JNN 29th July 2026 , Baghdad : The United States and Saudi Arabia have carried out coordinated aerial aggression against several bases and weapons depots belonging to Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMU), also known as Hashd al-Sha’abi.
The PMU says at least 20 people were killed and 32 others injured in the joint US-Saudi aggresion targeting the resistance movement’s official headquarters across Iraq.
In separate statements issued early Wednesday, the Saudi defense ministry and the US Central Command announced the joint aggression, saying it targeted bases and weapons storage facilities belonging to the PMU, which serves as a coalition of anti-terror resistance groups.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry has issued a fierce condemnation of joint airstrikes by the United States and Saudi Arabia on Iraq.
Tehran says the attacks were a blatant violation of Baghdad’s sovereignty and a deliberate attempt by Washington and the Zionist regime to widen the regional war.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry specifically highlighted the “criminal and anti-human” targeting of official state facilities and service stations dedicated to the millions of pilgrims participating in the sacred Arbaeen procession.
“The Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns in the strongest terms the aggressive attacks by the United States and Saudi Arabia on several areas in Iraq, including against facilities and sites belonging to official Iraqi institutions, as well as the mawakib and stations of Arbaeen pilgrims.”
The ministry described the bombardment as a “blatant aggression against the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq” and a “flagrant violation of Article 2, Paragraph 4 of the UN Charter and fundamental rules of international law.”
Tehran warned that the strikes are “in line with the ambitions of the United States and the Zionist regime to expand the scope of war and conflict in the West Asia region.”
Expressing deep condolences for the martyrdom of several Iraqi citizens, the Foreign Ministry reaffirmed Iran’s solidarity with the government and people of Iraq.
It held the “warmongering US regime and its accomplices in the region” fully responsible for the dangerous consequences of these “criminal, inhumane, and provocative actions.”
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The joint airstrikes, launched in the early hours of Wednesday, targeted positions belonging to the Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) across several Iraqi provinces.
While the Pentagon and Riyadh attempted to justify the bombardment by labeling the defenders as “Iran-aligned terrorists,” the Hashd al-Shaabi is an official, state-recognized component of Iraq’s national armed forces, operating under the direct command of the Iraqi Prime Minister. The targeting of its headquarters represents a direct assault on the Iraqi state itself.
An airstrike struck a station serving pilgrims near Checkpoint 45 on the Karbala-Baghdad road at dawn on Wednesday, a security source told News Correspondent.
The strike caused no casualties of Pilgrims.
Iraq observes Arbaeen on Wednesday, one of the world’s largest annual religious gatherings, which draws millions of People from the World , among whom majority are the Shia Muslim pilgrims to Karbala to mark 40 days after the Martyrdom of Imam Hussein bin Ali, the third Imam of Jafri School of Thought among Muslims , in 680. For more than a week, pilgrims have been converging on the city on foot from across Iraq and from abroad.
Al-Masoudi, also a member of Karbala’s Provincial Council, said the province had completed its security and service preparations, including road security, coordination with Husseini mawkibs (pilgrim service groups) and tribal committees, and expanded transport capacity. Al-Kamaliya yard can accommodate more than 10,000 buses, while the former Intelligence yard is operating at 50% capacity and can receive over 1,000 vehicles.
Arbaeen, Arabic for “fortieth,” marks the final day of the 40-day mourning period after Ashura, when Islam’s Last Prophet Muhammad’s PBUH grandson and third Shia Imam Hussein bin Ali a.s was killed at the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD. Millions travel to his shrine, many on foot, while volunteers provide food, water, shelter, and medical services along the routes.
More than 2.1 million pilgrims had already entered Iraq by Tuesday. In 2025, Karbala alone received 21,103,524 pilgrims for the occasion.