Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces Issue First Response to US-Saudi Strikes, Calling Attacks "Extremely Dangerous Provocation"

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Kurdistan 24) - Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces issued their first official response on Tuesday to the joint US-Saudi precision strikes carried out earlier in the day against what CENTCOM described as Iran-aligned terrorist logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq, condemning the attacks as an extremely dangerous provocation and a flagrant violation of Iraqi territorial integrity.

In an official statement, the PMF said several of its formally recognized bases in various locations across Iraq were targeted in what it described as terrorist attacks by American and Saudi forces. Based on initial information, the organization said the strikes resulted in the deaths and wounding of several of its members, as well as material damage to buildings and property belonging to the organization. The PMF said relevant departments are conducting field assessments of the situation and that the process of evaluating casualties and damage is ongoing.

"We consider these attacks an extremely dangerous provocation, a clear violation of Iraq's territorial integrity, and an assault on the country's official security institutions," the PMF statement said, adding that official details and the latest figures would be released through subsequent statements once the assessment process is complete.

The PMF's characterization of its bases as official state security institutions is central to the political and legal framing of its response. The Popular Mobilization Forces were formally incorporated into Iraq's state security apparatus under Iraqi law in 2016, a status that Tehran-aligned factions within the organization have consistently invoked to argue that any strikes against PMF positions constitute attacks on the Iraqi state itself rather than on a non-state armed group. Washington and Riyadh reject that framing, with CENTCOM's Tuesday statement identifying the targeted groups as Iran-aligned terrorists operating under direct IRGC direction, responsible for more than 30 drone attacks against US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure in the preceding 72 hours alone.

CENTCOM confirmed earlier Tuesday that US and Saudi fighter aircraft struck multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq, adding that from February through April 2026 alone, there were more than 600 attempted attacks on US citizens and facilities by Iran-aligned terrorist militias in Iraq. The command warned that the IRGC and its terrorist proxies must cease these attacks to avoid further US military response.

The joint US-Saudi operation represents a significant escalation in the geographic and political dimensions of the conflict inside Iraq. Saudi Arabia's direct military participation in strikes on Iraqi territory places Riyadh in open confrontation with Iran-aligned factions that have repeatedly targeted the kingdom's energy infrastructure throughout the war, and creates a new fault line in Iraqi domestic politics between those who view the PMF as a legitimate state institution deserving of protection and those who argue that IRGC-directed factions within the organization have made Iraq a battlefield for a conflict not of Baghdad's choosing.

The PMF's promise to release further details as its field assessment continues suggests additional statements are expected in the hours ahead, potentially including specific casualty figures, the identities of bases struck, and a more detailed articulation of the organization's intended response to Tuesday's operation.