Iran-aligned Houthi forces in Yemen launched this week's attacks on Saudi Arabia from Iraqi territory in coordination with Iraqi armed groups, based on assessments by Saudi Arabia and its regional partners. The findings point to growing operational coordination among Iran-backed militias, two regional officials told Reuters.
The assessments differ from official accounts and suggest that members of Iran's so-called Axis of Resistance have strengthened their coordination and ability to target US allies in the region despite years of US and Israeli strikes following Hamas' 2023 attack on Israel, Reuters reported.
Among the targets were oil facilities in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, the kingdom's primary crude-producing region.
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On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia and the United States launched joint airstrikes on sites in Iraq that they said were linked to the attacks, formally blaming Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups. The Houthis have claimed responsibility for the attacks, while Iraq said it has opened an investigation.
Regional officials said some of the attacks were jointly carried out by the Houthis and Iraqi armed groups from Iraqi territory under the oversight of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Iran-aligned media reported and mourned the deaths of IRGC members, Iraqi fighters and at least one Houthi following the Saudi-US airstrikes on Wednesday.
"There is now direct training and coordination between members of the Axis of Resistance themselves, not just between them and Iran," said Farea al-Muslimi, a research fellow in the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House.
Analysts say the strikes also underscore Iraq's growing importance within the Axis of Resistance following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in Syria and the significant weakening of Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Cooperation between the Houthis and Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups has existed for years, particularly with Kataib Hezbollah, one of the most organised and heavily armed Iraqi factions.
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Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi has said the Houthis and Iraqi factions established a joint operations room in 2024. Later that year, the two groups announced their first coordinated operation against Israel.
The Houthis have also maintained a permanent presence in Iraq, including offices and an official envoy, Ahmed al-Sharafi. He has publicly met with armed groups and Iran-backed Shi'ite political parties.
For years, red-and-green posters bearing the Houthi "Sarkha" slogan - "God is greatest, death to America, death to Israel, curse the Jews, victory to Islam" - have been displayed in several parts of Baghdad.
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