The Saudi Ministry of Defense announced the interception and destruction of three drones after they entered our airspace coming from Iraq's airspace on Sunday , May 17, 2026.
The ministry said in a statement published by the state-run "SPA" news agency that the kingdom reserves the right to respond and will take operational measures to respond to any attempt to attack its sovereignty and security.
Iraq comments on Saudi threats
The spokesman for the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi armed forces, Sabah al-Numan, said that Baghdad will not allow Iraqi territory to be a launching pad for aggression against other countries.
Al-Numan added in statements quoted by the Iraqi News Agency that "Iraq adopts distancing itself from the axes of conflict as a step to protect its stability."
At the same time, he responded to the Saudi threat by saying, "We do not allow other countries to attack Iraq and interfere in its affairs."
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait bomb Iraq during war
Informed sources confirmed that Saudi and Kuwaiti warplanes bombed targets linked to Tehran-backed armed groups in Iraq during the war with Iran.
The sources revealed information related to the attacks from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait from three Iraqi security and military officials, a Western official and two people familiar with the matter, one of whom is in the United States.
A Western official and a person familiar with the matter said Saudi Arabia carried out the strikes by its air force fighter jets on targets of Iran-linked militant groups near the kingdom's northern border with Iraq.
The Western official added that some of the strikes took place around the time of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire on April 7.
The sources said the strikes targeted locations from which drone and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries were launched.
The strikes are part of a broader pattern of military responses in the Gulf region, which has been largely kept under wraps during the joint U.S.-Israeli war on Iran attacks on Feb. 28.
These attacks prompted Iran to respond by attacking the Gulf states and Israel, disrupting the global economy and closing the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passes.