Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has set up covert cells in Iraq that carried out drone attacks against Gulf states hosting U.S. forces, according to eight senior Iraqi sources speaking to Reuters. The reported operation marks a tactical shift by Tehran, which is trying to preserve regional influence even as its proxy network weakens.
The sources said three or four cells, each with about 10 elite Iraqi Shiite fighters, launched at least seven drone strikes from desert areas near Basra and Samawa in southern Iraq. The attacks targeted sites in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates between April 20 and May 17. Some of the fighters were recruited from the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella for hard-line Shiite factions, but the new groups operate outside its command structure and report directly to the Revolutionary Guards.
The cells were described as part of a broader Iranian adaptation as allied militias lose strength and Tehran faces shrinking military and economic resources. Analysts and militia figures said the smaller, more tightly controlled units show Iran’s effort to keep projecting power despite pressure to conserve resources. Two powerful Iraqi Shiite factions, Asaib Ahl al-Haq and the Imam Ali Brigades, said this month they would begin handing weapons to the state after repeated U.S. warnings to Baghdad to dismantle armed groups.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and U.S. Ambassador Tom Barak discussed on Monday plans for the “complete dismantling” of Iranian tools in Iraq. On Wednesday, U.S. and Iranian presidents signed an interim agreement to end the war, but Iranian officials said support for “resistance groups” was not negotiable and was not covered by the deal.
Saudi Arabia said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed three drones that entered from Iraqi airspace. Riyadh said it would take all necessary operational steps to protect its sovereignty, and it had already lodged a formal protest with Baghdad in April. Iraq is now moving to rebuild its air defenses, including plans to buy eight Cheongung-2 missile batteries from South Korea and Turkish drones and counter-drone systems.
