ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Saudi Arabia said Monday that its forces intercepted several drone attacks launched earlier in the day from Iraqi territory by Iran-backed proxy groups, reaffirming Riyadh's "legitimate right" to defend its sovereignty.

“Air defenses intercepted and destroyed a number of drones during the past hours that attempted to target petroleum facilities in the Eastern Region and Riyadh,” said Turki al-Maliki, the spokesperson for Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry.

“These terrorist attempts were launched from Iraqi territory and carried out by Iranian-backed terrorist militias,” he added, while warning of Riyadh’s “legitimate right to defend itself.”

The Gulf states have repeatedly been targeted by Iran and its aligned factions during both the current and previous phases of the US-Iran conflict, with Iraq having drawn diplomatic backlash because of the alleged involvement of pro-Iran Iraqi militias in carrying out drone and missile strikes on regional countries.

Saudi state media urged "the Iraqi government to take all necessary measures to ensure the prevention of the use of its territory as a launching point for aggression" in the wake of Monday's attacks, with Reuters having reported in May that the Kingdom had bombed militias in Iraq in retaliation for previous strikes.

Saudi Arabia has become increasingly involved in the regional war after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis announced a blockade of Saudi vessels transiting the Red Sea, with Kataib Hezbollah, a pro-Iran Iraqi militia, hailing the embargo as an expression of "unwavering will."

Earlier on Monday, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said a recent spate of drone strikes that targeted the Region’s capital of Erbil originated from the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, calling on the federal government to hold the perpetrators accountable.

The Kurdistan Region has come under wave after wave of attacks since the breakdown of the US-Iran ceasefire agreement and the reemergence of hostilities, with strikes focusing on US interests and the bases of Iranian Kurdish opposition groups.

Since taking office, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has led a renewed drive to disarm armed groups and restrict weapons to state control. The initiative is heavily backed by Washington, which has long pushed for the groups – many of which have strong ties to Iran – to be disarmed.

In mid-July, Zaidi "strongly" condemned drone attacks on the Kurdistan Region, calling them "malicious" and vowing to "exert every effort" to prevent their recurrence.