Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has created new covert cells in Iraq to carry out attacks on Gulf states that host U.S. forces, bypassing the command structures of pro-Iranian militias operating there, Reuters reported Friday, citing eight Iraqi sources. The report says three or four cells, each with about 10 elite Iraqi Shiite fighters, carried out at least seven drone attacks between April 20 and May 17. The launches came from desert areas near Basra and Samawah in southern Iraq, and the targets were in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Some of the cell members are said to belong to the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq,” a coalition of Shiite armed factions with thousands of fighters. But two Iraqi army officers, a security source and five senior militia figures told Reuters the new cells operate outside the militias’ command chains and report directly to the Revolutionary Guard. The militia officials said the previously unreported structure reflects a shift in Iran’s operating methods, aimed at preserving regional influence as its loyal proxies weaken and lose military and financial capacity.
Jassem al-Bahadli, a retired Iraqi general and expert on Shiite militias, said the newer groups are smaller, more ideologically radical and more tightly controlled by Iran. He said this shows Tehran’s need to conserve resources under economic pressure.
The Reuters report came amid a separate New York Times revelation that Israel built two secret military bases in Iraq’s desert, one known to the United States since summer 2025. The Times said one site supported the Israeli military during the 12-day war against Iran with air support, refueling and medical treatment, helping shorten flight times for air force strikes inside Iran. It also reported that the United States concealed the foreign presence from Iraq and ordered radar systems shut down to avoid exposing it. The report said Iraqi shepherd Awad al-Shammari was allegedly killed after reporting the bases to Iraqi forces. Israeli officials did not respond to the Times. Iraqi lawmakers denounced the alleged base as a blatant violation of Iraqi sovereignty.
