, stressing that the operation was limited to degrading the operational capabilities of the armed groups responsible for threatening the Kingdom’s security and targeting its civilian and economic infrastructure.
The official also rejected attempts by some groups to exploit the strikes to inflame sectarian tensions, saying such efforts would not serve Iraq’s interests and were aimed at undermining the country’s security and regional relations.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday that its armed forces, in coordination with the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), had conducted 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, reiterating that Riyadh does not seek escalation but will respond to threats against its security.
