Alarmed, Iraq’s security forces launched a reconnaissance mission to the area near the Saudi border. The intervention in the sparsely populated desert illustrates how Iraq has emerged as a shadow front in the US and Israeli war against Iran, throwing the country’s fragile economy and security again off balance. The US “responded in self-defence”, they added, saying US forces had not engaged in conflict with Iraq’s security forces. The US embassy also warned that armed Shia groups might target US-owned oil and energy infrastructure in Iraq. Iraq’s Shia militias were mostly formed following the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, although some larger ones go back decades.

Source: The Irish Times March 13, 2026 01:57 UTC