Iraqi PM vows to take ‘all measures’ against those involved in attacks on UAE, Saudi Arabia

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Thursday reiterated Baghdad's condemnation of attacks on the UAE and Saudi Arabia emanating from within Iraq, asserting that an investigation committee will work jointly with the two nations and "take all security and legal measures against those involved."

Iran-aligned factions within Iraq conducted strikes on numerous neighboring states over the course of the US-Israeli war on Iran, complementing Iranian drone and missile attacks on regional nations deemed to be collaborating with the opposing side.

Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia have been targeted by such factions, with the Emirates' Barakah Nuclear Power Plant having come under drone attacks on Sunday Abu Dhabi asserted originated from Iraqi territory.

Reuters reported last week that both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait conducted kinetic strikes on pro-Iran militias within Iraq during the course of the regional war in retaliation for similar incidents.

"We renew our condemnation and denunciation of the criminal act that targeted the sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the sisterly State of the United Arab Emirates," Zaidi wrote on X.

"We have directed the disclosure of the circumstances of these criminal attacks, and an elite investigative committee was formed in the first meeting of the Ministerial Council for National Security."

The National Security Council meeting, held on Wednesday, saw Zaidi direct "that all measures be taken against those involved if it is proven that Iraqi territory was used as a launching point for those attacks," according to a spokesperson.

"We affirm the importance of the investigation being joint with our brothers in the two countries, with the aim of reviewing all evidence and what proves the use of Iraqi territory in the two attacks, in order to take all security and legal measures against those involved," the premier continued on X. "We express our rejection of the use of Iraqi land and airspace as a launchpad for aggression against fraternal and friendly countries."

In late March, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Jordan in a joint statement condemned strikes attributed to Iran-aligned factions in Iraq against neighboring countries and infrastructure, urging Baghdad to immediately stop attacks launched from its territory.

Restraining the actions of pro-Iran factions, many of which fall under the auspices of the state-integrated Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), has emerged as a key challenge for the new Zaidi premiership, with the US having repeatedly stressed the necessity of tackling such groups.

The recently appointed premier has made the restriction of arms to the state a key element of his program for government.

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