About 20 Iranian advisers, including members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and technical personnel, were killed overnight Tuesday in joint U.S.-Saudi strikes in Iraq, The New York Times reported Wednesday, citing a U.S. official.
The official said the targets in Iraq were deliberately selected both to kill those present and to damage the ability of pro-Iranian militias to launch missiles and drones.
Coffins of members of the pro-Iranian Popular Mobilization Forces during a funeral in Baghdad, Iraq
(Photo: Murtadha Ridha / AFP)
According to the report, those killed included Revolutionary Guards personnel as well as “technical advisers.”
Saudi Arabia joined the United States in retaliatory strikes against militia targets in Iraq overnight Tuesday. The report of about 20 Iranian advisers killed was significantly higher than earlier claims by militia sources, which had put the number of Iranian dead at six.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella organization representing pro-Iranian militias, threatened retaliation following the attacks.
“Our response to the American enemy is inevitable, and it may be directed at its agents in Saudi Arabia whenever circumstances require,” the group said.
The organization also issued an ultimatum to the Iraqi government, demanding that it act and “show that it can defend Iraq’s sovereignty” by August 6.
U.S. President Donald Trump has meanwhile threatened to renew strikes against Iran itself after Tehran launched what Washington described as a “surprise attack” overnight on an American base in Jordan.
Iran fired five missiles at the base, all of which were intercepted.
In an interview with Fox News, Trump said the U.S. military would respond forcefully.