The Situation Room - July 29th

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I’m Atlas, and welcome to The Situation Room! We cover the most high impact geopolitical developments every Wednesday!

Today’s topics:

• Saudi Arabia Joins U.S. In Strikes Carried Out Against Iranian Proxies In Iraq

• Keiko Fujimori Becomes Ninth President Of Peru In A Decade

• Jay Clayton Confirmed As New Intelligence Director

Saudi Arabia Joins U.S. In Strikes Carried Out Against Iranian Proxies In Iraq

_{By: Atlas}

The United States and Saudi Arabia carried out joint airstrikes late Tuesday against Iran-aligned militias in Iraq, striking back after days of drone attacks on American forces and Saudi energy infrastructure and ending a brief lull in US military operations in the region.

"U.S. Central Command and the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces conducted precision strikes in Iraq, July 28, against Iran-aligned terrorists that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) directed to attack U.S. forces and Saudi energy infrastructure," CENTCOM said in a statement.

American and Saudi fighter aircraft struck multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq in what the command described as a strong response to more than 30 IRGC-directed aerial drone attacks over the previous 72 hours. The attacks against US forces were not successful, the military said.

"From February through April 2026, there were more than 600 attempted attacks on U.S. citizens and facilities by Iran-aligned terrorist militias in Iraq," CENTCOM said. "The IRGC and its terrorist proxies must cease these attacks to avoid further U.S. military response."

The operation marked several firsts: the first US strike since the pause that began Friday, the first confirmed occasion of Saudi Arabia directly attacking targets in Iraq, and the first time in the war that Saudi aircraft flew jointly with American forces.

Riyadh Confirms Its Role

Saudi Arabia confirmed its involvement in its own statement, with the Ministry of Defense reaffirming the kingdom's "legitimate right to defend itself and its capabilities." It said it "conducted precise and targeted strikes against objectives belonging to those militias located on the territory of the Republic of Iraq and linked to the attacks on petroleum facilities in the Kingdom."

"The Kingdom emphasizes that it does not seek escalation but will respond to any aggression it faces," the statement added.

The strikes followed two consecutive days of drone attacks on Saudi territory. The kingdom said it intercepted drones launched from Iraq targeting petroleum facilities in Riyadh and its eastern region, and it had called on Baghdad to prevent attacks from Iraqi territory. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered his country's security agencies to investigate.

Neither country named the groups struck, though Iran backs several Shiite militias in Iraq that have launched rockets at US forces in the past, some of which — like Kata'ib Hezbollah — are designated by the US as foreign terrorist organizations. CENTCOM's reference to eastern Iraq aligns with the heartland of Iran-backed factions operating under the Popular Mobilization Forces umbrella, and an Iraqi pro-militia outlet said Saudi Arabia struck the headquarters of the 40th PMF Brigade, also known as Kataib al-Imam Ali.

The exact timing of the strikes occurred in the early morning hours of Wednesday local time, and given the complexity of coordinating a joint operation between two countries, planning had likely been underway well before the day's events.

Iran's Attempted Missile Attack

The joint operation came just hours after CENTCOM said Iran's Revolutionary Guard mounted an "attempted surprise attack," launching multiple ballistic missiles from Iran at US forces in the Middle East. All of the missiles were intercepted.

"All Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted. U.S. forces remain vigilant and at a high state of readiness," the command said.

The missile launch ended a period of relative quiet in which neither the US nor Iran had reported direct attacks since Washington suspended its air campaign on Friday, following nearly two weeks of nightly strikes on Iranian targets and repeated missile and drone salvos by Tehran against countries hosting American forces around the Gulf.

There were no reported US casualties from any of the incidents.

A Test for Diplomacy

The escalation poses a challenge to the diplomatic track that President Donald Trump has said he wants to give a chance. Trump said Tuesday morning that the US and Iran have had "very good talks," expressing optimism that the two countries could reach an agreement, but warning that the US will "finish the job" if a deal isn't struck.

The renewed strikes followed Trump's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House earlier Tuesday, where the two leaders presented a united front exactly five months after their militaries launched strikes against Iran on February 28 to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Mediators have reported "significant" progress in ceasefire talks, with the US working alongside Qatar, Pakistan, and Egypt to oversee negotiations between Iran and Oman regarding the future of the Strait of Hormuz. Oman has presented Iran with a Gulf-backed plan for voluntary fees to use the waterway, though proposals for fee collection have complicated the discussions. One pitch calls for Iran and Oman to collect service fees for maintaining maritime security along the strait, while another borrows from the management model of the Strait of Malacca, where Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore collect fees for specific services.

The Trump administration has maintained that the strait, which handles roughly 20% of the world's oil supply, should remain free and open to all as it was before the war began. Iran has said it is not currently seeking direct talks with the US, and sticking points remain over Tehran's push to maintain control of the strait and Washington's demand that Iran give up its uranium enrichment program.

A Widening Regional Picture

The strikes underscore how the five-month-old conflict has drawn in countries across the Middle East. Despite the sustained American bombing campaign, Iran and its proxy forces retain stockpiles of missiles and drones capable of targeting US and allied forces in the region.

On the western side of the Arabian Peninsula, the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have fired at Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, threatening a key waterway even as Iranian actions seal off the Strait of Hormuz on the other flank. The Houthis said they fired missiles at a Saudi oil tanker, and Yemen's foreign minister has said the group is pushing to model Iran's Hormuz control in the Red Sea.

The pattern of proxy attacks predates this week. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations accused pro-Iran militias in Iraq of launching waves of attacks on their territory during the conflict's earlier phase, and the latest drone salvos marked the resumption of that pressure after a period of relative restraint. Whether Tuesday's joint response deters further attacks or draws Baghdad deeper into the conflict remains an open question as the diplomatic and military tracks continue to run side by side.

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