Reuters: Iraqi PM Cancels Saudi Visit After Deadly Airstrikes on PMF Facilities
Ali al-Zaidi called off a planned trip to Saudi Arabia and summoned an urgent National Security Council session after joint US-Saudi airstrikes killed at least 20 PMF fighters
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi called off an official visit to Saudi Arabia that had been scheduled for Thursday, as Baghdad convened an emergency security meeting following a wave of airstrikes that killed at least 20 Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) fighters and wounded 32 others across several Iraqi provinces.
Three sources told Reuters that the decision to cancel the visit was driven by several factors, chief among them the joint US-Saudi airstrikes and an urgent, unscheduled meeting of Iraq's National Security Council convened to address the rapidly evolving security situation.
The sources said the visit had originally been planned to allow Zaidi to discuss a number of political and security issues with Saudi officials.
Iraq's Security Media Cell said in a statement Wednesday that Zaidi, in his capacity as prime minister and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, had ordered an urgent meeting of the ministerial National Security Council to discuss the latest developments.
The statement said the meeting was prompted by the security developments stemming from the airstrikes carried out earlier that morning.
The Security Media Cell added that a detailed statement on the specifics of the events and the council's resulting decisions would be released to the public once the meeting concluded.
Amiri calls strikes an unjustified act of aggression
Hadi al-Amiri, secretary-general of the Badr Organization, strongly condemned the attacks in a statement Wednesday, describing them as strikes on Iraq's sovereignty and on Popular Mobilization Forces facilities that killed and wounded a number of fighters and PMF members.
Amiri said the strikes were carried out by Saudi forces with the backing of American fighter jets, calling them an unjustified criminal act of aggression against the country's sovereignty. He called on the Iraqi government to take a firm stance against what he described as a breach of sovereignty that undermines security and stability, adding that the American position in support of the strikes demands a comprehensive review of all relations and security agreements between Baghdad and Washington.
Amiri said the Iraqi public had been shocked by Saudi Arabia's conduct, noting that despite Iraq's efforts to open a new chapter of good neighborliness and peace, Saudi Arabia had reverted to a policy of hostility aimed at weakening Iraq's role in the region.
He concluded by saying the region stood at a sensitive juncture requiring a united Iraqi national stance to defend the country's sovereignty and protect the blood of its citizens, offering condolences to the families of the deceased and wishing a swift recovery to the wounded.
Earlier Wednesday, US and Saudi forces carried out coordinated airstrikes targeting multiple Popular Mobilization Forces facilities and sites belonging to Iran-backed armed groups across several Iraqi provinces, including Baghdad, Wasit, Nineveh, Basra, Kirkuk, Karbala and Diyala.
The PMF said the strikes killed at least 20 of its members and wounded 32 others, causing material damage to several of its facilities, vehicles, military equipment and other assets. The group said specialized committees remained deployed in the field to assess the full extent of the damage and that the announced casualty figures were preliminary and could rise as search and follow-up operations continued.
According to previous statements by US Central Command and Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Defense, the operation was launched in response to more than 30 drone attacks over the previous 72 hours that targeted Saudi energy infrastructure and US military bases in the region.
Separately, Nineveh's Provincial Council expressed deep concern over the strikes that hit several locations in the province, strongly condemning any attack that targets the security and sovereignty of Nineveh and Iraq. The council reaffirmed its rejection of the use of the province's territory as a base for launching attacks against neighboring countries, saying the position was aimed at preserving regional stability and protecting the country's supreme national interests. It extended condolences to the families of those killed and wished a speedy recovery to those wounded.
The title was updated on Jul. 29, 2026, at 2:13pm.