Iraq denies Trump’s claim of prior knowledge of US-Saudi strikes

The Iraqi government said on Thursday it had no prior knowledge of the US and Saudi strikes on positions of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), an umbrella group that includes Iran-backed armed factions, contradicting US President Donald Trump’s statement that the operation had been coordinated with Baghdad. Government spokesperson Haider Al-Aboudi said in a media interview that the government “had no knowledge of the strikes and did not give approval to any party to carry out these attacks”. He stressed that the government “will not allow Iraqi territory to become a stage for military operations without its knowledge and without the approval of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces”. The PMF said on Wednesday that 20 of its members, including […]