Saudi and US aircraft struck Iran-aligned militia sites in eastern Iraq in response to drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities, the Saudi defence ministry said on July 29.

It is the first time Riyadh has publicly claimed responsibility for a strike inside Iraq since the war began, and it moves Saudi Arabia from air defence to offensive operations alongside US Central Command. The targets matter as much as the act: the Popular Mobilisation Forces is a salaried arm of the Iraqi state, so Riyadh has bombed units on the Iraqi government payroll. The operation also lands during a five-day pause in US strikes on Iran that President Donald Trump has presented as space for diplomacy.

The Popular Mobilisation Forces said eight of its members were killed and four wounded in strikes on its sites across Iraq. Two sources cited by US broadcast reporting put the toll at at least 10. Neither figure has been independently confirmed.

Defence ministry spokesman Major General Turki al-Malki said the strikes were carried out under the right of self-defence recognised in Article 51 of the UN Charter, against targets belonging to militias linked to the attacks on the kingdom's oil facilities. Saudi Arabia was not seeking escalation but would respond decisively to any aggression against it, he said.

Central Command said US and Saudi fighter aircraft struck multiple logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq, in response to more than 30 drone attacks over the preceding 72 hours which it said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had directed against US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure. None of the attacks on US positions succeeded, it said.

Iran-aligned militias attempted more than 600 attacks on US personnel and facilities in Iraq between February and April, according to Central Command.

Saudi air defences intercepted drones targeting oil facilities in the Eastern Province and Riyadh on July 27 and again on July 28, both of which the defence ministry said originated from Iraqi territory. Riyadh called on Baghdad to prevent Iraqi territory being used as a launchpad against the kingdom.

Iraqi armed groups condemned what they called a dangerous escalation.

Saudi Arabia had largely avoided direct involvement in the conflict until this week. Houthi forces have attacked Saudi-linked shipping in the Red Sea over the past week, and video verified by Newsbase and French state news showed strikes on the Aramco refinery at Jizan on July 25.

Central Command said the Revolutionary Guards and allied armed groups must halt the attacks to avoid further US military response.