Iraq PM tells Saudi Crown Prince Iraqi territory won’t be used for attacks

What the report says

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a visit to Riyadh that Iraqi territory will not be allowed to serve as a base for attacks on Saudi Arabia or other regional states, according to Iraq’s state news agency and a statement from his office cited by Al Jazeera. The meeting took place on Wednesday and was al-Zaidi’s first trip to the kingdom since taking office in May.

The Iraqi leader’s assurances came amid renewed attention to cross-border security after Saudi Arabia said its East-West oil pipeline was hit by drones last month in an attack it said originated in Iraq. Baghdad later conducted its own investigation and reached the same conclusion, according to the report. No group claimed responsibility for the strike.

The pipeline was briefly shut after the attack but has since resumed operations. The episode highlights how tensions involving Iraq-based armed groups can affect Saudi infrastructure and broader regional security, even as Baghdad says it wants to uphold good-neighborly relations and respect the sovereignty of nearby countries.

More generally, Iraq has faced pressure to curb armed factions operating on its territory, including groups aligned with Iran, though that broader context was not directly addressed in detail in the cited report.