TEHRAN 29 July 2026 — Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported Wednesday that four members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were killed in joint US and Saudi airstrikes targeting Iran-aligned groups across Iraq.
The strikes, carried out late Tuesday into Wednesday, hit multiple sites belonging to the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an umbrella of predominantly Shiite militias formally integrated into Iraq’s security structure but closely aligned with Tehran. The PMF said at least 20 of its fighters were killed and 32 wounded in attacks on headquarters in Baghdad, Wasit, Nineveh, Basra, Kirkuk, Karbala, and Diyala provinces.
Iranian media identified the four IRGC personnel as Ali Asghar Astaneh, Abolfazl Mottaqi, Morteza Akbari, and Amir Abbas Derham-Foroush, all from the central city of Kashan. Some reports placed the deaths in Diyala province near the Iranian border, at a camp used by Iran-backed groups. Other sources, including Iraqi militia officials cited by the Associated Press, put the number of Iranian advisers killed at five or six.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) and the Saudi Defense Ministry confirmed the joint operation, stating that US and Saudi fighter aircraft struck “terrorist logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq.” CENTCOM said the action responded to more than 30 IRGC-directed drone attacks over the previous 72 hours targeting US forces and Saudi petroleum facilities. The attacks on American assets were unsuccessful, according to the statement.
Saudi Arabia described the strikes as an exercise of its right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter after drones launched from Iraqi territory threatened its energy infrastructure. The kingdom emphasized it does not seek escalation but will respond to aggression.
US President Donald Trump told Fox News the strikes were conducted “in coordination” with the Iraqi government. Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces condemned the attacks as a “highly dangerous escalation” and a violation of Iraqi sovereignty. Following the strikes, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi postponed a planned visit to Saudi Arabia.
The operation marked the first joint US-Saudi strikes inside Iraq during the current conflict and ended a brief lull in hostilities that began last week. It came hours after the IRGC launched ballistic missiles at US forces in Jordan, all of which were intercepted, and as Iran claimed to have forced three tankers to halt in the Strait of Hormuz.
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