The United States and Saudi Arabia carried out joint airstrikes against Iran-backed militia targets across eastern Iraq in the early hours of July 29, US Central Command said, in what is the first publicly acknowledged joint military operation between Washington and Riyadh against pro-Iranian armed groups since the war began in February. Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Defense confirmed its own fighter aircraft took part, describing "limited, targeted strikes" against "Iran-aligned terrorist militias."
The operation followed an Iranian ballistic missile salvo against US forces roughly 24 hours earlier — a strike CENTCOM said was "successfully intercepted" — and came less than a day after President Trump claimed the US had halted strikes to allow for talks, saying Iran had "asked us very nicely, 'please stop, let's meet.'" Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei quickly denied the account, saying Iran was "not currently engaging in peace talks" and that there were "no negotiations with the United States at present."
Casualties mount as Baghdad convenes emergency session
CENTCOM said the strikes hit "multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites" in response to "over 30 IRGC-directed aerial drone attacks in the last 72 hours," with targets spread across Baghdad, Nineveh, Basra, Kirkuk, Karbala, Wasit and Diyala provinces. Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces said casualty figures varied by statement, with tolls ranging from 10 to 20 fighters killed and dozens wounded; the group called the strikes "a highly dangerous escalation" and "a violation of Iraq's sovereignty."
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella of Iran-backed factions, denied responsibility for the drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, calling Riyadh's claims "fabrications." Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi convened the Ministerial Council for National Security and postponed a scheduled visit to Riyadh, a senior source said, "in light of today's events."
Observers are reading: why Iran's rejection of the Hormuz mediation plan closes the war's last diplomatic exit.
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No diplomatic channel left for Hormuz
Hours after the Iraq strikes, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they halted three "violating" oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, declaring "full control" of the waterway maintained. Iran separately rejected an Omani-brokered proposal — backed by Gulf states — for 50-50 joint management of the strait modeled on the Malacca framework. A senior Iranian official told Reuters the plan was "unreasonable," insisting Tehran retain sole control of inbound traffic. That rejection follows the earlier collapse of the Islamabad ceasefire MOU, leaving no functioning framework to manage the chokepoint.
Three fronts — Iraq, the Gulf, and Hormuz — are now active simultaneously, even as Trump met Netanyahu at the White House the same week and called their talks "one of the best conversations." The diplomatic and military tracks are no longer intersecting; they are running in parallel, and only one of them is producing results on the ground.
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