Saudi intelligence chief meets Iraqi PM, renews Riyadh visit invitation

Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi had cancelled an earlier Saudi trip after deadly July 29 Iraq" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="180947" data-entity-type="event">US-Saudi strikes on Iraq.Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ⁠and Saudi Arabian Intelligence chief Khalid bin Ali Al Humaidan have met in Baghdad in an attempt to resolve the governments’ ties strained by deadly cross-border strikes weeks earlier.Al-Humaidan extended a renewed invitation for al-Zaidi to visit Riyadh in the meeting on Friday, the prime minister’s office said, after the latter’s earlier trip was called off in protest following a joint Saudi-US operation on July 29. The attacks killed 20 fighters of Iraqi armed groups, including five Iranians.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Colombia’s new president takes office vowing to ‘crush’ narco-terrorismlist 2 of 3Trump shifts blame to Republicans for waning support from publiclist 3 of 3US courts clear way for deportations of South Sudan, Myanmar nationalsend of listAccording to al-Zaidi’s office, the two focused on how Baghdad and Riyadh can better coordinate security issues as regional tensions simmer.Al-Zaidi restated a pledge that Iraqi soil would not become a launchpad for attacks on any other country, and that Baghdad remains determined to guard its sovereignty.Security forces and emergency personnel work at the site of a strike north of al-Miqdadiyah district in Iraq’s Dayala province on July 29, 2026 [AFP]The two countries have had a tense few weeks of diplomacy.Saudi Arabia justified last month’s strikes on Iraq as retaliation for drone attacks on its oil infrastructure, which it blamed on the same pro-Iranian Iraqi armed groups.Iraq’s National Security Council rejected the kingdom’s claim outright, calling the operation a breach of national sovereignty. In the days that followed, Iraqi authorities quietly tightened security across the country and along its borders to head off any retaliation.The Iraq" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="42834" data-entity-type="organization">Islamic Resistance in Iraq – the Iran-aligned network of armed groups that has clashed rhetorically with Riyadh in recent weeks – had promised to retaliate for the US-Saudi strikes.