Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani has canceled an official visit to Saudi Arabia that was scheduled for Thursday, following a dramatic escalation in which Saudi Arabia joined the United States in launching coordinated airstrikes against Iran-backed militias across several Iraqi provinces, including the capital Baghdad.
The Saudi Ministry of Defense stated that the strikes were a direct response to a series of recent drone attacks on Saudi Arabia’s eastern oil facilities, which Riyadh attributed to Iraq-based militias operating in support of Iranian regional interests. These attacks have intensified since the outbreak of hostilities between Iran and Israel on April 1.
The cancellation, confirmed by two regional officials and a Western diplomat, had not yet been formally announced by either Baghdad or Riyadh at the time of publication. According to Reuters, the decision followed an emergency session of Iraq’s National Security Council convened in the aftermath of the US-Saudi military action and the rapidly deteriorating security environment.
The Iraqi Embassy in Washington was unable to verify the cancellation of the trip by press time, while the Saudi Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), the formal designation for the Iran-aligned militias, reported that the airstrikes resulted in the deaths of at least 20 fighters and left 32 others wounded, with casualties expected to rise as assessments continue. The PMF condemned the strikes as a “dangerous escalation” and a violation of Iraqi sovereignty.
The abrupt cancellation undermines al-Sudani’s strategic efforts to pivot Iraq away from Iranian influence and toward stronger diplomatic and economic ties with the United States and Gulf Cooperation Council nations. His first international trip after taking office in May was to Washington, where he met with President Joe Biden. The planned visit to Saudi Arabia would have been his fourth foreign trip, following recent visits to Iran and Turkey.
Al-Sudani has committed to disbanding the PMF, which US officials say operates independently of government control and maintains close ties with Tehran. The timing of the Saudi drone attacks—occurring just days before his planned visit—highlighted the fragile nature of his position and the significant obstacles he faces as Iraq becomes increasingly entangled in the broader US-Iran rivalry. In a notable development, President Biden told Fox News that the US-Saudi operations were conducted in coordination with the Iraqi government, describing both the militant groups and Iran as a “cancer on the world.”
In a separate incident, Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for attacking Saudi energy infrastructure, citing their ongoing conflict with Riyadh.