ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Islamic Resistance in Iraq on Wednesday issued a nearly one-week deadline to the Iraqi government to respond to a series of deadly US-Saudi dawn strikes that killed at least 20 members of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). 

Following a series of drone attacks in Saudi Arabia that Riyadh accused Iran-aligned factions in Iraq of orchestrating, the Saudi and US militaries conducted extensive airstrikes on Iraqi soil that killed at least 20 members of the PMF.

The attacks were widely condemned by the Iraqi political sphere and particularly by pro-Iran militias in Iraq, who have issued stark warnings to both the Iraqi government and the US. 

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella network of pro-Iran Iraqi militia groups linked to the IRGC, gave Baghdad a nearly one-week deadline to respond to the strikes. 

“We give the government entities that have demanded the resistance disarm a deadline of the 23rd of Safar [corresponding to August 6] to see what they will do,” it said in a statement. 

The umbrella group further slammed Saudi Arabia as “nothing but a treacherous dagger or a dirty tool manipulated by the White House,” warning that a “response to the American enemy is inevitable and may target its agents in Saudi Arabia whenever the situation demands it.” 

On Wednesday evening, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi visited the PMF’s headquarters and met with Falih al-Fayyadh, head of the PMF, and several other commanders to discuss “the repercussions of the US-Saudi aggression,” according to a statement from the premier’s office. 

Zaidi “directed that the families of the martyrs be honored, that full medical care be provided to the wounded, and that all necessary measures be taken to ensure their treatment,” according to the statement. 

Sabah al-Numan, spokesperson for Zaidi, told state media on Wednesday that the US-Saudi strikes have “hampered investigation efforts regarding the alleged targeting of Saudi Arabia.” 

“We demand evidence and proof regarding the attacks originating from Iraq, and no party has provided any evidence,” he said, stressing that Baghdad “will not allow any individual actions or any violations from outside Iraq.”

Earlier, Zaidi convened an emergency meeting of the National Security Council, condemning the US-Saudi strikes and deciding to “develop a comprehensive security plan to secure the territory and counter any violations of Iraq’s sovereignty.” 

The PMF is an umbrella group of Shiite militias that officially operates under the authority of the Iraqi state, but has been repeatedly criticized for including pro-Iran factions that operate at Tehran's behest.